Your Roadmap to Missions Involvement.
Join pastors, church staff, missions leaders, and everyday church members for a practical, inspiring day focused on helping your church move from interest to action in missions. Learn directly from trusted international, national, and local missions leaders—and leave with a clear, personalized roadmap for meaningful missions involvement.
Central Baptist Church of North Little Rock | April 27
Choose Your Lane
This conference is designed for anyone who wants to see their church actively engaged in God’s mission—whether you’re just getting started or looking to strengthen what you’re already doing. You’ll gain practical training, real-world insight, and guided next steps to help you confidently lead or support missions efforts in your church and community.
When you attend Missions University, you'll have the opportunity to choose between three different lanes: Community Missions, Missions Discipleship, and Partnership Missions. Throughout the day, you'll attend breakout sessions geared toward the lane you've chosen.
Conference Schedule
8:30-9:30 – Opening Session
9:45-10:30 – Break into Lane Groups
10:45-11:30 – Breakout 1
11:30-1:00 – Lunch & Learn
1:15-2:00 – Breakout 2
2:15-3:00 – Breakout 3
3:15-4:00 – Return to Lane Groups
Community Missions Breakouts
Reaching Your Community Through Events
Led by Clint Ritchie | Missions Assistant Team Leader & Community Missions Strategist, Arkansas Baptists
Discover how to use strategic events to build relationships and share the gospel in your local community. This session will cover practical steps for planning, promoting, and hosting events that create meaningful connections and open doors for spiritual conversations.
Reaching the Underserved in Your Community
Led by Sarah Wilson | Executive Director of Conway Ministry Center
Our communities are full of families in broken homes, generational strongholds, and financial crises. In this breakout, you’ll hear from an Arkansas native who has spent nearly two decades building a ministry that helps meet physical needs while sharing the love of Christ.
Lecture Halls & Living Rooms: Rediscovering the Biblical Model of House Churches
Led by Rusty Gunn | Director, Send Network Oklahoma
Experience encouragement in how God can use both prevailing American church models and the ancient house church approach. We will explore the biblical foundation, practical structures, multiplication strategies, and real-world examples of house churches thriving today.
Personal Evangelism 101
Led by Clint Ritchie | Missions Assistant Team Leader & Community Missions Strategist, Arkansas Baptists
Learn the basics of helping others share their faith with confidence and clarity in everyday life. This session will explore simple tools and practical tips to engage others in gospel conversations naturally and lovingly.
The Reality of Human Trafficking in Arkansas: Dispelling Myths & Opening Dialogue
Led by Angeline McMurry | Director, We are Free, Texarkana, AR
The conversation around trafficking has grown, but there still seems to be the perpetuation of myths regarding the who, when and where of trafficking. Learn from someone on the forefront of victim services who has worked to educate the church on the need to provide avenues of support to the most vulnerable. Human trafficking is a cultural problem that needs a spiritual remedy; join us as we aim to partner with churches to address the need.
The Highs and Lows of Addiction Recovery Ministry
Led by Daniel Bramlett | Pastor, First Baptist Church, Hope, AR
First Baptist Church, Hope, AR began an addiction recovery ministry in 2018. In this breakout, Pastor Daniel Bramlett will share what a church can expect when attempting to reach their local addicted community.
Missions Discipleship Breakouts
Maps vs. Menus
Led by Rusty Gunn | Director, Send Network Oklahoma
Designing a Disciple-Making Pathway Why disciple-making and leader development that leads to multiplication happens more intentionally, faster, and better with a clear “map” instead of a “menu” of disconnected programs. We’ll discuss how to define a disciple, create a pathway, and lead people toward multiplication.
Teaching Children’s Missions Discipleship: The Who and Why of it All
Led by Heather Keller | National WMU Ministry Consultant for Children and Students
Let’s look at how Gen Alpha learns and find out why this generation has a great potential to impact the world with the Great Commission.
Families on Mission: Raising Kids to be Missional doesn’t have to be a Chore
Led by Heather Keller | National WMU Ministry Consultant for Children and Students
Come for the ideas and leave encouraged knowing that you can take small steps towards helping the kids in your life share God’s love with the world.
How Many Loaves?
Led by Travis McCormick | Mens & Boys Missions Strategist, Arkansas Baptists
Using Jesus’ question, “How many loaves do you have?”, participants will learn to identify needs around them, recognize their God-given resources, and trust God to multiply what they place in His hands. Practical, biblical, and mission-focused, this course equips believers to live with greater faith, clarity, and Kingdom impact.
Living on Purpose: Mobilizing the Church for the Great Commission
Led by Laura Bramlett | Executive Director of Arkansas WMU, Arkansas Baptists
Many Southern Baptists are born, baptized, married, and buried in our churches yet few do missions and tell people about Jesus. To help Southern Baptists prioritize the Great Commission, WMU is committed to creating resources for missions discipleship. Come learn about the resources WMU can offer your church to assist in learning about missions, praying for missions, supporting missions, doing missions and telling people about Jesus.
Developing a NextGen Missions Pipeline
Led by Julia Baird | Midwest NextGen Mobilization Strategist, International Mission Board
Engaging your NextGen church goers with God’s heart for the nations is a critical and joy-filled task. In this session you will have opportunity to learn best practices on how develop a long-term pipeline strategy to engage your youth, college students and young adults with reaching the nations for Christ.
Be a Man
Led by Travis McCormick | Mens & Boys Missions Strategist, Arkansas Baptists
Take a quick dive into the life of John the Baptist and learn how men are uniquely equipped to reach other men. You’ll discover how to make disciples simply living as the man God created you to be. Come be challenged, encouraged, and equipped to impact the men around you.
Partnership Missions Breakouts
Cultivating a Partnership of Prayer
Steve Lasiter | National/International Partnership Strategist, Arkansas Baptists
Learn how prayer moves from a personal discipline to a shared mission when believers pray with, for, and alongside one another. This breakout will offer resources and relational practices that invite God to work deeply in us and powerfully through us—together.
What a Missionary Really Wants You to Know
Steve Lasiter | National/International Partnership Strategist, Arkansas Baptists
Missionaries and mission teams may have different ideas on what is needed for a successful mission trip. Hear from a former IMB missionary and discover what missionaries really want your team to know when it comes to partnership with them on the field.
Why it Matters
Chris Martin | Director of Convention Strategies, International Mission Board
Partnerships are key in global missions. Hear from an International Mission Board leader on why and how strategic partnerships help churches work together to reach the nations more effectively. Discover why collaboration is essential for faithful, impactful Great Commission work today.
Top 10 Ways to Partner with a Church Planter
Tim Wicker | Director, Send Network Arkansas
Discover proven strategies to partner well with local, national, and international church planters.
Church Planting 101
Jay Ham | Church Planting Catalyst, Arkansas Baptists
Discover how your church plays an important role in partnership with Send Network Arkansas to be the catalyst to plant churches everywhere for everyone.
What is the M-Task and how to use it to reach the nations in your backyard
Brian & Emily Shores | International Mission Board Missionaries in Conakry, Guinea, West Africa
In this breakout, we will explain the basics of the M-Task (Missionary Task) that the IMB uses overseas to move from engaging new peoples to church planting and exiting to partnership. This session will help your churches partner more effectively with IMB teams overseas and demonstrate how this same method can be used to reach the diaspora in your own region.
Engaging Urban Centers in Sub-Saharan Africa
Brian & Emily Shores | International Mission Board Missionaries in Conakry, Guinea, West Africa
Africa is the fastest-growing continent on the planet. As we seek to reach the nations with a Revelation 7:9 vision, the African movement must be engaged. In this breakout, you will learn why this is vital and how your church can begin exploring partnerships with IMB teams to reach Africa's rapidly growing urban centers.
Come and be Equipped + Encouraged.
We can't wait to see you at one of our Missions University conferences! The Central Arkansas conference will take place on April 27 at Central Baptist Church of North Little Rock.