Firmly Planted, Growing Together, Made to Multiply in 2026.
Partner with us as we sow seeds of faith, cultivate spiritual growth & bear life-giving fruit within our community.
Planting deep roots in the limitless love of God, 2024-25.
Partner with us as we sow seeds of faith, cultivate spiritual growth &
Planting deep roots in the limitless love of God, 2024-25
Partner with us as we sow seeds of faith, cultivate spiritual growth & bear life-giving fruit within our community.
MBC is thrilled to be a part of the emerging growth of God’s redemption and mission for our church.
We pray that you catch this vision with us to bring His light into this dark area. To that end, we invite you to partner with us and prayerfully consider a special year-end gift. Your contribution will enable us to expand our ministry through both Gospel Demonstration and Gospel Proclamation. In the year 2025, we will accomplish our vision of increased cultural engagement by equipping the MBC body of believers, working with our local and global partners, and continuing campus upgrades.
Serving Him Together, Pastor Dave and Pastor Bob
Vision for 2026
Please ask God to guide your giving and consider making your best possible donation as an investment so we may be firmly planted, growing together, and sharing God’s love to everyone. We envision that your generous contributions for the five initiatives we outline below will deepen our congregation’s love for God, widen our love for each other, and live tall so we may be a beacon of hope to the community here where we are planted.
Please take a look below to see what MBC has in store for 2026.
Your Generosity
We are filled with joy for an incredible 2025 at MBC!
As we reflect on the remarkable year that has unfolded, we are overwhelmed with gratitude for your unwavering support. Thanks to your generosity, our sanctuary now boasts a state-of-the-art speaker system that enhances the worship experience for everyone who enters. The launch of the Awana children’s program marks a significant milestone in nurturing the spiritual growth of our youngest members. “Contend,” our first ever apologetics conference, was a resounding success, providing a platform for intellectual exploration and equipping us for cultural engagement. The inception of our first ALPHA course has already begun, and we launched our first wave of Divorcecare, and we are excited about the journey ahead. With your support, our digital outreach has flourished, gaining new YouTube subscribers and introducing shorts and inspiring youth podcasts to a wider audience. Your contributions enabled a group of young adults to attend the transformative Passion Conference, fostering spiritual growth and community. Additionally, we are proud to announce a meaningful partnership with “Young Lives,” supporting teenage mothers as they navigate the challenges of parenthood. Your impact is immeasurable, and we extend our heartfelt appreciation for making these endeavors possible.
Firmly Planted
Strategy One: Strengthen the MBC Discipleship System
- Develop and Expand the Discipleship Cluster: This initiative builds a healthy discipleship leadership community through monthly cluster gatherings focused on prayer, collaboration, and shared learning. By the end of Year 1, we will finalize a clear discipleship framework and implementation plan that unifies our ministries around a common vision for spiritual growth.
- Evaluate and Refine MBC Discipleship Programs: We will complete a church-wide evaluation of all discipleship environments using tools like the Discipleship Spaces Inventory. Quarterly reviews will help us stay effective and aligned. By Year 1, we will present a refined plan for adult education and small groups. Over the following years, we aim to launch new discipleship opportunities, expand small-group leadership, introduce an online formation portal, pilot a “Discipleship Lab,” and help half the congregation complete spiritual gift assessments. This also includes developing a clear discipleship pathway for new believers.
- Implement a Discipleship Assessment Tool and Customized Growth Plans: By the end of Year 2, we will launch a discipleship assessment to help individuals identify their next steps. Our goal is for at least 50% of active attendees to complete it by Year 3. We will also create a simple discipleship plan for new believers and offer personalized growth pathways to at least 30% of the congregation.
- Grow the Radical Mentoring Program: We will expand the men’s Radical Mentoring program by increasing leadership and participation each year. In parallel, we will design and launch a women’s mentoring pathway—through Radical Mentoring, Growing Together, or another trusted model—by the end of Year 3.
- Equip All Ministry Leaders to Be Disciple-Makers: This initiative focuses on raising up leaders who invest in others. We will explore training opportunities and encourage every ministry leader to disciple an apprentice. By Year 1 leaders complete core training, by Year 2 each identifies someone to disciple, and by Year 3 those disciples begin investing in others—creating a multiplying culture of growth.
Strategy Two: Explore Educational Expansion Opportunities at MBC
- Conduct Research and a Feasibility Study for an MBC Theological Certificate Program: We will explore potential models, partners, and curriculum options to determine if a church-based theological certificate program is the right next step for MBC.
- Present a Certificate Program Plan by the End of Year 2: After research is completed, we will present a clear, structured proposal outlining the vision, design, and cost of a potential certificate program.
- Explore Additional Educational Partnerships: We will pursue partnerships with organizations such as Virtues Campus or Faith Center for the Arts to expand learning opportunities for students, creatives, and young adults.
- Resource MBC Through Book Resources: We will curate recommended authors by the end of Year 1 and recruit a volunteer team to lead the bookstore effort. By Year 2, we plan to have a functioning system and stocked inventory. By Year 3, we aim to launch an online store and Amazon-based reading list to make discipleship resources accessible to the entire church.
Cultivating the Christian Life!
In the realm of spiritual formation, this year has been nothing short of transformative. Our journey on Sunday mornings has taken us through Ecclesiastes, Philippians, Ephesians 6 (Spiritual Warfare), the Psalms, and Ezra Nehemiah and has offered profound insights, fostering a deeper understanding of Scripture and its relevance to our lives. The launch of numerous new small groups has created intimate spaces for fellowship, prayer, and shared spiritual growth, connecting members in meaningful ways. Our adult education program has flourished, providing intellectual and spiritual nourishment with the introduction of a new course on church history and an enlightening seminar on the book of Joshua. These initiatives have not only broadened our knowledge but have also ignited a collective passion for continuous learning and spiritual exploration.
Growing Together
Strategy One: Implement a Comprehensive Assimilation Strategy
- Strengthen Follow-Up with Newcomers: We aim to ensure that newcomers feel seen and welcomed quickly. Our goal is to follow up with at least 90% of first-time visitors within two weeks of attending, creating a simple but meaningful first touchpoint that encourages ongoing connection.
- Track and Improve Visitor Retention: This initiative focuses on monitoring the journey of new attendees over 6- and 12-month periods. By measuring retention trends, we can better understand how effectively people are integrating into church life and identify where additional support or connection may be needed.
- Practice the “3-Minute Rule” Church-Wide: To cultivate a welcoming culture, ministry leaders will intentionally seek out newcomers within the first three minutes after each service—before greeting familiar faces. Monthly accountability helps reinforce this habit, ensuring that hospitality becomes a natural rhythm of church life.
- Launch a “Connection Coach” Ministry: We will develop a team of trained Connection Coaches—lay leaders or elder shepherds—who walk alongside newcomers during their first 3–6 months at MBC. These coaches will help individuals find community, navigate ministries, and build meaningful relationships during their early season with us.
- Preach Regularly on Belonging and Community: At least twice a year, the preaching calendar will include messages centered on connection, unity, and dismantling isolation or cliques. These sermons help reinforce our shared responsibility to create a welcoming, others-focused culture.
- Launch a Pastor’s Small Group for Newcomers: By the end of Year 2, we will begin a recurring small group designed specifically for newcomers, led by pastoral staff. This environment—supplemented by informal meetups like lunches or breakfasts—will help new attendees build relationships with leadership and one another.
- Expand Bridge Offerings: “The Bridge”, our introductory environment for those new or exploring MBC, will increase to six gatherings per year. These bi-monthly offerings create consistent opportunities for people to learn our story and take their next step into community.
- Increase Membership Class Opportunities: We will offer membership classes twice yearly, in the Fall and Spring, while also exploring options for a digital or hybrid membership class to make the process more accessible for busy schedules.
- Increase Connection Events Throughout the Year: To foster deeper belonging, we will grow from one to three annual connection events. These “Belonging Events” will bring long-time members and newer attendees together for meals, stories, bonfires, and shared activities—offering regular, relational on-ramps throughout the year.
Strategy Two: Expand Counseling and Care Ministries
- Launch a Support Group for Families and Teens: By the end of Year 1, we will launch a new support group for families and teens experiencing challenges, led by Johnny Graves. This ministry aims to offer encouragement, tools, and Christ-centered care.
- Increase Support Group Offerings: We will expand our care environments by exploring groups such as Celebrate Recovery and offering GriefShare two to three times per year, beginning in Year 2. Using “Blue Christmas” events as entry points, our goal is to grow GriefShare participation by 50% over three years.
- Launch a Year-Round Visitation Ministry: A dedicated visitation ministry will begin by the end of Year 1, providing consistent support to those who are homebound or in crisis. We aim to increase care-team volunteer participation by 50% by Q4 2025.
- Expand Stephen Ministry Assignments: To meet the growing needs of our congregation, we will increase Stephen Ministry assignments by 25%, with a particular focus on raising up more male caregivers.
- Initiate MBC Pulse Surveys: We will periodically assess the emotional, spiritual, and mental health of our church through MBC Pulse surveys. These insights will help connect individuals with the right support—whether small groups, counseling, or specialized care ministries.
- Promote Biblical Counseling Training for Laypeople: We will explore and recommend training opportunities—such as those offered by the Association of Biblical Counselors (ABC)—so that lay leaders can be equipped to offer wise, grounded, gospel-centered care.
Strategy Three: Expand On-Campus Connection Spaces
- Create New Indoor and Outdoor Gathering Spaces: To encourage organic connection, we will identify and develop two new gathering spaces by the end of Year 3. Potential ideas include a firepit fellowship area, an outdoor café near the YFMB, “Porch Talks” seating spaces, or a garden/park near the Education Building.
- Expand the Welcome Center into a Full Connection Center: By transforming the Welcome Center into a more interactive Connection Center, we aim to help attendees more easily navigate the MBC App, discover ministries, and find next steps. These upgrades will be completed by the end of Year 3.
Strategy Four: Enhance Digital Engagement
- Launch a “Connections Podcast”: We will introduce a monthly podcast highlighting MBC members, ministries, and stories. Ongoing engagement metrics will help us refine and grow its reach.
- Improve Photo Directory Accuracy: Our goal is to increase the accuracy and completeness of the church photo directory by 50% by the end of Year 2, strengthening community connections.
- Enable Live Online Chat During Services: By the end of Year 2, we will add a moderated live chat feature to online services, allowing digital attendees to receive prayer, ask questions, and build connections in real time.
- Send Quarterly Digital Invitations to Events: Beginning in Year 2, the church will send quarterly digital invitations to encourage online participants to attend in-person gatherings and take relational next steps.
- Increase Online-to-In-Person Engagement: Through intentional communication and follow-up, we aim to increase digital-to-physical engagement by 20% by the end of Year 3.
- Research Best Digital Ministry Practices: We will evaluate leading digital tools and platforms—such as CHOP, Church Online Platform, Discipleship IQ, and Moodle—to strengthen online ministry and discipleship.
- Add Digital Resource Tutorials: To help our congregation navigate digital tools, we will produce simple “how-to” video tutorials covering the MBC App, online groups, livestream access, and more.
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Made to Multiply
Strategy One: Develop a Robust Disability Ministry Program
- Build a Cross-Ministry Disability Leadership Team: We will assemble a Disability Leadership Team made up of leaders from kids, teens, care, hospitality, and outreach ministries. Beginning in Fall 2025, this team will meet regularly to guide implementation, align ministries, and cultivate a unified disability-focused culture. Team members will explore shared learning opportunities such as the Disability and the Church Conference and work through key resources like Accessible Church together.
- Partner with Joni and Friends for Church-Wide Mindset Shifts: In Year 1, MBC will partner with Joni and Friends to help shape a church-wide vision for disability inclusion. This partnership includes bi-monthly coaching calls, developing ministry-wide disability guidelines, and planning a “Disability Awareness Sunday” tied to a message or sermon series. The team will also create a disability intake form to better understand congregational needs and complete a comprehensive facility audit by Spring 2026 to identify needed improvements.
- Create Service and Connection Opportunities for Families Affected by Disability: Over Years 2 and 3, we will launch new relational and support-oriented environments both inside MBC and in the broader community. These include a quarterly “Disability Dads” group—with potential to expand— a quarterly “Parents’ Night Out / Respite” program for families, and a “5:1 Care Ministry” that connects families with trained support partners. We will also survey local schools, hospitals, and the VA in Basking Ridge to learn how MBC can better serve disability needs in our community.
- Develop Training on Disability Ethics and Care: By Year 3, MBC will launch a training program focused on genetic and disability ethics, with reproducible resources that can be used church-wide. This topic will be included annually in the preaching calendar, and long-term vision includes creating a regional “Center for Disability” to equip churches within our denomination and beyond.
Strategy Two: Cultivate a Mindset Shift Toward Evangelism and Outreach
- Build and Empower a Local Outreach Team: By Spring 2026, we will recruit a Local Outreach Team to serve as champions for outreach initiatives. This group will generate ideas, support implementation, and help small group leaders incorporate outreach into their rhythms. A short sermon series will accompany an outreach campaign to inspire and motivate the congregation toward evangelistic engagement.
- Offer Ongoing Training and Outreach Courses: From Years 1–3, we will roll out a rotating calendar of training programs such as Colson Fellows, Christianity Explored, and Tactics. Our goal is to train 25+ people through the Colson Fellows Affiliate Program and to run Christianity Explored—or an equivalent course—twice annually at strategic times.
- Build Strategic Community Partnerships: We will form partnerships that help MBC meaningfully serve local needs. This includes creating a Charter Day outreach team and designing follow-up opportunities, hosting a 175th Anniversary community event, assessing needs in nursing homes and retirement communities, and collaborating with local partners like the VA through leaders such as Yvonne Lai.
- Implement Church-Wide Outreach Initiatives: Each year, MBC will host one large event that mobilizes a significant portion of the congregation—such as a Summer Fest-style gathering. Additionally, we will develop more consistent monthly service opportunities through partnerships like City Relief to meet ongoing needs in our region.
- Create On-Ramp Activities for Non-Christians: We will design welcoming, low-barrier environments that invite non-Christians to engage with MBC, such as a “Spiritual Movie Night,” professional seminars hosted by skilled attenders, and an annual Coffee House event featuring local artists and Ridge High School students. After each initiative, we will evaluate its effectiveness and refine accordingly.
- Launch “Underground Sessions on the Road”: In partnership with Ratio Christi, we will take Underground Sessions to local college campuses. This begins by hosting Corey Miller for an outreach event at Rutgers or Princeton, followed by a Sunday sermon and a parent seminar in Spring 2026.
Strategy Three: Invest in Young Leaders, Under-Resourced Churches, and Global Missions
- Develop a Vocational Discipleship Mentoring Program: MBC will create a mentoring environment where seasoned professionals disciple high school students, college students, and young adults in understanding their work as mission. This includes launching intergenerational roundtable gatherings—such as within Band of Brothers—to foster conversations about calling and marketplace ministry.
- Support and Strengthen Local Churches Through Our Network: We will assess needs within the Venture Church Network Mid-Atlantic and support churches through training, consulting, revitalization, conferences, or church planting—wherever our resources can make the greatest impact.
- Expand Global Missions Engagement Through WorldVenture: MBC will deepen our partnership with WorldVenture by supporting their missionary training efforts and expanding our global missions footprint. This includes hosting a Missions Conference in Fall 2025 tied to our 175th Anniversary and encouraging a renewed call to missions from within our congregation, as well as beginning regular giving to WorldVenture’s Global Fund.
MBC 175th Anniversary
175th Annniversary
We are so excited that 2026 will be the 175th year of ministry at Millington Baptist Church! We are so amazed and grateful at God’s faithfulness over the past 175 years and we have an exciting year of events planned to honor all that the Lord has done through MBC since 1851.
175th Anniversary Calendar
- Anniversary Worship Service, Sunday, May 24th 2026 @10am
- Celebration Banquet, Thursday, November 12th, 2026 @Olde Mill Inn, Basking Ridge
- Anniversary Garden and Tree Planting Ceremony
- Missions Conference with WorldVenture, Fall 2026
- Summer Community Picnic & Outreach
Please ask God to guide your giving and consider making your best possible donation as an investment with us as we Plant Deep Roots in the Limitless Love of God.
Year End Giving for 2026


























