WESTMONT, IL—InterVarsity Press has signed a contract with Nancy Beach and her daughter, Samantha Beach Kiley, for the spring 2022 release of their coauthored book tentatively titled Next Sunday: A Mother/Daughter Dialogue on the Future of the Church.
Ethan McCarthy, associate editor for IVP said, “Nancy and Samantha’s book promises to be a fascinating look at American evangelicalism from a multigenerational perspective. At IVP, we’re committed not only to the continual reassessment of where the church has come from, but also to looking together in hope to where it’s going. Next Sunday promises to do both.”
Next Sunday will provide a window into the perspectives of a Baby Boomer mother and her Millennial daughter as they examine what elements will be required for churches to thrive going forward. Nancy, a Boomer, was a key player in the megachurch movement that revolutionized global ministry during the eighties and nineties, while Samantha, a Millennial, is willing to abandon those massive buildings and celebrity cultures to see if the foundation holds. The goal of Next Sunday is to spark further dialogue and offer hope to men and women who care deeply about the church but are anxious about its future.
Nancy Beach has long been a champion for artists and leaders in the local church. As a part of launching the youth group of Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago, Nancy served as the programming director, building a community of artists who sought to create transformational moments in Sunday morning services. She was also a pioneer, serving as the first woman leader on the church’s management team and as the first female teaching pastor. With a front row seat and as a contributing voice for designing church with the “unchurched” in mind, Nancy became a global influencer, speaker, and author as other church leaders sought to learn from Willow Creek’s experience.
Nancy currently serves as a leadership coach with the Slingshot Group, helping church leaders and teams flourish in life and ministry. She also continues to teach at conferences and workshops for both artists and women in leadership and serves on the teaching team at Soul City Church in downtown Chicago. She is the author of An Hour on Sunday: Creating Moments of Transformation and Wonder (Zondervan, 2004) and Gifted to Lead: The Art of Leading as a Woman in the Church (Zondervan, 2008).
“Although I’ve known of Nancy Beach’s pastoral and literary work for many years, it was in the fall of 2019, when I heard her speak at a publishing conference on the future of the church, that I took notice in a new, earnest way,” Jeff Crosby, IVP’s publisher, said. “I came away from hearing that message not with a sense of despair but, rather, with a renewed hope and a vision for the questions not only those in church leadership but all of us who care about the church need to ask ourselves, reflect on, and respond to. Adding Samantha Beach Kiley’s voice through the mother/daughter, multigenerational dialogue was icing on the cake. Two wise and winsome people coming together to craft an important message for our day. I’m genuinely delighted and honored to be publishing this important work in the days ahead.”
Samantha Beach Kiley is an Austin-based writer and performer working at the intersection of art and faith. Samantha’s acting experience includes theater, voice-over, spoken word performance, and television. As a teaching artist, Sam works to encourage creativity, promote collaboration, and instill confidence in young people. She has taught at Northwestern’s National High School Institute and Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre, where she is the codirector of education. Currently, she works as a storytelling consultant for churches and nonprofits and is the creative arts pastor at Austin New Church.
Samantha’s plays have been produced in professional and educational settings and, most recently, in family rooms and children’s hospitals with the national tour of her miniature show, We the W(h)ee. Her YouTube video “Psalm 23 & Me” was shared widely and garnered tens of thousands of views on social media and youtube.com in early 2020. Samantha is writing a new musical and is a creative freelance writer serving a variety of churches. Her plays include The Snare, Thing 100, We the W(h)ee, and Mill Girls.
