Deep and Wide: A Look Back at the 2026 Mission Leaders Conference

From September 23–25, 1,066 mission leaders, pastors, practitioners, and ministry professionals gathered in Orlando, Florida, for DEEP: Shaping Global Disciples, the 2026 Mission Leaders Conference hosted by Missio Nexus.

Representing more than 400 agencies, churches, ministries, businesses, and partner organizations, attendees came together around a shared conviction: the Great Commission calls us not only to make converts, but to cultivate mature, multiplying disciples. Throughout three days of learning, worship, networking, and collaboration, leaders explored what it means to shape disciples who remain rooted in Christ, live faithfully in their context, and participate in God’s mission to the nations.

Exploring the Theme: DEEP

This year’s theme challenged the missions community to think more deeply about discipleship. Throughout the conference, keynote speakers, workshops, and conversations returned to a central question: What does it take to form mature disciples who multiply their faith in others?

Conference sessions examined discipleship from multiple perspectives, including life-on-life disciple-making, leadership development, contextualized discipleship in Muslim-background contexts, organizational health, and the relationship between evangelism and discipleship. Speakers challenged attendees to move beyond programs and metrics toward transformation that is both deep and wide.

A recurring theme throughout the event was that no single organization possesses all the answers. Instead, the wisdom needed to address today’s disciple-making challenges is distributed throughout the Great Commission community and is best discovered through curiosity, collaboration, and shared learning.

Watch the keynote sessions:

• “A Persecuted Church’s Testimony: Beijing Zion Church’s Story of Faith Under Fire” by Anna Liu
• “Deep and Wide: Why the Great Commission Needs Both Evangelism and Discipleship” by Bob McNabb
• “Discipling Farsi-Speaking Believers: A Contextual Model for the Iranian Church” by Robert Asirsians
• “Why Discipleship Doesn’t Scale: Four Observations to Close MLC 2026” by Ted Esler

Workshops, Collaboration, and Learning

With 13 workshop tracks and more than 60 breakout sessions, attendees explored topics ranging from executive leadership and mobilization to finance, technology, training, communications, people care, development, and church missions leadership.

The conference’s workshop experience reflected the Missio Nexus commitment to intentional convergence, catalytic relationships, and actionable clarity. Leaders learned from experienced practitioners while engaging peers who shared similar challenges and opportunities.

Many attendees cited the collaborative spirit of the conference as one of its greatest strengths:

“Had so many divine connections… it was the hallway conversations that will literally change the world!”

“Everyone was so eager to collaborate… quick to share openly about what they’re doing, with the strengths and weaknesses. This kind of collaboration is INCREDIBLY VALUABLE and honors Christ.”

Networking That Matters

Beyond the keynote platform and workshop rooms, meaningful conversations emerged throughout the conference.

Networking forums, leadership meals, assigned peer seating, receptions, and informal gatherings created opportunities for leaders to build relationships across organizations, roles, and ministry contexts. Attendees consistently highlighted these interactions as one of the most valuable aspects of the event.

“Eating together is such a rich experience at Missio Nexus… I always come away with new relationships that strengthen my faith and ministry.”

“It’s always great to connect with other leaders… I’m grateful for the intentionality of the Missio leaders to encourage connections with others, pray together for the nations, and learn about new and innovative ways to improve in our organizations.”

For some leaders, the relationships formed at the conference addressed one of the most difficult realities of ministry leadership.

“Thursday night I sat at a table with four other true peer CEOs… For that dinner, the loneliness of senior leadership wasn’t there.”

Worship and Community

Throughout the conference, attendees gathered for worship led by The Collective, creating moments of celebration, reflection, prayer, and encouragement.

The combination of worship, teaching, and community reinforced one of the conference’s central messages: discipleship is not merely information transfer. It is a lifelong journey of transformation lived within the context of God’s people.

Honoring Leadership and Service

During the conference, Missio Nexus recognized two leaders whose lives and ministries have made a lasting contribution to the global missions community.

Lifetime of Service Award

Leighton Ford

The 2026 Lifetime of Service Award honored Leighton Ford for decades of faithful leadership, evangelism, mentoring, and investment in the next generation of Christian leaders. Through Leighton Ford’s ministry, thousands of leaders around the world have been encouraged, equipped, and developed for greater gospel impact.

Excelerate Award

Don Barger

The 2026 Excelerate Award was presented to Don Barger, Director of Innovation and AI at the International Mission Board, in recognition of his leadership in helping mission organizations thoughtfully explore the opportunities emerging technologies provide for communication, training, and global outreach.

A New Missio Nexus Brand Unveiled

One of the memorable moments of the conference came with the unveiling of a new Missio Nexus brand identity and website experience.

Introduced by Ted Esler, the refreshed brand reflects the organization’s mission to catalyze relationships, ideas, and collaboration within the Great Commission community. The new visual identity and website were launched during the event as a tangible expression of Missio Nexus’ commitment to serving churches, agencies, and ministries engaged in global mission.

Thank You to Our Sponsors and Partners

The Mission Leaders Conference would not be possible without the generous support of sponsors and partners who invest in the health and effectiveness of the missions community.

Special thanks to:

Aetna International, Be Amazing Outline, Inc., Bitner Henry Insurance Group, Branches Mission Lab, Brotherhood Mutual, Center for Intercultural Training, Concilium, Cordline, CRI CapinCrouse, ECFA, Five Q, GuideStone, Hold the Rope, Mission:Leadership, Pangea Technologies, Reliant Mission, SiteStacker, Slingshot Group, The Chosen and Come and See, and WeGive.

Looking Ahead

As attendees returned home, many carried more than notes from sessions. They left with new relationships, practical ideas, renewed vision, and a deeper commitment to disciple-making.

One attendee summed up the experience this way:

“This conference was pretty significant and changed my ministry mindset pretty significantly.”

Another described it simply:

“It’s the highlight of our year.”

Recordings of keynote sessions are available on the Missio Nexus Vimeo channel at vimeo.com/missionexus.

As we reflect on what God did through DEEP, we are grateful for the conversations started, partnerships formed, and ideas shared. Together, we continue pursuing the Great Commission through relationships, ideas, and collaboration – trusting God to shape disciples who will influence generations to come.