NEXTGEN 2026 Will Connect Young Christians With God’s Mission in the Middle East

NEXTGEN Conference 2026 is scheduled for November 12–14 at Lake Mary Church in Lake Mary, Florida. The official conference site describes the gathering as a place where Christians from the United States and across the Middle East can meet for friendship, learning, worship, and mission. Its stated audience includes young professionals, college-and-career adults, Arab-Americans, ministry and marketplace leaders, and people who care about God’s work in the Middle East. The three-day program begins Thursday evening with check-in, a welcome, the first general session, and dinner. Friday includes breakfast, general and breakout sessions, meals, and time for connections and activities, while Saturday concludes with additional sessions before an optional period for exploring the Orlando area. The main sessions will be in English, and the organizers say some worship will be offered in both Arabic and English. Announced subject areas include identity and heritage as Arab-Americans, relationships and community, leadership and influence, God’s heart for the Middle East, and purpose and calling. The featured lineup includes Fares Abraham of Levant Ministries, Shaddy Soliman and Peter Armans of Lake Mary Church, Dani Samarneh of Kenosis, counselor and author Debra Fileta, worship pastor Michael Chabo, and worship leader Rena Sassine. The conference presents its framework as Gather, Grow, and Go: gathering a national community, growing in Christian faith and identity, and going out to serve. The official travel page lists nearby airport and hotel information, and the FAQ says hotel rooms are not included in registration, though shuttle arrangements are planned between designated hotels and the venue.

The event’s distinctive value is its combination of discipleship, cultural identity, and practical mission engagement. Young Christians with roots in the Middle East can sometimes feel pressure to separate family heritage from life in the American church, while Christians without that background may understand the region mainly through conflict headlines. NEXTGEN offers a setting in which those perspectives can meet within an explicitly Christian purpose: honoring God, strengthening faith, and making disciples. The program’s attention to relationships, leadership, purpose, and calling means it is not limited to people already preparing for formal ministry. Marketplace leaders and young professionals can also explore how ordinary work, community participation, and cross-cultural friendship may become avenues of faithful witness. Attendees should come ready to listen to experiences different from their own, participate in worship across languages, and ask concrete questions about serving Arabic-speaking communities locally or through international mission. The conference can be especially useful for churches that want to develop younger leaders, connect with Arab-American believers, or build healthier partnerships related to the Middle East. A practical way to prepare is to review the speaker biographies and agenda, arrange lodging early, and identify one ministry question to bring into the sessions. Participants may also want to invite a friend from a different cultural background so that learning continues through conversation after the conference. The gathering does not promise that a weekend will settle every question about identity, vocation, or a complex region. It does offer a concentrated opportunity to deepen faith in Christ, form real relationships, hear from Christian leaders with Middle Eastern experience, and leave with clearer next steps for discipleship and mission at home or abroad.