How can congregations faithfully engage in ministry with Millennials and Gen Z? In this episode, Dexter Nutall shares how New Bethel Church engages these generations. The church fosters belonging, social justice, and leadership, creating a welcoming and impactful community for young people.
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How can congregations faithfully engage in ministry with Millennials and Gen Z? In this episode, Dexter Nutall shares how New Bethel Church engages these generations. The church fosters belonging, social justice, and leadership, creating a welcoming and impactful community for young people.
Doug Powe: Welcome to Leading Ideas Talks, a podcast featuring thought leaders and innovative practitioners. I am Douglas Powe, the Director of the Lewis Center, and your host for this talk. Joining me is Reverend Dexter Nutall, the pastor of New Bethel Church. Our focus for this podcast is connecting with Millennials and Gen Z. Pastor Nutall, I’m so excited that you’re with us today, and getting the opportunity to hear some insights from the great work that you’re doing. So, thank you for joining us.
Dexter Nutall: Thank you so much for having me, it’s an honor to be with you. I’ve been looking forward to the conversation.
Doug Powe: And I want to begin the conversation just by having you share a brief description of the congregation in your ministry setting, particularly for those who are not familiar with the D.C. area.
Dexter Nutall: Absolutely. So, I have the privilege of serving as pastor at New Bethel Baptist Church, which is on 9th and S streets in Shaw, an area/neighborhood of Washington, D.C. called Shaw in Northwest. Shaw is historically a freed slave encampment, and so New Bethel has been there for one hundred and twenty-three to a hundred twenty-four years, always in the same place with the exception of a couple of years when we moved out of—moved off the corner—but stayed in the neighborhood because we were rebuilding the structure that we occupy now.
And that’s the only church that I have—not the only church that I’ve been a member of, I’ve been a member of other churches—but that’s the church of my childhood; church I was married in; church my parents were married in. And it’s an exciting time to be part of the New Bethel family.
Doug Powe: Thank you for that brief description. And one of the wonderful things about New Bethel is you’re near Howard University, and you’ve actually been very successful in connecting with the students at Howard. What are you doing to reach out to the students?
Dexter Nutall: The broad answer is continuing the legacy of the relationship that New Bethel has always had with Howard. Because of where New Bethel is and because of where Howard is, over the years there have been Howard students who have come and worshipped with New Bethel. Current Presidential candidate Kamala Harris attended New Bethel when she was in college at Howard University, and there’s always been a relationship based on proximity. But then there’s also always been a DNA, a justice DNA, a social justice DNA, that’s been part of New Bethel’s framework. My predecessor served in the United States Congress, Walter Fauntroy. He was part of the Free South Africa Movement and was one of the original planners for the March on Washington. And so, social justice has been a critical part of who New Bethel is and how it is that we’ve done ministry.
So, what I am doing is basically extending that legacy. I serve as the chaplain for Howard football—Go H.U. Bison! —and I have a daughter that attends Howard. We have several students that are from Howard as well as faculty members. And so, it’s kind of been an organic evolution, if you will, to where it is that we are now and connecting with the Howard family and considering how we’re part of our mission field.
Doug Powe: I appreciate what you’ve described and you’re being very kind. I know that you’ve had sort of an influx in the past few years of 100 to 150 younger people coming. I know they’re not all from Howard, but some of them are from Howard. So, as you think about that influx of young people coming to New Bethel, do you believe that the social justice emphasis is what has been a big part of it? Or what is it that you think that you are uniquely contributing that New Bethel all of a sudden has come on the map for these young people?
Dexter Nutall: I think it’s a combination of factors. So, I’m a native Washingtonian and D.C. is actually very small relationally. And so, I have practiced law and am an alum of Howard Law School. I’ve been involved with local D.C. activities, local D.C. politics, community engagement. And I think that the historical record and the outreach that we intentionally make—so that we can be present, so that we can be supportive—based on our own experiences (and I’m not just speaking about myself; I’m speaking about the entire congregation), I think it makes New Bethel a place that is not just receptive but inviting to young people.
We—not simply for the sake of young people as an audience, but as a community—we have five generations of people at New Bethel. And so, everybody brings something to the table. Everybody has something to contribute. Everybody has gifts that are important to the body. And we make room for not just participation, but even leadership for those who are of the Millennial and Gen Z generation because it makes us complete. It makes us better.
Doug Powe: Let’s talk a little bit more about that leadership, because I think that’s a piece that often I feel like congregations miss. That congregations will often talk about, you know, “We want young people to participate. We want them to be active.” But they want them to be active in a way that they’re seen, but not heard. And what you’re doing at New Bethel is you’re saying “No, no, no, we want you to be active, but we really do want you to participate in leadership.” So, how have you been able to work with the other generations to open up those spaces for the Millennials and Gen Z to participate in leadership?
Dexter Nutall: So, I think everybody has the reality that they deal with in the season of life that they’re in. And if we are going to be effective, I think it’s important that we honor wherever it is that people are in a stage or season of their lives. Understanding that there is a movement that God is making in and through them at that point in time. And that requires that we honor what it is that we all bring to the table. I guess the other thing is that from the standpoint of creating culture, and defining an environment that allows for people to grow, our vision for New Bethel is to be a church that is reclaiming the power of the first century church for the 21st century.
And so, when we talk about what’s going on in the 21st century, biblically you can find that in Acts chapter two. When we consider what it is that’s going on in the 21st century, and the impact of technology, the presence of all of the challenges that we are up against: the division, the separation, the anxiety that people are experiencing, the pandemic that we’ve gone through, all of those realities create either a situation where we can be separated from each other and kind of go into our own holes and be protective, or we can open up to one another and hear what it is that we all have to share and all of us have to say. We’ve chosen the latter, and we intentionally try to create that culture, right? So that vision is supported by a mission that’s real simple: “belong. believe. become.” And it’s in that order on purpose. In churches, often you will find that people have to go through a number of different “hoops” I’ll say for lack of a better term, before they’ll be received; before they’ll be accepted; before they can serve in a ministry; before—certainly before—they can have anything to do with leadership. And so, “You got to believe what we believe, you gotta do it the way we’ve always done it.” We say, “No. Belong first.” Belong. In the process of your belonging, you will interact; and come to believe; and develop faith and grow. And then when you do that, there’s this process of becoming that all of us are in throughout the course and series of our lives. So that’s supported by our core values, which we want to be lived out. And we want people to experience when they experience New Bethel, and I think that’s created a soil where people can grow.
Doug Powe: The belong, believe, become, I think is huge. And I just really want to highlight that. I think that you are a hundred percent correct. Many congregations focus on believing first and try to make people become something before they have an opportunity to sort of try it out, to sort of speak. And the fact that you all have created this ethos of hospitality for people to “belong” is fantastic. So, I just, as people listen, I just really want to highlight the work you’ve done and really focusing on the “belonging.”
I want to get into a couple of the sort of creative things you all are doing. And one of those is that you actually understand that many young people don’t drive. We all take it for granted, 16 you start driving, but particularly in the D.C. area, many young people don’t drive. So, you actually pay for ride shares for those needing it so they can get to and from the congregation. So how did you come up with this idea? And let me just ask the honest question: Isn’t that expensive?
Dexter Nutall: Well, here’s the thing. If you want people to engage with you, you have to make your space accessible. And we don’t want to assume that anybody is going to simply just come to the church because you’ve opened the doors. And so, part of the hospitality is a giving of yourself. So, one of the things that we have—I mentioned the core values—that actually come out of Acts chapter two, just as our vision and mission statements do, is generous giving. Biblical teaching, authentic worship, generous giving, intentional reconciliation, transformational fellowship. Those are our values. And so, we want people to experience the generosity of God through God’s people. And so, it requires that you make an investment, right? It’s a … it’s a return on kingdom investment, for lack of a better term. I’ll put it that way. And I think people become open when they realize that you actually care and are willing to give feet to the faith and give expression to what it is that you say that you believe.
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Doug Powe: It’s a fantastic ministry, I have to say. And I want to talk about another ministry you’re doing and return to something you mentioned earlier coming out of the pandemic in particular, and anxiety that people are feeling. You were doing a podcast, or are probably still doing a podcast, where you actually engage the young people, and it’s an opportunity for them to express their concerns and questions and just have a dialogue where it’s not sort of preaching at them but being in conversation with them. Can you share how that started and sort of what your goals were in creating this ministry?
Dexter Nutall: Well, the podcast is called Saved-ish. We are a historically Black church, and so it’s a play on Black-ish, right? The television show Black-ish. And it, it was born out of conversation. I, I just, I try to keep one eye on scripture, and one eye on what’s going on in the world. Maybe I shouldn’t say one eye, maybe one finger, right? Cause I can’t have one eye. You know what I’m saying.
So, I like to hear what it is that people are thinking about, and our young adults have an open-door policy with me. And so, creativity and innovation is one of the unstated values that we have. And I probably should say that because it allows for people to flow freely with their ideas, and with their thoughts, and with their questions, and with their doubts, not just within the parameters of what, you know, has normally been considered what we do in church. So that has resulted in a number of ministries being born, one of which was the Saved-ish podcast. And I do not … that’s the space for the young adults. There is a role that I have in the podcast and I am part of the podcast, but there are separate recordings that we do so that they can have free conversation and flow among themselves about these issues in the context of day-to-day life as it looks for them. And then Pastor D. sort of comes in a tag on with a P.S. to whatever it is that was the issue in that prior podcast, and that’s how Saved-ish was born. And so, we continue to move that forward, and it’s been a really impactful ministry in cause causing people to think and, more importantly, creating a safe space for people to talk and have conversation.
Doug Powe: And I don’t know if you know the answer to this, but I imagined that other young people have heard this podcast and that has actually helped again—going back to what we talked about earlier—and people seeing New Bethel as a place where they actually can belong. Is that a fair statement?
Dexter Nutall: Absolutely. 100%. So many times, there are conversations that are not to be had. It’s almost you are to be seen and not heard. It’s almost like sitting the kids at the little table at the holiday dinner over on the side while the adults sit at the big table and talk about big people things. We did a Bible study a few years ago and I called it Taboo. It was a Taboo—the Taboo series. And we talked about all of the issues, whatever it is that you can imagine, whatever it is that comes to mind for you, when you think of the term taboo in terms of conversation and topics, we talked about that in our Taboo Bible series. And again, it just creates space because the reality is that people have questions.
I’ve been pastoring at New Bethel for 15 years now, this is my 15th year. Grew up in church, church kid. I have questions. So, if we have questions as leaders, you can believe that those that we are serving have questions too. And we ought not shy away from that reality because that … in our questions and those conversations is where you find your spaces and places and opportunities for growth.
Doug Powe: Let me shift again here and let me ask, one of the other challenges I know I’ve heard other congregations and pastors talk about is, you know, “We might get some young people to come, but then we can’t keep them connected.” You’ve talked about, of course, the podcast is one ministry, but how do you keep the young people actually connected, you know, and not just come in the front door and go out the back door?
Dexter Nutall: Yeah. Oftentimes we approach what it is that we do in church and in ministry in a transactional kind of manner. I think that what people are looking for, young people, people who are not young anymore, are looking for, is relationship. And so, even—and I understand that the important—systems are critical and I’m a big believer in systems. I’m a big believer in organization and framework. But sometimes our ministry serves our organization and our framework rather than our organization and framework and system serving the ministry. At the end of the day, it’s about relationship. And so, what I see, what I envision when I read scripture and I—we—talk about Sermon on the Mount or we talk about any of the interactions that I see Jesus having with people, they’re conversations. And I think that what people are looking for is a sense that they are loved, that they are cared for, that they are important, that they have something that they have to offer. And when they find that, they gravitate toward it. And so, it’s the most powerful, one of the most powerful points in times of ministry for us at New Bethel is not during the worship experience—although authentic worship is one of our core values and I love our worship experience, it’s a very compelling experience and we’re very intentional in how it is that we curate it—but it’s after worship. When people have an opportunity to engage and sit in a pew when kids are running around after service as kids do. And there is so much sharing and ministry that takes place during that time.
That to me is how it is that people come to find that they are safe and in an environment that they want to be part of, and can contribute to and participate in. And one in which we can just be real about the realities of life. People can be encouraged. People can be prayed for. A lot of prayer takes place after benediction at New Bethel.
And so, it’s focusing on the relational components and understanding that when people experience that kind of love and that kind of care, they will trust you and they will engage in your systems and in your framework and not want to leave.
Doug Powe: Let me um go a little bit deeper with that, and I am really curious about this. I’ve been in some congregations where—you’re describing sort of the after the worship experience—that people sort of immediately go clamp on to new people or clamp, you know, the young people, and almost overwhelm them, if you understand what I’m describing. So, do you train individuals, or do you have certain individuals? Because I think there’s got to be a balancing act. You—like you said, I’m 100% with you. And I teach “Relationship is number one key to ministry.” But I also talk about … there is a space there where you’ve got to be careful because you can, you know, go and somebody can almost feel smothered if it’s not done properly. So, how do you sort of navigate that space?
Dexter Nutall: So, I think it’s an extension of how we think about worship and community and what role we play in that. And when I say we, in that context, I’m talking about those of us who are part of a congregation or those of us who are in leadership. There is a cliche that I use when I’m explaining my leadership style to people, and that is that I lead from a round table because I don’t … I don’t have all the answers and I don’t want people to feel like I am talking down to them. Because I need these conversations. So, that dynamic of what takes place after worship, like that’s great for me. Like, I need that, because somebody might say something to me that’s a blessing to my life. And so, we don’t highlight … guests and visitors, right? We don’t ask them to stand. After worship, we have ministers that are at the front of the podium available for prayer for those who want to take advantage of that support and that service.
We have groups—we have life groups—which are small groups that invite people in. It goes back to the belong proposition, right? The belong, believe, become. And we just, we really highlight, and I know I just talked about the relational versus the transactional, but that’s something that requires that we examine ourselves and understand—literally, I say this almost every Sunday—somebody might have been sent here, not for you to minister to them, but so that they can minister to you. That’s a different mindset. It causes you to engage differently. And so, we honor that. We honor that. And I think it’s more than just what it is that happens in the sanctuary on a Sunday morning worship experience. It’s the totality of the experience, understanding that people have experienced your community before they get there these days. They’ve … they know who you are, they probably know what you stand for. They understand that. They’re coming to see if their inclinations and their impressions are as accurate in person as they are on a screen, which is what the pandemic forced us to do.
Doug Powe: This has been fantastic for me, so I really appreciate it. And as we get ready to bring it to a close, let me ask you this last question: What advice would you have, particularly I think for smaller, medium—medium, and I’m using medium in this case around 75 to 100— where they have a few younger people, but not a lot and are trying to build that ministry? What advice would you give them to really build up their ministry with young people?
Dexter Nutall: Listen. Listen. We, we have, all of us have our own thoughts and ideas about how things should work. And that is seasoned by the experiences that we’ve had. I think it is an incredible opportunity that the church has in this season. But it requires that we understand that God is moving in ways that God has not moved before. And you can never experience God in ways that you haven’t until you understand and are open to the reality that God might be doing something in a way that I’ve never seen God do it.
So, I could talk about this all day. The pandemic, one of the things that the pandemic revealed to us, and it’s true of the younger generation, is that they are exposed to more, faster, sooner, earlier in life. If God is as big as we say that God is, God has to be in that. God has to be in those spaces, even if I have not been. So let me listen to hear what it is that those who are in that space, and for whom those things are a reality, have to say. And let’s talk then about how it is that we can bring that into the context of a mission that’s bigger than what it is that we do, how it is that we have always done it.
Because God is still saving. God is still healing. God is still moving. God is still God. And so, my answer to that question would be listen.
Doug Powe: Well, thank you so much. This has been wonderful. And I know that there will be many who will really find this valuable as they think about doing ministry.
Dexter Nutall: I’m excited about it. Thank you so much. It’s been great to chat with you. I’m looking forward to the future.
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