Taylor University’s annual NEXT Summit took place Sept. 16. The theme of the conference focused on growing the people and growing the mission, emphasizing discipling Christians leaders to live out the Great Commission.
NEXT invited several Christian educators and organizations to learn from five experienced Christian leaders. Attendees began the day in Chapel, alongside Taylor students. Sessions followed in Habecker Hall and the Cornwall Room. They learned to cultivate strong team culture and pursue organizational growth.
Speakers included President D. Michael Lindsay, Al Lopus, Jamie Haenggi, Colby Burke and Mark Vroegrop.
Al Lopus serves as the co-founder and board chair of Best Christian Workplaces. Lopus helps Christian organizations create flourishing and trustworthy workplace cultures.
Haenggi has over 30 years of experience in leading sales, marketing, operations, strategy and customer experience teams for organizations. She is also CEO of GoodwinBeckham and previously served as the president of ADT Solar and executive vice president, chief customer officer of ADT Security Services and founder of The Avodah Connection.
Burke is the founder of The Turos Group. With over 25 years of leadership and human resources experience in for-profit and nonprofit organizations, he also serves as Taylor’s chief people officer.
Lastly, Vroegrop served in pastoral ministry leadership for nearly 30 years and now serves as president of The Gospel Coalition.
Vroegrop is also an award-winning author for two of his books. “Waiting Isn't a Waste: The Surprising Comfort of Trusting God in the Uncertainties of Life,” won the 2025 ECPA Christian Book Award of the Year and won in the Christian Living category. “Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament” received the ECPA 2020 Christian Book of the Year.
Vroegrop’s last session of the day spoke on how leaders can embody four core values within their teams: trust, encouragement, accountability and mission (TEAM).
Leaders must live in a way that resembles these values in order to lead their teams accordingly, he said.
Vroegrop enjoyed working with leaders from different schools and ministries, he said.
“A lot of challenges are just the same, because people are people,” he said. “Just context and cities and environments are different. And the Spirit likes to work in the context of people in different settings, so it’s been fun to help people think about how to help other people flourish.”
Paul Mumaw, lead pastor and elder at Genesis Church in Noblesville and Carmel, Indiana, resonated most with Lindsay’s message about joyful and enthusiastic leadership, he said.
What stood out most to Mumaw was Lindsay’s humility. Lindsay admitted his own mistakes and how they allowed him to learn, Mumaw said.
Vroegrop said what he hopes people take away from the conference is that leaders should be helping their teams flourish.
“Be the kind of person that’s flourishing, because you can’t export what’s not been imported,” he said. “So it’s hard to lead people to a place that you aren’t actually at personally.”
Leaders must prioritize their soul in becoming the best version of the person God intended them to be, he said. While this is important for any follower of Jesus, it is especially valuable to leaders as they lead others in this way.
Lindsay enjoyed sharing Taylor’s exciting happenings and empowering ministry leaders through NEXT Summit, he said in a written statement. He expressed gratitude for the speakers.
“I am also deeply grateful to all of my colleagues who put on a great event,” Lindsay wrote. “I want to thank particularly Colby Burke, Holly Whitby and Krista Woodyard for a job well done.”
