Bellevue’s vision of being a catalyst for the Gospel is a movement that’s being spearheaded by the next generation. Through intentional discipleship, practical evangelism training, and life-changing experiences like missions projects and summer camps, students aren’t just learning about the Great Commission—they’re living it out.
This was the case for Crystal Fabacher and her daughter Lainey, who recently traveled to Nicaragua June 21–28 for a missions project with Middle School Ministry. What began as a structured itinerary quickly turned into an experience that forced the missions team to be fully dependent on the Lord.
“We had our own plan of what we thought we were going to do,” Crystal said. “But the Lord definitely had a different plan.”
When the original goal of visiting local schools to share the love of Christ unexpectedly fell through, the team shifted to door-to-door evangelism in the neighborhoods—something that stretched many of the middle schoolers far beyond their comfort zones. With parents guiding them, the students led the way in sharing the Gospel, often pushing through nerves to boldly speak about Jesus to strangers.
“It was so fun to have a front-row seat to watch these middle schoolers serve out the Great Commission,” Crystal said. “Even though some were nervous to the point of tears, they still did it every time. Watching them gave me so much hope for the next generation.”
For Lainey, the trip was a deeply personal journey of dependence on God, and she learned to trust the Lord for direction each day.
“We were like, ‘Lord, what are we going to do?’” Lainey said. “But it showed me how powerful the Lord is and how even in Nicaragua, He’s with us.”
From early morning worship on the bus and canvassing neighborhoods to leading Vacation Bible School and celebrating revival night with hundreds in attendance, Lainey saw God at work.
“This trip really opened my eyes to opportunities back at home that we kind of just look over,” Lainey said. “Mission Memphis, Bellevue Loves Memphis, and even simple ones like sharing the Gospel with a waiter at a restaurant.”
The impact of this trip didn’t stop when the team returned to Memphis. Lainey immediately signed up for Bellevue’s Send Out Training to continue learning how to live on mission in her daily life. Crystal’s entire family has been inspired by Bellevue’s vision, with her younger children now eager to go on future missions projects.
“Bellevue has created programs that don’t just train kids—they excite them about serving the Lord,” Crystal said. “They equip us on how to share the Gospel and create a community that wants to be on fire for the Lord.”
This kind of spiritual hunger isn’t limited to international missions projects. While Crystal and Lainey were in Nicaragua, Crystal’s oldest daughter, Adelaide, witnessed life-change right here in the U.S. during High School Ministry’s Beach Week.
Adelaide had attended this camp before, but this year was different. She felt the Lord’s presence wash over her throughout the week and witnessed four of her close friends get baptized.
“It was such an incredible moment to see because I’ve known them for years, and I could see how the Lord really worked through their lives up to this point of them getting baptized,” Adelaide said. “You could just feel the presence of like the Lord every single night, and some of our friends that didn’t go to Beach Week saw how everyone came back different.”
Determined not to let their spiritual momentum fade, Adelaide and her friends have formed daily accountability groups to keep each other grounded in God’s Word and prayer.
“We talked a lot about how we don’t want to just stay on a spiritual high and then go downhill,” Adelaide said. “We want this to be something that lasts for the rest of our lives.”
This kind of intentional, long-term spiritual growth is exactly what Adelaide has learned from her church community. At Bellevue, the focus extends far beyond temporary spiritual experiences to building disciples who will impact others for generations to come.
“Bellevue really emphasizes going and sharing the Gospel in your everyday life—your school, your sports, your neighborhood—and making those your mission field,” Adelaide said. “I feel like a lot of times, other churches are more focused on a self-centered perspective like, ‘How am I going to be better?’ and Bellevue really focuses on ‘How can I grow so that I can pour into others?’ They’ve given us the tools to be disciples that make disciples.”
One thing is clear: Bellevue is intentionally raising up the next generation not just to know the Gospel, but to share it. Next Gen students are being equipped to make an eternal difference right now. At Bellevue, living on mission starts young, and it never stops.
Learn more about how Bellevue is discipling the next generation in their faith at bellevue.org/next-gen.