2026 Small Groups Conference
Strengthening Discipleship Pathways Across Northeast Florida
Saturday, September 19, 2026
First Baptist Church of Hilliard
9:00 AM - 12 PM
Hosted by the Northeast Florida Baptist Family of Churches
Why This Gathering?
Small Groups. Sunday School. Life Groups. Discipleship Groups.
Different expressions. Shared responsibility.
Group-based environments remain one of the primary ways people are formed, cared for, and sent on mission in the local church. Yet many churches are navigating cultural change, leadership fatigue, and post-pandemic rebuilding while trying to steward these spaces well.
The 2026 Small Groups Conference serves as the Annual Gathering of the Northeast Florida Baptist Association, reimagined as a practical equipping day for church teams. The goal is not to promote a single model, but to strengthen disciple-making pathways that are faithful, contextual, and sustainable.
This is a regional opportunity to learn, share, and encourage one another with a clear Kingdom Over Turf posture.
Who Should Attend?
This conference is designed for teams, not just individuals.
Pastors
Discipleship Pastors and Directors
Small Group and Life Group Leaders
Sunday School Directors
Lay Leaders
Churches exploring how to launch, relaunch, or strengthen group ministry
Whether your church is rural or suburban, large or small, established or rebuilding, this day is designed to meet you where you are.
What to Expect?
Main Session - 9:00 - 9:50 AM
The day begins with a unified gathering featuring a keynote speaker who will set the tone and encourage faithfulness in disciple-making across our region.
Breakout Session 1 - 10:05 - 10:55 AM
Breakout Session 2 - 11:00 - 11:50 AM
Sessions will be practitioner-led and focused on real tools, frameworks, and stories churches can adapt in their own context.
Lunch and Fellowship
Lunch and beverages will be provided on-site, offering space for informal conversation and connection.
Keynote and Breakout Session Leader
David Loveless
David Loveless brings over three decades of ministry leadership to the 2026 Small Groups Conference. For 29 years, he served as the founding pastor of Discovery Church in Orlando, Florida, a congregation recognized as one of the fastest-growing churches in the United States and named in Dr. John Vaughn's book as one of America's Most Influential Churches.
David now serves as Executive Director of Campuses and Leadership Development at First Baptist Church Orlando, and is a sought-after coach and consultant working with ministry leaders across more than 50 countries. He is a leadership consultant with Clarity House, a consulting organization that helps churches build disciple-making cultures they can believe in.
His work is marked by a singular conviction: you can lead a thriving ministry without losing your soul. He has guided hundreds of followers of Jesus to know and name their specific calling from God, including through tools like the Calling Bullseye and the People and Place Circle.
David is the author of multiple books and resources on ministry leadership, calling, and personal transformation. He lives in Winter Garden, Florida, with his wife Caron, and together they have three adult sons and eight grandchildren.
Keynote Speaker & Breakout Session LeaderAdult Ministry Track
Discipleship is not a program. It is a culture. But building a congregation where members naturally, consistently invest in the spiritual growth of those around them requires intentional training and clear frameworks.
In this session, Justin Hartzell will explore what it actually looks like to equip ordinary church members to disciple others. You will leave with a practical language and an initial pathway to take back to your small group leaders.
Session: How To Train Every Member to Disciple Other People?
Pastor Justin Hartzell - FBC Gray Gables
Group life thrives or stalls on the quality of conversation inside it. Empathetic listening, the kind rooted in humility, respect, and a genuine desire to understand, is a skill that can be learned and taught.
Rick Marks of RelateWell Institute will walk group leaders and discipleship directors through the practical dimensions of empathetic listening: what it looks like in real conversations, why most of us are not as good at it as we think, and how to help your people grow in it. This session is relevant for every age group and ministry context.
Session: How To Train Every Member to Disciple Other People?
Dr. Rick Marks - RelateWell Institute
Most churches have organized their ministry around age separation. But the New Testament picture of the church is deeply intergenerational, and many families today are hungry for ways to worship and grow together rather than apart.
Neil Helton will present both a theological case and practical frameworks for building group ministry that brings generations together. Whether you are thinking about family discipleship, small group structures, or worship environments, this session will give you tools for building the whole family.
Session: Multi-Generational Family Worship and Discipleship
Pastor Neil Helton - Founding Pastor of Amelia Baptist Church
Pastor Louden Wells - Small Groups and Connections Pastor at Mercy Hill Church
Not all small groups are healthy, and not all active groups are growing. How do you know the difference? And more importantly, what do you do about it?
Louden Wells will lead a practical workshop on assessing and cultivating small group health. You will walk away with clear criteria for evaluating your existing groups, practical dynamics to look for in your leaders, and a cultivation framework that does not require a complete overhaul of what you already have.
Session: Practical Frameworks, Criteria, and Dynamics for Assessing and Cultivating Healthy Small Groups
Pastor Frank Camarotti - Senior Adult Pastor at FBC Fernandina Beach
Most churches have senior adults in the room every Sunday. Far fewer have a ministry that actually meets them where they are — addressing the real fears aging brings, restoring a sense of mission and purpose, and building community that does not thin out as the years go on.
Frank Camarotti will walk attendees through a practical framework for developing senior adult ministry that takes this demographic seriously. You will leave with a theological foundation for why this work matters, a structure for building or strengthening groups that serve older adults well, and concrete first steps you can take back to your church, regardless of where you are starting from.
Session: Developing a Senior Adult Ministry That Makes a Difference
College and Youth Track
Pastor Adam Page - Pastor at Amelia Baptist Church
College students are not just older teenagers. Their relationship to community, authority, belonging, and the local church is shaped by a specific set of cultural forces that most adult discipleship models were not designed for.
Adam Page will explore what genuine connection looks like for today's college student, why traditional small group models often fail this demographic, and what churches and campus ministries can do to build groups that actually reach and retain young adults in this life stage.
Session: What Does Connection and Engagement Look Like in Today's Culture of College Students?
Pastor Gabe Zavala - Student Pastor at FBC Fernandina Beach
Gen Z is the most digitally native, culturally skeptical, and spiritually searching generation in recent memory. Leading them in small group or discipleship contexts requires a different approach than previous generations.
Gabriel Zavala will help youth workers and student ministry leaders understand how Gen Z thinks, what they are actually looking for in community, and how to structure group environments that engage them rather than lose them. Practical, honest, and grounded in real ministry experience.
Session: Leading Gen Z
Children’s Ministry Track
Children's ministry that only measures attendance is missing most of what matters. Holistic children's ministry considers the whole child, the whole family, and the whole church working together to form young disciples.
April Godbolt will lead this session through a holistic lens for children's ministry, covering everything from curriculum philosophy to family partnership to how children's groups connect to the larger life of the congregation. You will leave with a broader framework and practical tools to take back to your context.
Session: Thinking Holistically When It Comes to Children's Ministry
April Godbolt - Children’s Director at Callahan FBC
Special Needs Ministry Track
Most churches want to include people with disabilities. Far fewer have a clear pathway for discipling them.
Randy Schwartz of Joni and Friends Florida will help you identify the barriers that keep people with disabilities from full participation in group life, and build intentional structures to remove them. You will leave with a biblical framework for belonging, practical tools for creating accessible entry points, and a clearer picture of what it looks like when every member of the body of Christ is truly embraced, equipped, and engaged.
Session: Intentional Discipleship and Disability - Pathways to Belonging
Randy Schwartz - Ministry Relations with Joni & Friends
Multicultural Ministry Track
Frank Falto - Pastor of Hibernia Español
The demographics of Northeast Florida are shifting. If your congregation does not reflect your community, your small group ministry is one of the most powerful tools you have to change that.
Frank Falto of Hibernia Baptist Church will lead this session on developing a congregational expression ministry through small groups, a model that allows diverse expressions of worship, community, and discipleship to coexist and strengthen one another within the same church family. This session is for any church pastor or leader who senses that their current group structure is not reaching the full breadth of their community.
Session: Developing a Congregational Expression Ministry Through Small Groups
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First Baptist Church of Hilliard
15850 County Road 108
Hilliard, FL 32046Parking is available onsite. The conference will utilize multiple spaces throughout the church facility. A detailed schedule and campus map will be shared closer to the event.
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This gathering is not about comparison, competition, or conformity.
It is about:
honoring local church autonomy
sharing what God is teaching us
stewarding discipleship with faithfulness and wisdom
strengthening churches across our region
Kingdom over turf. Faithfulness over flash. People over programs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Stay Informed
Register or express interest to receive updates.
Invite members of your team to attend with you.
Check back for speaker announcements and session details.
We look forward to serving churches across Northeast Florida through this gathering.