NEXT

Why should you attend NEXT? Here are 10 reasons.

1. A time to build with you church. Even if you think you know your fellow church members well, you don’t know them like you know them after you room with them, eat with them, and drool on them on the airplane flight. You will see a whole new side of each other and you will make some great memories.

2. A time to sit under great teaching.  NEXT is a deluge of Christ-centered teaching. You will hear from some of the best, and be exhorted and encouraged by sound teaching.

3. A time to meet new people. NEXT is a great opportunity to meet new people from other churches. It is so encouraging to hear how God is working in other lives and in other churches across the globe.

4. A time to worship together. The times of corporate worship are one of my favorite things about NEXT. It feels like a warm-up for heaven.

5. A time to apply. NEXT is not only a time of valuable teaching, but also a great place to begin applying what you’re learning! NEXT has small groups organized for the very purpose of discussing personal application to our lives. Also, there are many opportunities throughout the conference to share with a friend what God is showing you.

6. A time to rest…sort of. One of the great things about a conference like NEXT, is that it pulls you away from your normal daily routine and gives you a chance to really reflect, and hear God in a unique way. I started to say NEXT was a restful time, but I think rest might be misleading. Of the many great things about NEXT, sleep is probably not on the list.

7. A time to reach out. There are kind of a lot of people at NEXT. And NEXT might take you out of your comfort zone. It has taken me out of mine. NEXT is a great opportunity to think outside yourself and to take an interest in those you don’t know, both in your church and outside of your church.

8. A time for perspective. It can be easy for me to get trapped in my little world—thinking this is all there is—school and a job and errands. NEXT is a great reminder of the bigger picture. There’s more to this life than what I see on a daily basis (as precious as that is). God is building his church (Matthew 16:18) across the globe and NEXT is a great reminder of that very truth!

9. A time to be immersed in Scripture. NEXT is a Scripture-saturated event. I think you will be blessed by spending such a chunk of time soaking up God’s Word, which is promised will bear much fruit and which won’t come back void (Isaiah 55:10-11)

10. A time to take it home to your local church. A really neat thing about NEXT is the emphasis you will hear there on the local church. The things you learn at NEXT don’t stop at NEXT, and they don’t stay inside those doors in a conference room in Baltimore. You get to take them home with you. You get to put the things you learned into action in the context of your church. And this in turn builds up your local body of believers and bolsters their faith.

So, what did I miss?
What are your reasons for coming to NEXT?