The Global Leadership Summit

Our New Home

2010-02-24T07:22:00.000-08:00

It is with great excitement that we would like to announce our new blog home. International GLS stories will be combined with stories from US leaders. Also coming soon will be leadership tips from WCA leaders, Summit speakers, stories on crucial church topics and much more. We are so excited to announce this blog and hope you will check it out.

www.wcagls.blogspot.com

Thanks to you all as you've followed us throughout The GLS this fall. It has been quite an adventure and we are grateful you have taken it with us. We are looking forward to sharing even more of the journey with you in months to come!

"The best leadership conference yet in Germany..."

2010-02-01T07:43:00.000-08:00

So said Bill Hybels at the close of the 2010 German Leadership Summit. Final numbers are still forthcoming, but an estimate of 8300 German and Swiss leaders were impacted by this life-changing event. Here is a report from Marty O'Connor, one of our representatives in the field.

Friends,

“O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven or on earth—You who keep your covenant of love with Your servants who continue wholeheartedly in Your way.”

I’m missing words… don’t have a word(s) to describe how God showed up here. That’s one of the ways I know God was in the house… I’m at a loss for words.

Last night, I spend an hour with a couple of world church leaders who described this conference as one of the most powerful events in Germany… in the nations in this area. It’s estimated that at least another dozen nations were here. Dozens of denominations. “This (conference) will impact generations” one leader said. There is an entire seminary here… profs too! They are here because of one student who attend this conference two years ago went back and lived what he learned… then when asked, he spoke. The theme repeated after the conference was “this changed my life!”

Bill said in his last session he thought this was the best leadership conference yet in Germany. Bill has made a commitment to have the team return again in two years!

One church leader said, “we’re writing church history”
Your prayers have helped write the history of the church in this part of the world… thanks for being a part of the team. What we do together none of us could do alone! We did it together by God’s grace and anointing!

For His fame!
Auf Wiedersehen

Marty O'Connor

Just from hearing this, you can imagine all the incredible ministry which happened here for church leaders who don't always have access to the world-class leadership teaching that the Summit provides. These leaders will truly never be the same.

Some quotes and pictures:

Via facebook:

"I attended the conference in Karlsruhe with 26 christians from my church and I´m sure, that we all left the conference touched, motivated and with a reshaped vision. Thank you Willow Creek for serving us." ~Michael Schulze

"Let me tell you, it was an overwhelming expierence. Seeing the Holy Spirit at work at least in my own life. Thank you very much!" ~Rainer Horn

"Be sure that you've truly impacted me. Thank you for coming to Germany again and again. Thank you for being so obedient to God. May He reward you a hundred times." ~Kirsten Seitz

our Swiss satellite site

Day 1: The German Leadership Summit

2010-01-28T17:37:00.001-08:00

Today, 8300+ German and Swiss leaders have been envisioned, equipped and inspired. From the reports at the site, as soon as the doors to the venue opened, these enthusiastic leaders literally ran to grab the best seats for the packed line-up they had to look forward to. Here is a report and some pictures sent by Marty O'Connor, one of our representatives there:

Friends,

Day 1 is done… 4 sessions completed.

The Psalmist says it this way in Psalm 75…
We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your Name is near; men tell of your wonderful deeds.

God was in the house here in German and in Switzerland!

Worship, Drama…
Hybels,
Jessica Jackley,
Dr. Fredmund Malik,
… and we finished with Craig Groeschel.

What a sight and a gift to see this. The place is FULL. This HUGE barn is full! The teams have stepped up to the plate today… across the board. Sound, lights, video, streaming, graphic and the stage teams. People were blessed… I was blessed. What a good day… thanks for partnering with us in prayer… God heard and answered!

BIG day tomorrow… John Ortberg, Nancy Beach and Larry Crabb.
Please continue to pray…

Blessings from Karlsruhe,

Marty

Check in again tomorrow for a full report on all God has done here...

The German Leadership Summit

2010-01-26T08:15:00.000-08:00

Today, 8300 German and Swiss leaders are preparing for the Leadership Summit taking place in Karlsruhe, Germany and at a satellite site in Winterthur Switzerland. Our teams in the US and in Germany have been working to prepare for this event for months now, and they are so excited as the registrations pour in. Below are a couple pictures from the empty venue our tech teams are preparing.

These seats will soon be filled with eager German leaders. Will you pray that God will encourage and equip each one of them? Watch this space for more updates. Or, if you are on twitter, you can check the hashtag #lk2010 for tweets directly from the attendees.

We can't wait to see what God will do.

Haiti Update

2010-01-15T07:54:00.001-08:00

Praise God. According to an update we just received from our US partners who help with the work we do in Haiti, all involved with the Global Leadership Summit are alive and well. Pastor Jeanty, who leads the Global Leadership Summit, and his family are all accounted for. There are, however, members of Pastor Jeanty's church who are still missing. We ask your continued prayers for them.

Check the above link for more detailed information on the situation in Haiti. They are able to get information directly from their partners on the ground and are updating this page regularly with information.

For church leaders who wonder how best to respond to this situation, tune in to the conference call being hosted by WorldVision along with Bill Hybels and Max Lucado. There will be a Haiti update and tips on how best to mobilize your church to help in this devastating situation.

We are so grateful to God that our friends in Haiti are accounted for and safe. Keep praying for all those who are injured and awaiting aid.

Haiti

2010-01-13T14:56:00.001-08:00

We were heart-broken to hear of the news of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. We are waiting for word from our partners in Haiti. Until we have further news on their well-being, we wanted to leave you with this, a glimmer of light on this dark day. This video, taped at the GLS in 2007 paints a beautiful picture of the hope that we have for Haiti. With God's power, we believe this vision can be realized, even still.

The GLS 2009 Comes to a Successful Close...

2010-01-11T14:34:00.000-08:00

We hope you all had a blessed Christmas season and a very happy New Year.

With the exception of a couple more events, the 2009 GLS season has come to a close. We are so grateful for all the work God has done in and through this ministry and we continue to see the stories of those impacted pour in. Now that the GLS is through, keep checking this space as we will continue to tell those very stories.

Here is a taste of what is coming in the next couple months:

A Namibian pastor who caught the Summit vision and the continued impact the GLS is having on his church and community.
The state of the church in Brazil and what the GLS is doing in this increasingly secular society.
The GLS through the eyes of a couple of videographers travelling on behalf of the WCA in southeast Asia filming the GLS.
And much more as the stories of life transformation continue to pour in...

We are so grateful you have taken this journey with us this fall and we can't wait to see how God will use this ministry to advance his Kingdom. Keep checking back here for all those stories...

A Merry Christmas Wish

2009-12-22T11:22:00.000-08:00

Before a little Christmas break on the GLS blog, we wanted to wish you and yours a blessed Christmas season and a very Happy New Year. We have been grateful to be a part of your lives this fall.

We thought we would leave you with this short video clip from twitterer and blogger @loswhit. A beautiful worship moment depicting cultures spontaneously coming together to worship one God. This clip captures the true spirit of Christmas, God With Us. Our wish for you is that you will experience God With Us directly in some way this Christmas.

We hope this blesses you today.

Filipino Church Planters Equipped at The GLS

2009-12-16T07:12:00.000-08:00

From an email coming from Clovis Hill Community Church in Fresno, California:

We have a relationship with two pastors in the Philippines and we are helping to plant some churches there. Out of the missions budget we sent the pastors to the Global Summit. Though expensive for them, it costs only $17 per person registration and $25 for hotel nights. Quite affordable for us to send them. It is our desire that those in under resourced areas would have the same training we are blessed to have at Clovis Hills. No less for them — we are partners in Kingdom work.

See his response:

My beloved in the Lord, God is really good all the time. We are so thankful and blessed by what have been wonderfully and tremendously unexpected once in a life time kind of experience to be apart in these Global Leadership Summit. We learned a lot of things related to my leadership as a church planter and of course how to manage a local church. I and my wife, Pastor Albert and his wife Joy, wants to thank you for your generosity, and desire for us to be trained and equipped so that we could be able to do the work of God more easy and more effective. We learned so much from the speakers, Bill Hybels, he taught leading in a new reality; Wayne Cordero, teaches dead leader running, Harvey Carey, teaches against all odds, Dr. Wess stafford, of Compassion International he teached leveraging your past and many others. This conference contributed so much knowledge in our work in the ministry especially serving the Lord in doing church planting. We believe this is not just the beginning and the last conference of Global Leadership Summit, as far as we know they are holding every year in the Philippines. Glory be to God and yes of course, we are thankful about it. God bless you all.

Thanks,
Ptr. Ding and Family

The GLS Equips and Envisions Its Volunteers

2009-12-14T10:46:00.000-08:00

In addition to the church leaders the GLS serves through the conferences, there is an unseen force at work behind the scenes of the GLS. A force without which we could never do what we do. This force is the volunteer core who executes the events in each country. Every event has a group of dedicated volunteers, some who work year-round, to produce the GLS. A remarkable symbiosis results. This is one of those stories.

When Anton Radoslavov was asked to serve as the technical director for the first GLS in Bulgaria in 2007, he was a little surprised by the detailed instructions he received from the WCA. After all, he worked as a producer and technician for a national Christian TV and radio station. He knew what he was doing. But as he soon discovered, the level of excellence expected in his country, especially for Christian events, was nowhere near what it could be. Working together with WCA representatives Marty O'Connor and Ulf Osterlund, Anton and his team were inspired to offer up their best in service to God and the Church.

This has created a seismic shift in Anton’s approach to ministry. No longer does he view himself as just a technician, but rather an instrument used by God to help communicate the vision, inspiration, and skill development that so many pastors and leaders in Bulgaria desperately need. God can use him to help redeem and restore his country. Realizing this has changed everything for him, he was looking for additional opportunities to fuel his passion and serve the Kingdom. In May 2009, Anton volunteered on the technical team for WCA’s Student Ministries Conference in Nuremberg, Germany. Together, with more than 50 volunteers from around the world, Anton and this team served more than 4,000 student leaders looking to get better at reaching the next generation for Christ in Germany. According to Anton, “It was an awesome experience that gave me a taste of heaven, a place where you are serving exactly as you were created to be.” Returning to Bulgaria, he felt a very real, but quiet confirmation from the Holy Spirit that he was living life to its fullest.

The GLS in Congo

2009-12-09T07:25:00.000-08:00

In a country marred by unrest, civil war and unspeakable atrocity, the first ever Global Leadership Summit in Kinshasa, Congo was a great success by all accounts. On November 13-14, 2009, The GLS served 1100 Congolese church leaders, inspiring and equipping them to do God's work in a country scarred by decades of a brutal civil war.

The Democratic Republic of Congo lies in Central Africa. Having been marked deeply in the early to mid twentieth century by colonialism, the DRC gained independence from Belgium in 1960. Shortly thereafter, military leaders violently seized power of the new nation, renaming it Zaire and beginning a period of social unrest and civil war which lasted four plus decades. Humanitarian atrocities which resulted have largely been regarded as one of the biggest crises in modern Africa. A second round of civil war began in 1998 and has claimed 5.4 million people through fighting, disease and starvation. AIDS has left its mark as well. Due to the disproportionate amount of people dying from this disease, the average life expectancy in the DRC is a mere 54 years. The disastrous effects of these forces have left their scar on the Congolese people, the country, and its infrastructure. But, through all of this strife, the Church in this war-torn country is on the move.

70-80% of Congolese people identify themselves as either Roman Catholic or Christian. Most churches are small, about 300 people or so serving a small section of the community where they are located. The pastors are bi-vocational as churches generally cannot afford to pay a salary. Church leaders in Congo are desperate for leadership development. When exploring the possibility of a Congo site last Spring, Gary Schwammlein heard first hand from the Congolese church leaders that they are in desperate need of leadership development. As a result, the first GLS in the DRC was held this fall, the full results of which we will only see in Heaven.

Aliece Hendricks, Executive Director of International Conferences at WCA International attended the Congo GLS. Below are some of her pictures and impressions during her trip. Despite some early challenges due partly to the poor infrastructure of the country, The GLS in Congo was a huge success.

"We were not able to source the equipment [projector especially] we needed for the GLS in the Congo so we brought it from S Africa, the team made a screen the size that we needed and were ingenious in helping us figure out how to hang it.. they have limited technical resources but use what they have to the full extent as challenging as it can be."

Congolese workers lifting the screen.

The day before the event, there were only 200 registered for the event. On the day of the event, 900 extra people arrived, excited and ready to be inspired. As you can imagine, this caused quite a problem for our event management volunteers as they scrambled to provide all the notebooks, food and supplies needed for a surprise 900 guests. After much hard work, every guest was served, and everyone was so grateful for our volunteers who worked so hard to make it all work. In Hendricks' words "really a fishes and loaves event".

The Congolese people were so convinced of the power of an event like this, they had a full intercessory prayer team which undergirded the event with prayer. A full three weeks before the event, they were praying for the success of the event and its impact on the Kingdom's in Congo. The Congolese are faithful prayer warriors, and they believe part of the reason God blessed the event as he did was as a result of their committed efforts.

The GLS in Congo had its effect on Hendricks as well. "The Congolese people are so open and generous, even though they have so little, they touched me to reassess how I steward the resources that I have to help those with less. Many of the Congolese will walk up to an hour jsut to attend church on Sunday, I was reminded not to take lightly the opportunity I have to meet regularly with other believers for the teaching of the word."

Despite their daily circumstances, the Congolese trust in God as their sustainer. They live with a conviction that God redeems and restores every situation. So much so that their joyful worship events often end in dancing. The GLS was no exception.

Hendricks heard over and over how this event will change Congo. The people of Congo need your prayers as they fight to overcome unimaginable circumstances and lay a foundation for their future. Events like this is the reason we at The GLS does what we do. The Congolese are desperate for what the GLS offers and we are so grateful to partner with God in serving them.

Singapore in Pictures

2009-12-02T09:52:00.000-08:00

Even though the Global Leadership Summit is over for this year, we want to continue telling the beautiful stories God is weaving in our different partner countries. The below is taken from a report from a WCA representative at a site in Singapore on November 27-28.

Participants warmly and excitedly greeted by our front desk volunteers who handed them their copy of the Summit notebook and nametag. 368 participants all in.

Summit opener - blowing of shofar followed by time of worship.

Dancers in action during the worship time.

Awesome sight – the joyous countenance of the worship team and dancers and the beautiful stage setup and lightings. Sound mix engaged the participants.

Rev Soh played Host Pastor. He was excellent - full of energy and a clear communicator.

Rev Chern facilitate with so much ‘heart’ and his ability to connect with the participants was outstanding.

Process Time – Group Discussion

GLO Bible Presentation by Daniel Hsueh from GLO during lunch time.

Worship time after lunch.

Participants fully immersed in worship.

Participants responding during prayer.

Production crew at the Front-of-House.

Group discussions continued even over tea-break.

Interpretive solo dance item after session by Wayne Cordeiro (last session for the day)

After solo dance item, one third of the participants responded to the altar call and came to the front. Many were in tears and did business with God on their knees at the altar. What an amazing day it was!

The GLS Works to Overcome Corruption, Poverty in Nigeria

2009-12-01T09:04:00.000-08:00

To celebrate the GLS season which has just come to a close, we thought we would profile the Nigerian church, which saw an incredibly successful GLS run this past fall.

The GLS in Nigeria is raising up leaders prepared to impact change in their divided churches, impoverished communities and corrupted governments. Nigeria is a country twice the size of California with a rich history full of tragedy and strife. The CIA world fact book lists Nigeria as the 9th biggest populatiopn in the world. Nigeria suffers from a number of ongoing problems common in African nations: high mortality of its citizens due to AIDS, creating a life expectancy of only about 47 years. In fact, Nigeria ranks 3rd in world of people living with AIDS. Oil-rich Nigeria, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and poor economic management, has made several attempts at improving its state with some improvement. But, as you can imagine, the church in Nigeria has quite a lot it works against.

Francis Olubambi, The GLS's leader in Nigeria as well as the director for several other Christian ministry branches there, has a vision for Nigeria and what it could become with God at the helm. In a recent conversation with him, he laid out some of the issues the church faces in Nigeria and how The GLS is working to help church and business leaders there overcome the corruption and poverty so entrenched in Nigerian systems.

The situation of the church there is complex.

We have a lot of churches in Nigeria, the churches are growing and the conversion rate is high, [however] Christian ethics is very low it seems as if so many Christian has the charisma and no character. One of the major causes of this shallowness is lack of leadership development. Churches in the Northern part of Nigeria are persecuted by Islamic fundamentalist.

In response to the need here, one way The GLS has addressed the problem of the corruption and poverty seen in Nigeria is to unite denominations and educate business leaders as well on the principles found in the Bible.

GLS conference has been helping to impact leaders across the board: from corporate world and the church world. Another advantage of GLS is that it affords us to bring different churches together for mutual relationship.

The church in Nigeria has seen a tremendous amount of division caused by dissenting beliefs from various denominations. Some groups have grown progressively more liberal while others committed to more traditional outlooks have fought widely with those with a more liberal outlook. The GLS is working to unite these denominations around their first love: Christ. Olubambi's biggest prayer for The GLS in Nigeria? Cooperation in churches.

The team in Nigeria overcame tremendous obstacles during their GLS events. In underresourced areas, there is often huge trouble finding a projector to use at the events. Because The GLS works to produce an extremely high-quality event for every attendee, the best projectors are sought out to create an extremely high quality picture. Occasionally, there isn't a single projector in the entire country up to the standards we work hard to meet. Three of seven Nigerian GLS sites were without projectors only a couple weeks before the event and needed to rent one, sometimes at a very costly rate. The teams also had numberous details to see to. Our awesome volunteer teams didn't miss even one. The attendees who have lived and worked in such difficult conditions all their lives had their sights lifted to envision all that the church can be.

Seven GLS sites were held in Nigeria this past fall. Click here to see the results.

The GLS in 2009 Draws to a Close

2009-11-30T06:53:00.000-08:00

The Global Leadership Summit in 2009 has drawn to a close - mostly. Except for three dates which will happen in 2010, the GLS season has ended this year and we are celebrating all of what God has done. After our brief Thanksgiving haitus, here are the sites served from the Nov 27-28 weekend.

Nov 23-24
Busan, Korea

Nov 27-28
Aracruz, Brazil
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Curitiba, Brazil
Goiania, Brazil
Juazeiro do Norte, Brazil
Accra, Ghana
Lilongwe, Malawi
Lima, Peru
Gdansk, Poland
Porto, Portugal
Huneodoara, Romania
Singapore, Singapore

From South Africa, to Malaysia, to Belgium and all over the rest of the world, international church leaders have been served and encouraged. Keep checking this space as we are just beginning to hear of all the benefits of the Global Summit. We will continue to share our story here and we hope you will keep checking back as we want you to share in all that God is doing in this ministry.

GLS World Tour 2009

2009-11-23T13:27:00.000-08:00

The November 20-21 GLS weekend was an incredibly successful couple days of ministry. Click here to see coverage of our Brussels, Belgium site.

Gary Schwammlein, WCA's EVP of International Ministries just returned from a grueling six week trip travelling all over the world working with our partners during their GLS season. He sat in a myriad of meetings, GLS events and coaching sessions with Bill Hybels & other US leaders seeking to mentor and build up international pastors. Below is a brief look into his travels and all the work he witnessed God doing through the GLS.

Live from Belgium

2009-11-20T14:03:00.000-08:00

This weekend, one of our team members is live-tweeting his experience from the GLS site in Brussels, Belgium. Here are some of the pics and insights he's been sharing with us along the way.

As leaders do we enjoy God? Do we have intimacy with Him? Tim Keller
I obey, therefore I'm accepted - that's religion, not the Gospel. Tim Keller.
What do ur friends, colleagues, and family members see when they look at you? A full bucket, a replenished life? Bill Hybels
As a church do you know what you would never stop doing in difficult econominc times? Very clarifying exercise.
Church: How are you being THE CHURCH in this new reality?

And from his report of the first day:
Tonight we kicked off the GLS in Brussels. This was the second year for this site. Last year we had 170 people (which was very good for this country) and this year we have close to 250. Very encouraging to see momentum grow. For years the leaders of the GLS in Belgium have prayed for a Willow conference to come to Belgium. Belgium is probably the least Christian country in Western Europe. I believe less than 1/2 a % are actual born again Christians. This is not an easy place to build a church. But they have such a heart to see lost people come to Christ. This is the team that calls me at midnight their time with questions... I asked them how tonight went and they said just to see so many people here is the reward for them.

We are always so inspired to hear about the work of our partners overseas, despite the conditions they are up against. Check out our twitter page for more of our rogue reporter's experience. Also, our hashtags #globalsummit and #gls09 give great insights into what's going on globally. Check back Monday for in-depth stories of transformation.

The GLS Winds Down...

2009-11-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

Hi, all- Just wanted to update you on where the GLS will be appearing this weekend. Here is the list of sites where we'll be. Prayer is always so appreciated!

Nov 18-19:
Kampala, Uganda

Nov 20-21:
Brussels, Belgium
Recife, Brazil
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Beijing, China
San Jose, Costa Rica
Tema, Ghana
Puebla, Mexico
Houten, Netherlands
Krakow, Poland
Lisbon, Portugal
Galati, Romania

So many leaders have been impacted this year and many churches have been changed. We have some interesting stories regarding the church in various areas of the world and about a trip some WCA videographers took to South Asia and the effect it has had on them. Stay tuned for these posts and stories from the upcoming weekend...

"Many have said the GLS will change this nation..."

2009-11-16T11:58:00.000-08:00

The Global Leadership Summit served 15 countries and 16 sites last week with a total attendance of 4300+. Below are some of the reports.

From Aliece Hendricks, Executive Director of International Events, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo:

Day 1: When we arrived on Wednesday there were 150-200 registered. At the end of day 1 there were 1100 registrations. With the explosive registration you can imagine the stress on lunch and guest packets. The team worked so hard to serve them quickly and well. A blended worship choir of 90 voices from different churches in the area built unity between divided denominations. 120 volunteers are working hard to serve us. This is changing the way they do events here. Many have said the GLS will change this nation.

Day 2: It is a rainy, cool day in Kinshasa... This will be great for a video conference [low lighting makes for the best projection picture!]. We lost power today right before starting, transferred to generator and all is going well. We had 800+ in the auditorium when we began today and 1100 by end of the first session. Today we have dignitaries from the supreme court, army and main denominations. The host pastor has told us the time is right for this type of training here in Congo. Continue to pray for us and the impact on leaders.

Some pictures from Cluj & Bucharest, Romania:

From Kiev, Ukraine:

[Gary] Hamel really challenged the leaders here with his message. Some thought it was quite provocative to the existing leadership model here. Great applauds both welcoming Hamel…and after. Vivid interaction in groups for more than 15 minutes. Maxwell/Blanchard/Hybels hit a homerun once again! The atmosphere when Bill prayed for those who stood to their feet was intense and holy. Then we continued spiritual direction and we ended with an appropriate worship song that grew and grew to almost lift the already high ceiling. Quite a session!

As you can see, international leaders serving the church were served themselves this past week. We could not be more humbled to be the ones with the privilege of this task. Watch this space this week for updates on the upcoming GLS weekend.

The GLS this Weekend

2009-11-11T13:17:00.000-08:00

The November 13-14 weekend is upon upon us and we are over the half way point in the 2009 GLS season. We will be in 15 countries and 16 sites this weekend. Check out below where we'll be:

Nov 11-12
Dublin, Ireland

Nov 12-13
Londrina, Brazil
Porto Alegre, Brazil
Kiev, Ukraine

Nov 13-14
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Santiago, Chile
Kinshasa, Congo
Quito, Ecuador
Tallinn, Estonia
Torshavn, Faroe Islands
Jyvaskyla, Finland
Kumasi, Ghana
Tijuana, Mexico
Hamilton, New Zealand
Lagos, Portugal
Volgograd, Russia

If you could especially keep in your prayers our Ecuador site. Their government has recently been cutting electric power sources and they have been experiencing rolling blackouts for 4-6 hours everyday. They have no way of predicting when these will come. As you can imagine, it would be hard to run a conference under these kind of conditions.

Despite some of the hardships we face, we believe that God will use The GLS this weekend to inspire his church leaders all over the world some of who mare working in such difficult conditions. Please continue to pray.

Overwhelmed by the Stories...

2009-11-09T12:39:00.000-08:00

We received so many amazing reports from all our GLS sites! Below are a few we chose to tell you how God moved last weekend. 8,000+ leaders served, at 32 sites in 22 different countries. Read on for the stories of the GLS as told from our WCA reps in the field.

From Joe Horness, GLS Producer, in Nairobi, Kenya:

We ended the day with Wes Stafford’s talk about his upbringing in an abusive missionary school in Africa. Hearing this talk here, in Africa, surrounded by people that were deeply, deeply moved by his story, his [Stafford's] love for them as people, and the lessons he drew from it, was amazing. Then we went into a time of prayer. The piano was playing quietly, and the cleansing rains, which they had prayed for here for so long [Kenya has been suffering through a drought as of late], were falling quietly on the roof. Hands were raised, heads were bowed, and the tears began as people cried out for forgiveness, for grace and for healing. It was beautifully led by Stephen Mairori [WCA's point of contact in Kenya], and God’s presence was so real.

Some pictures from Cochabamba, Bolivia, taken by DaRonn Washington, one of WCA's reps for South America, where 800+ leaders were served:

From Aliece Hendricks, Executive Director of International Conferences, in Lusaka Zambia:

We have had a great first day here in Zambia, it all came together. The audience really connected with the sessions, the tech was flawless and the worship has been very good.
We had a rocky start, we went through 5 projectors yesterday to find one that would work. The team here has worked very hard and are looking forward to tomorrow and doing the GLS next year.

From Ulf Osterlund, WCA's rep in Eastern Europe, reporting on Helsinki, Finland:

The content once again proves to be strong this year. There were people in tears after Hamel…Gibbons was greatly appreciated again and Stafford moved people. One businessman said afterwards that he had been crying all Stafford session without showing a tear! He, as many Finns, could not show his feelings publicly… So God has been moving.

From Janine Couchman, WCA's Event Manager in South Africa, in Walvis Bay, Namibia, overseeing the event:

On Thursday evening [before the event] all the volunteers from the host church gathered for a time of praise and prayer and final briefing for the GLS. About 120 volunteers gathered in the church and the praise began with a song by Hillsong called “With everything” The chorus line “with everything we will shout for your glory” gripped our spirits and we felt the passion, enthusiasm & commitment of the volunteers as they sang out to God. Senior Pastor Tobi Nel dedicated the event and everyone to God and asked God to bring hope, peace, justice, salvation, healing, deliverance and peace to every delegates attending. Then we were blown away when they called Gerry [WCA South Africa's leader & Janine's husband] & I forward to be prayed over and then Tobi and the facilitator Matt sat us down on the platform and then knelt before us and washed our feet…they prayed for God to bless, refresh, revive & strengthen us as we have been doing GLS for 5 weeks straight, week-end after week-end.

Pictured below is the Walvis Bay volunteer team:

Here are a couple additional highlights from Walvis Bay:

As we all know too well the world has been impacted by the economic downturn and Walvis Bay was no exception. But incredibly the event was the best ever with the most amazing stories about how people in the church came forward and contributed a total of R500 000 towards making the GLS the success it was. I heard stories about how 2000 glass bottles were collected over a few months from the local rubbish dump, cleaned, washed and prepared for the flowers which created the stunning décor planned by the pastor’s wife for the refreshment tent.

One of the intercessors from the prayer team testified about a black leader who went to the prayer room at the end of Wess Stafford’s session. He confessed to having experienced racism and oppression and as a result had developed feelings of resentment towards white people but when he arrived at the church to attend the GLS he was overwhelmed by the love and welcome he received from the greeters and ushers. He realized he needed to forgive those who had hurt him after the session so he went for prayer. As he sat being prayed for one of the intercessors felt the Lord urge her to go and sit in front of him and take his hands in hers and pray for him. As she obeyed tears flowed down his face as he was set free from his bitteress. She too was deeply moved by how God used her and blessed her through this experience.

We had to do the hard work of wading through all the stories sent in just to identify these few to tell you. There were so many stories of God's touch on leaders' lives, we were humbled to read them all. Continue to pray as the GLS still has about a month left in this year's run.

Stay tuned...

The Stories Have Started Rolling In...

2009-11-06T08:35:00.000-08:00

From Port-au-Prince, Haiti:

GLS Haiti November 5, 2009, 1st Session. Using French translation. Packed.
~Phil Pitzer

From Lelystad, Netherlands:

The whole earth sings! We're taking off in Lelystad. First session is almost done. People respond to the screen very well. The facilitator did a great job! Holy is the Lord.
~JanHendrik Ijtsma

Preparations in Kristiansand, Norway:

The Kristiansand GLS got off to a wonderful start this morning! About 250 folks from the Kristiansand area are here. There are 8 folks here from Eaglebrook Church in St. Paul, MN (another 8 folks are in Oslo). They are an awesome team of volunteers and we couldn’t have gotten everything done last night (clean up/prep) without them! They have such servants’ hearts. We’re all excited and eager to see what God is going to do.
~Nancy Raney, WCA Executive Director of Publishing (visiting a GLS site)

We are just starting to get reports in from the first day of The GLS in the 33 sites this week, and we will be posting these on the blog as they filter in. In the meantime, click #globalsummit to be taken to a twitter search of all the guest tweeting about their GLS experience. There are so many across the world tweeting about their experience, and it's awesome to see the global community being forged here. For those of you who are praying for a GLS site this weekend, keep praying! We can't wait to see what God will do.

Our Biggest Week Yet

2009-11-04T10:03:00.000-08:00

This week promises to be our biggest week yet all around the world as we go to 32 sites, 22 countries and 7,000 or so participants.

Below is a list. If God moves you, would you pick a site that jumps out at you and pray for it when it comes to mind?

November 4-5
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

November 5-6
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Jakarta, Indonesia
Nairobi, Kenya

November 6-7
Gold Coast, Australia
Cochabamba, Bolivia
Brasilia, Brazil
Cuiaba, Brazil
Joao Pessosa, Brazil
Manaus, Brazil
Sao Paulo, Brazil
St. John's Canada
Shanghai, China
Prague, Czech Republic
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
San Salvador, El Salvador
Helsinki, Finland
Vassa, Finland
Accra, Ghana
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Reykjavik, Iceland
Guadalajara, Mexico
Walvis Bay, Namibia
Lelystad, Netherlands
Wellington City, New Zealand
Managua, Nicaragua
Kristiansand, Norway
Oslo, Norway
Manila, Philippines
Bucharest, Romania,
Moscow, Russia
Newcastle, UK
Lusaka, Zambia

Again, we covet your prayers. As you can see, there are dozens of teams entering a very stressful weekend that we know God wants to bless. We would ask that you would cover each site in prayer. Updates on all the ministry happening this week coming soon.

The October 30-31 GLS in pictures

2009-11-02T13:32:00.000-08:00

The visual story of The GLS this weekend:

From Hong Kong:

From Norway:

From South Africa:

From Taiwan:

2009-10-30T09:44:00.001-07:00

This Week: The GLS Reaches Leaders in 5 Continents
Last week the GLS was held in 22 cities, 10 countries and in 8 different languages. This week the GLS will reach leaders in 12 cities and 9 countries. Below you'll find a run-down of where we'll be.

October 29-31
Salvador, Brazil
Aracatuba, Brazil
Taipei, Taiwan
Welkom, South Africa
Copenhagen, Denmark
Sandnes, Norway
Toowoomba, Australia
Wollongong, Australia
Cluj-Napoca, Romania

October 31-November 1
Hong Kong, Hong Kong

November 2-3
Tokyo, Japan

Stay tuned for updates about the powerful ministry we expect to see as we serve these international church leaders.

The GLS in Perth, Australia - What a Ride!

2009-10-27T14:51:00.000-07:00

"What a Ride!" - the words from our WCA representative recounting her experience there. They overcame tremendous obstacles, and God's glory shone through.

We have just completed GLS Perth, Western Australia – not without our challenges!

First off, on day one, there was a bit of a scurry just before afternoon tea. I was wondering why the event team were not getting to their stations for the break...unaware that they were trying to coax a 6 ½ foot King Brown snake out of the prayer room!

Then, on the beginning of day two, I arrived at the venue at 7.30am to join the volunteers for breakfast, I was greeted by slightly concerned staff letting me know the power had gone off 15 minutes earlier do to high winds and downed power poles. The supplier was expecting from 2-4 hour delays. We waited. By 9am, 250 delegates had arrived and no hope of power soon. The Arts team quickly brought bongos and acoustic guitars into the foyer to build an atmosphere to relax people. At 9.30 we gathered the delegates in a very dimly emergency-lit auditorium to explain further and have a time of prayer and acoustic worship.
At that point, a pastor came to us to say he had a portable projector, speakers and generator within a 30 minute drive from the venue....would we like his equipment? Yes!!!! This man was not even booked into the conference and had just come for the day to help. Isn't it great when God knows our needs before we do! Delegates were sent to places all over the venue to use their workbooks to process the issues from the day before. Tim Keller had been hugely impacting, so they were keen to talk and share their insights. Phone calls were made, the Event Manager rang and ordered a coffee cart to come, morning tea cakes were dished out...and all seemed calm. I sat with the Producer and we re-scheduled Day Two.
Praise God, soon generator-powered system was installed and we were up and running. The rest of the day ran smoothly, we adjusted for the time loss, and the delegates were extremely pleased with the calm response from everyone involved. During the volunteer moment at the end...there was a thunderous applause for all...especially the I.T. team who I’m sure aged 5 years in the process!

This year an AOG church in Perth brought their Senior Pastor and entire team. After the Summit, a couple days later, I bumped into their Executive Pastor. We began chatting about the GLS and she mentioned the power outage on day two. I began to apologise to her and hoped it hadn’t put a damper’on the Summit for her. However, she cut me off and said how much she valued that time. She mentioned that their entire team had gone to a quiet place and had sat for the hour and a half and had formulated a brand new mission strategy...completed! She said that she can't remember ever leaving a conference with a strategy in place and the team all on board!

I am constantly overwhelmed by the way God goes before us in every aspect of our global events...a reliance on him is a ‘must’ as we work together to see leaders strengthened all over our world!

GLS Artists Powerfully Impact Malaysia Delegates

2009-10-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

The GLS during the week of October 19-24 saw all kinds of effective, creative ministry in 6 out of the 7 continents! We reached 22 sites, 11 countries and some 5200 international leaders. The reports we've received back from these countries are so exciting. Check this space regularly this week as we will be sharing more of their stories as the week progresses.

Quality programming; whether it be worship, video, special music, etc. is an integral piece of the GLS experience for our attendees; opening leaders' hearts and minds and preparing them for what they will encounter in each session. We wanted to brag on some of our creative programmers in the field by showing you all the kind of out-of-the-box thinking they display each year as they contextualize The GLS to their own culture.

The GLS in Malaysia took place at Agape of Assembly of God, on October 19-20. Take a look at the story they wove during Wess Stafford's session about the brokenness of humanity and how to offer forgiveness to those who have hurt us. The below is from Lawrence Koo, our WCA representative there.

One of the highlights of the Summit was the immense creativity of the Agape Drama and Art Ministry Teams. I was blown away by their creativity. During the third session break, the team members were disguising themselves and acting out at different corners which took many by surprise. In fact I thought these acts were real. I saw a young mother yelling and scolding at a boy; a woman went about collecting garbage; a drunkard totally lost himself in the crowd; and I was actually approached by a young and seductively dressed prostitute asking me if I was lonely and needed company!

All these took place right before the public’s eyes during the break. Had I not been told by someone that these were drama people, I really would have thought to myself, “Who are these people? Why are they found in the Summit?” Then they all appeared in chains on the stage before the start of the last session by Wess Stafford. With the spotlight shinning on each of them by turn, one by one began to share about their deep seated pains and hurts.

If I wasn’t busily taking pictures of all of them, I would have been moved to tears by their stories… They were so good! They actually set us up for Wess Stafford’s session on “Leveraging Your Past”. People could immediately connect to Stafford’s message after seeing their acts. At the closing, Ben invited people who need God’s healing to come forward. I was one of those walking up crying my heart out to God!

As you can tell, our teams do an amazing job of telling the story of their culture. We are so proud of the work they do.

A Glimpse Behind the Scenes

2009-10-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

We thought you might find it interesting to understand the quality of event we strive to provide for every attendee who walks through the door of a GLS site. Below, you'll find detailed all that it takes to pull off this massive initiative every year. This is from Gary Schwammlein, Executive Vice-President of International Ministries at the WCA and one of the original visionaries who began this world-wide GLS movement. Take a couple minutes and to see all that is involved.

The GLS—what’s the big deal about it?

Often when we are in discussions with potential donors or with organizing committee members in a country, we hear comments such as, “For the GLS, don’t you just put a DVD into a player, press the ‘play’ button and watch it?” or “Wow! Why is the GLS so expensive? What can cost so much? It’s really just a DVD conference.” Let us give you a glimpse into the process we go through each year in a relatively short timeframe, between the US Summit in August and the GLS events being held as early as October and through November of the same year.

It all starts with getting the script of a Leadership Summit speaker’s presentation. At the original presentation at Willow Creek, we have six court reporters who write down every word a speaker says. When they are done, it is forwarded to an editor who makes sure that it is understandable and has made the necessary corrections to enable the message to flow appropriately. These texts are then used for three purposes: developing learning aids, translating the material, and producing the printed version of the talks.

First of all, a set is sent to a group of people who are learning experts. They examine the presentation for specific learning points which will be used in a workbook for each GLS participant. These workbooks are then used at the GLS during the processing time as well as later when churches use the material for further training. Once these workbook lay outs are completed, they are sent to various countries around the world for translation and production.

Another set is sent to any countries which will require translation to translate the sessions and other elements of the Summit into their own vernacular. This year we will translate all the Summit content into 29 languages. This includes common European languages, as well as Russian, Chinese, Malay, Faeroese (do you know where that is spoken?), Icelandic, Estonian, and Polish, just to name a few. Depending upon how the translation will be included in the DVD, whether by voice-over or sub-titles, a lot more work must go into adjusting the translation to fit the particular requirements for either of those delivery methods. Sub-titles can only use about 80% of the words; voice-over necessitates the spoken translation to fit with the original delivery in English.

Then, once the translation work is completed, it has to be included in the DVD for use at the conference. This requires quite a bit of technology, whether voice-over or sub-titles and we work dozens of vendors around the world to make that happen. After a thorough quality check, the DVDs are produced in the particular format for a given country, which is NSTC, PAL, and Secam. Because the sessions are also sold to anyone wishing to buy them, thousands of Team Editions (12,000 units this year) are being produced, labeled, packaged and sent to each country. And remember, the workbooks and the Team Edition of the DVDs in the translated form must all be ready when the first GLS takes place in some counties already in mid-October. Because of customs regulations and other import challenges, the Team Edition DVD sets are produced locally within a number of countries in relatively small production runs, adding significant costs. Because some countries do not have a wide availability of DVD or even CD players, those countries will actually print the material and hand it out in booklet form to the GLS participants.

Due to the particular needs of various audiences, it is not always effective to use the specific sessions from the latest Summit. Therefore, we go through the archives and select appropriate sessions from what has been presented in the past years. Sometimes that requires editing for certain comments which may be out of date, cultural appropriateness, deterioration of quality, or making sure we have the agreement of the speaker to use it again. For this year, 2009, we have 24 unique versions of the GLS. What complicates matters even more is that for each version different program elements, such as dramas, multi-media elements, and worship music, are required to maximize the impact of the event.

In order to provide an impactful experience for an event lasting two full days, the projections of the DVDs require very high quality equipment, almost comparable to the equipment used in top movie theaters. Consequently, we are using very powerful projection equipment and enormous screen sizes, like 8x12 feet. This section alone could be expanded to fill several pages because to procure projectors and other equipment of the quality we need, as well as the operators who understand all the technology, is a significant challenge in many countries and often very expensive. In some countries, there may be only one or two pieces of equipment of this quality and these may be owned by a TV station or a large corporation and are therefore not available to us. Some may say, “Do you have to go to that extent when it comes to delivery quality?” to this, we can only answer, “Absolutely! It is a gigantic hurdle to have people come to a conference which has no live speakers. One way to overcome that is to have exceptional audio and visual delivery of the presentations.”

At first we had considered merely making the sessions available for purchase so people could buy it and watch it at home rather than holding a conference. However, we abandoned that idea when we discovered that less than 18% actually watch the sessions after purchasing it. Although over 90% of respondents to a survey we conducted in various countries indicated that leadership is one of their greatest development needs, getting people to attend a multi-day conference watching DVDs, even at the outstanding quality we described, is still a challenge. Therefore, we thought of a few other ideas to enhance the experience. One is that we do a guided discussion or process time after most sessions, in order to maximize the learning from each session. When this is well done, it adds incredible value so we spend a considerable amount of time in selecting and training the facilitators who manage that portion of the program. Another thing we do is assure that attendees are served with great excellence, care and professionalism. To achieve that, as well as all the delivery of other production elements of the conference, we conduct training sessions in various regions in the world where everyone involved in a critical discipline of the GLS is properly trained and equipped. As a side benefit of this training, we have been told by many churches that it had a hugely positive impact on the way they do church. The level of excellence, and remember, “Excellence honors God and inspires people.” has markedly increased in all the churches that are involved in the GLS in some way. After looking at all of this, we are sure it will become clear to everyone that the GLS is much more than putting a DVD into a player and pressing “play.” It requires incredible planning and administration skills, people skills and long hours because of the time pressure everyone is under to be ready when the day comes.

This year we will probably offer the GLS in about 160 cities in approximately 60 countries, requiring an overall investment of $4.4 million. Is it worth it? In Russia, some pastors came in a minibus, driving five days and nights one way to attend the event, and begging us to bring it to a city closer to where they live. In another situation, people have to make all the preparations and hold the event very low-key so that the local authorities do not become concerned. In spite of potential serious personal consequences, they are putting on the GLS and reaching hundreds of Christian workers, hungry for leadership development. Let us close with a comment by one attendee about how he was impacted by the GLS. “The church in my country in many ways is still operating as if we were living in the past century. If we don’t change, we will become even more irrelevant than we already are. I can think of no other event that provides the inspiration, skill, and level of excellence that would prepare us to implement the changes necessary to build churches that will reach this generation in ever increasing numbers. I would not miss the GLS for anything and look forward to each event with great anticipation! Please, do not quit offering this vital training to us!”

The GLS is big deal for many, requires a lot of work and funds and there is not doubt that God is using it in amazing ways.

The Impact of The GLS in Nigeria

2009-10-22T13:55:00.000-07:00

While final numbers are forthcoming, all told, there will be around 5,000 - 6,000 people at 7 various GLS sites in Nigeria. To learn more about the state of the church in Nigeria and how The GLS is working to effect change there, click here. We wanted to offer a quick testimony of a couple Nigerian leaders' GLS stories.

"For some time now we have agonized over lack of growth, why the Pentecostal/Evangelicals are growing faster than the main line churches in Nigeria. For one thing, this summit has confirmed to me that the vitality of the church must be at the parish [church] level. We need to overcome what Gary Hamel called allocational rigidities, among other ills. Some of us leaders, appear not to realize that a new reality has come upon us.

"As one of the leaders I am going to share the substance of this Summit at our next synod [regional] meeting and challenge us to start the rethinking process from our own synod, then to the general assembly [denomination].

"I was the Founding Director of Research Nigeria Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, 1979-1980. Before then I was the Director of the National Policy Development Centre (Think Tank)1976-1979. Consultant to UNPD, I had a misadventure into politics as a presidential candidate but God used the opportunity to let me see the rot in Nigeria political life.Through all this years I never had a challenging and powerful conference like this one, indeed this is great and inspired by the Holy Spirit.

"As a result of this conference, one of my burdens now is to find ways of influencing political leaders to let their Christianity show in their conduct of public affairs. Thank you so much for the great impacts that this conference has had on me and my wife"

~Elder Uma Eleazu, Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (pictured above left with the Nigerian GLS country leader, Francis Olubambi)

This Week: The GLS Reaches Leaders in 6 of 7 Continents

2009-10-19T12:03:00.001-07:00

The GLS will have our biggest week thus far this season. The GLS will reach 11 countries, 20 cities with some 4800 participants. Below you'll find a run down of where we'll be.

Oct 19-20
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Oct 21-22
Almaty, Kazakhstan

Oct 23-24
Canberra, Australia
Melbourne, Australia
Perth, Australia
Sydney, Australia
Recreio, Brazil
Sao Goncalo, Brazil
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Sofia, Bulgaria
Prince George, Canada
Thunder Bay, Canada
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Jos, Nigeria
Boracay, Philippines
Mpumalanga, South Africa
Angelholm, Sweden
Gothenburg, Sweden
Orebro, Sweden
Skelleftea, Sweden

As was widely publicized in the news, The Philippines has been greatly effected by the recent typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. A country made up of a series of islands, storms of the magnitude of these can greatly damage the poverty-stricken cities there. From landslides in the more rural areas to massive flooding in the poor, urban cities, citizens of the Philippines have sustained massive damage to their already limited worldly posessions. Our GLS partner organization, APPEND, a microenterprize organization, is on the front lines of the response to this disaster, working to rebuild all that was lost.

The home of an APPEND client.

An APPEND loan officer trying to reach the home of a client.

The staff themselves has been giving not only of the resource of their time, but monetarily as well. Below is an excerpt from a newsletter detailing how they are being the "big C" Church in their community:

APPEND network staff that were also affected by typhoons contributed money and we also share our clothing with our poor clients. We decided not to spend a single cent for any Christmas party in our offices but rather use this budget for relief and rehab. We learned from the Word of God that “giving” is a privilege of the rich and the poor and if an opportunity “to give” arises we have to grab it and not contemplate on it. We have repacked and distributed relief bags containing noodles, canned goods, mats, towels, drinking water, cleaning items, slippers, off lotion, rice, milk, cooking oil. Other relief bags contain underwears and clothings for those who were not able to salvage any of their clothings. We distributed 8,100 relief bags in Metro Manila and 13,100 in Central and Northern Luzon, Philippines.

Continue to pray for The Philippines, that God will flood the country with resources to recover all that was lost. Pray for our partner organization, APPEND, and its employees that God would strengthen them as they respond to this disaster. Pray for The GLS in The Philippines, that the war-weary leaders in attendance would gain endurance for the fight they are in and would be envisioned by the Holy Spirit. Pray that they would have eyes to see all the God wants to do in their country.

The GLS in The Philippines is in Boracay this weekend, October 23-24 and in Manila, November 6-7.

"An Indispensable Highlight in my Year..."

2009-10-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

Just one of the glowing comments from one of our UK delegates. A few more from this past weekend below:

From Bracknell, UK:
“We brought our largest team yet to the summit (16 people) and without exception they all loved it. Our leaders, prospective leaders and followers were moved and challenged and they were inspired and motivated to take our leadership and church to the next level.”
-Chris Porter, Easthampsted Baptist Church

"Again and again, the GLS challenges us to look further and reach higher."
-Andrew Darmanin, St. John's Church

From Bristol, UK:
"I met with God and He revealed my future..."
Korin Jones, Divisional Children's Officer

From Cape Town, South Africa:
“I have to admit that I went to the leadership summit last week a little nervous that I would be wasting a Friday of work and a Saturday of family time. I can honestly report that in twenty years of business conferences and many Christian camps and conferences, I have neither been challenged nor informed as broadly nor as deeply as I was at this event."
-Rob Jones, Somerset Baptist Church

I had very little idea of what I was in for as although the people in my growth group have spoken of it I had not even watched the previous DVD. They said it was life changing and I thought yea right…a bunch of people getting together to watch some DVD’s life changing?? Well it most certainly was that for me! I found that each and every one of the talks had huge and wonderful lessons for me to apply to my everyday life, and not only that but they applied to my business life too. Thank you for the best and most profitable and inspiring two days I have ever had!!
-Jenniffer Duke, St. Mathews
Via twitter:
"The Global Leadership Summit is such a transformational and awesome experience that will never leave me the same. Thanx for giving my life a lift. A new day has dawn in my life." @gent2smile - Lagos, Nigeria

"So blessed to be part of #globalsummit today in Newcasle, Australia. What
an incredible moving of his spirit. Feeling inspired!"
@clairetwivey - Sydney, Australia

Via facebook:
"I attended GLS in Cape Town this weekend past. My first time. Words fail me! Will never miss another one..."
Andries de Vries

And, today and tomorrow, on the other side of the world, Oct 19-20 - The GLS in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is envisioning attendees:

Via twitter:
"Global Leadership Summit was absolutely inspiring. Looking forward to Day 2 tomorrow" @tjtee

Check this space again tomorrow for a full run down of where the GLS will be this weekend as GLS season nears its halfway point.

The GLS: October 16-17

2009-10-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend at the GLS, we continue to expand to several more countries while finishing up our run in a couple others. We'll be in 7 countries and 17 sites this weekend with some 3500 projected participants. Check out where we'll be this weekend:

Australia, Brisbane
Australia, Launceston
Australia, Newcastle
Canada, Regina
Canada, Sudbury
Canada, Terrace
Netherlands, Drachten
New Zealand, Auckland
New Zealand, Christchurch
Nigeria, Abuja
Nigeria, Lagos (2 sites)
South Africa, Cape Town
South Africa, Jeffrey's Bay
United Kingdom, Coventry
United Kingdom, Gerrards Cross
United Kingdom, Poole

As The GLS has progressed across the world, our international leaders have begun to dialogue via twitter as an outlet for their insights and thoughts as they participate. Click #globalsummit to go directly to a search of the official GLS hashtag to see what participants are saying.

This promises to be a life transforming weekend, so be in prayer for the leaders who will attend, that the Holy Spirit would speak to their hearts; encouraging, convicting when necessary, and inspiring these leaders to be the Church in their countries. Most of all, ask God to use The GLS as a vehicle to bring God's Kingdom to earth. Check back here for stories of all that has happened.

What are YOUR Thoughts?

2009-10-14T08:29:00.000-07:00

Gary Hamel, Summit faculty for this year, and one of the world's most influential business thinkers, created a huge amount of buzz this year around his talk: Manage Differently NOW. His talk was so provocative that we are sure there are a multitude of different opinions out there.

So, we are curious. What are your thoughts about his talk? How will you lead differently because of it? What problems are you up against in your organization that he spoke to? Feel free to share any and all insights you gained in the comments section. Here is one blogger's take and a couple of quotes from his talk to get your juices flowing:

"The world is becoming turbulent faster than most organizations are becoming resilient."

"When an organization misses the future, it's not because it was unknown--it was because it's unpalatable."

"The longer you're down in the trenches, the easier it is to mistake the edge of your rut for the horizon."

So, click below and share away. Lets start a dialogue and learn from each other.

October 9-10 Update

2009-10-13T14:18:00.000-07:00

The GLS was in 12 cities and 5 countries this weekend with about 6,000 delegates in attendance. Here is an insight into all the ministry that went on this last weekend.

From Port Elizabeth, South Africa:
“This was a life-changing experience. I am ready to step out of the past…”

“This conference is my third one but by far the most impressive! What struck me as so precious was the message of "make a difference". I have been receiving this message in numerous ways over the past month from God and this weekend, he shouted it to me! I've tasked myself to obey and do what I can, because even one person can make a difference somewhere and somehow!”

And pictures from Durban, South Africa:

Some pictures from the London, Orpington site:

And finally, some thoughts from one of our representatives attending the Adelaide, Australia site:

I came into this Summit run a few weeks ago feeling weary. Months of emails, vision-casting, planning, strategising has left me feeling drained and tired at the thought of leading another event.

Today, as Stafford spoke, God began a process of melting and then strengthening. I was facilitating this session and we had a ‘ministry moment’ planned. After Stafford, people were going to be invited to write their burdens down on a small piece of paper they were given as they entered the auditorium for this session, and then come to a cross that had been set up at the front of the stage area and place them there at the feet of Jesus. They would then be able to move to tables/ushers situated around the room to partake in communion. The worship team began to sing ‘Breathe’ and the presence of God settled on us all. It was hard to stand and lead the people in this time as indeed my heart was touched so deeply. I was able to place my burden at the cross and then spend time watching others move all over the auditorium to do the same. The team began to sing ‘Amazing Grace, my chains are gone’ and there was a sense of victory in the room. I felt the Lord reach down and just fill me afresh.

The other facilitator finished the session and dismissed everyone to lunch, yet many of us justsat as the sounds of the worship team and the musicians gently washed over us. There was no hurry to lunch, no rushing to leave this moment where God supernaturally spoke and restored hearts. So often in our roles, we give and give and give. We don’t always have the privilege of the time to withdraw from this...however, we do have the opportunity to engage in the midst of what we do. We can either sit and plan the next thing, checking runsheets, making sure people are ready for the next task...or every now and then we can turn our eyes toward Jesus and allow him to ‘renew us on the run’. The message to me more than ever was about where my heart is when I am leading. If it truly remains on Christ and a readiness for Him to touch my life and the lives of others [in amongst the role I hold] then He becomes my strength. He becomes my motivation. He renews and restores as I serve. I live what I am asking others to do. Only God!

During this ministry moment, I lay burdens at the cross today that I will not pick up again. They belong to the Lord. Different ones knelt, others stood with arms in victory. All different expressions of a God who is alive and strengthening His Kingdom. Praise Him and Him alone.

6,000 Leaders to Attend The GLS This Weekend

2009-10-06T13:34:00.000-07:00

The first full GLS weekend by all accounts was a huge success. You've heard from Johannesburg, now here are some quotes from attendees in the UK and New Zealand:

From our facebook page:
"Just done two days faciliating the Scottish GLS in Edinburgh - really good days with lots of challenging teaching, great worship and lots to think about!!! Inspiring stuff!!" -David Richards, Scotland

"What can I say? FANTASTIC. Thanks to everyone who made the UK Stafford GLS such an awesome couple of days. Now down to His business!" -Liz Hancock, UK

"Whangarei is the place to be GLS has so much to offer. GOD has a powerful message and Bill Thank you that you are a leader and willing to spread you knowledge and share knowledge with others assisting you." -Linda Scott, New Zealand

From twitter, using #globalsummit:
"Loving the Willow Global Leadership Summit in Stafford" @shuggill, UK

"Forgiveness .. I choose to forgive you .. you took my childhood but you will not have the rest of my life!" @Bevadair, New Zealand

"Amazing and inspiring and repleneshing first session from Bill. Really relevant." @StPaulsCamb, UK

This is just a taste of the life changing work that took place this weekend. We won't know until the other side of Heaven all the stories that God is writing through this event.

Next weekend, October 9-10 promises to be equally as exciting. 6,000 or so expected guests are preparing to arrive at 12 sites for a very impactful experience. Be praying for God to open their hearts in these next several days.

Australia, Adelaide
Australia, Geelong
New Zealand, Dunedin
New Zealand, Nelson
Nigeria, Lagos (two sites)
South Africa, Durban
South Africa, Port Elizabeth
UK, Bolton
UK, London Battersea
UK, St. Albans
UK, Swansea

Next, we'll be showcasing a conversation held with Nigeria's The GLS's country leader, Francis Olubambi, about the state of the church in Nigeria, the obstacles the body of Christ faces there, and how the GLS is working to transform the leaders who are able to effect change in this impoverished, sometimes even corrupt and crime-ridden country.

God Answers Prayer! Day 1 in Johannesburg

2009-10-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

From Janine Couchman, our South African event director:

God answered our prayers today at the Joburg GLS. We had cloudy skies but the weather was perfect in every way - it was neither warm nor cold! Yea God, you are awesome and you bless us way beyond any prayer we could ever think to pray! ...Within an hour of arrival registration was set up and then 300 volunteers gathered in volunteer central for their final briefing and prayer. There was air of peace and calm among them as they gathered in their serving teams then dispersed to receive our guests. Registration flowed smoothly and happy delegates began gathering in the church foyer waiting to run for the best seats.

Right from the start the delegates engaged fully and responded exuberantly with the Choir Planet opening and the worship set which followed. It was awesome to see 1800 leaders openly responding to God in worship and praise as they prepared their hearts for the sessions of the day. Bill Hybels' talk and the song designed especially for it in the first session created an atmosphere of surrender among the delegates to receive heart surgery from the Holy Spirit. During the song 20 dancers appeared in the room with red umbrella's symbolizing the blood of Christ cleansing us and forgiving us while on the screens a scene of pouring rain depicting refreshing and renewal and revival as a response to the message. There was a tangible presence of the Holy Spirit as delegates allowed themselves to be drenched by the images of pouring rain and then seeing the red umbrella's (the blood of Christ) available to cover them and release them. It was a powerful moment.

Smiling volunteers greeted guests as they exited for their tea break. Gary Hamel's session opened with a video clip about the pace of change in our world. Immediately the audience responded to Gary's message. Our facilitator Gary Rivas then challenged them to evaluate things that they have been doing the same old same old for the past 3 years and then discuss it together with the pastor and their team. What a challenge which they responded to as the room was abuzz with discussions which continued into lunch time.

Jessica Jackley provided a refreshingly disarming message to which our delegates could not help but be inspired & motivated to make a difference. Of course they absolutely loved Andrew Rugasira, a fellow African, who was next and they clapped and cheered and verbalized their approval of his exceptionally excellent message and challenge concerning Aid vs Trade. And still the spirit of gentleness, peace, calm and surrender continued to grow after each message as God prepared them for the final session of the day by Wess Stafford.

This was the part of the day which took everyone's breath away as delegates responded at the end of the day by taking communion and forgiving those who had trespassed against them and by nailing their hurts, burdens and names of those they needed to forgive to 3 wooden crosses positioned around the auditorium. We watched mesmerized and humbled as hundreds of people queued to take their burdens and nail them to the crosses, began to pray in small groups for those who were sobbing and crying before God. The atmosphere was quiet as the Holy Spirit worked. Delegates who left the room did so almost like ghosts as they showed respect toward those who remained to do business with God. The sound of hammers hitting nails were audible and they sent shivers down the spine as hurting people nailed their hurts to the crosses. These ministry moments lasted for 40 minutes as people knelt at the crosses, comforted one another, took communion together as couples, and prayed together.

It took our breath away to watch as God healed, delivered and forgave His children. What a Mighty God we serve who is always faithful to do what He promises if we will simply surrender... And so we are doubly expectant of what God is going to do tomorrow...

What an anointed day. Praise God. There were equally incredible days in the UK and New Zealand as well. Check back here tomorrow for updates from those sites.

Praying for Clear Skies in Johannesburg!

2009-10-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

The coming weekend is the first full weekend of The GLS 2009. The excitement is palpable as the last preparations are being made in expectation of an amazing event all over the world. Janine Couchman, the South African event director, gave some great insight into what can be expected at the Johannesburg event this weekend, and some of the prayers they are lifting up to God in advance of this event.

"Excitement and expectation and awe is rising higher and higher as we prepare for the GLS in Joburg tomorrow...God has done the most incredible things as we have raced towards the event. We have 1780 people registered and we expect about another 50 to arrive for the event to register on site, far surpassing the projected 1500 participants. Thanks everyone for all your hard, faithful, passionate work on the GLS.

I have a verse which God gave us yesterday when we did devotions and started a Wednesday of fasting and praying for the GLS around the world - Romans 8:31-39:

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things? ...
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ...
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The emphasis is that we are more than conquerors, God has answered every prayer for the Joburg event."

Our South African friends in Johannesburg are lifting up one prayer request in particular. The weathermen are predicting rain for the weekend, normally no big concern. The venue in Johannesburg, however, has a tin roof, extremely noisy in the rain, and all the food is to be served - outside.

"Joshua was an ordinary man like you and me and when he prayed for the rain to stop it did. So we have stood on that and prayed the bold prayer for God to keep the rain away until after the GLS as all refreshments are served in tents outside and rain would just ruin the experience for everyone."

As you can see, our teammates in South Africa are bold in their belief that God will provide. Will you pray along with us not only that God will keep the skies clear, but that the spirit would move in these 1800 participants and start a revival in Johannesburg? Keep the rest of the GLS sites this weekend in your prayers as well as God wants to do amazing things in the UK and New Zealand too!

Stay tuned right here for the inspiring updates from these sites...

A Fixed Mindset

2009-09-30T07:28:00.000-07:00

Lawrence Temfwe, director of the Jubilee Center, a Zambian NGO and an Organizing Committee member of The GLS in Zambia writes below on the very common mindset found in his country and what he sees as the solution to this problem.

"Most ordinary Zambians have fixed mindset. When you ask most people what they feel about the RB Capital deal, or Chiluba acquittal or lack of leadership at political level, this is what they say: 'This is who we are.' 'Why should I be concerned? I won’t change anything.' 'I am a born loser.' 'Zambia is peaceful but unlucky.' 'God’s timing is perfect.' 'Leaders come from God.' 'We are fools and nobody will change that.' 'What is there to do?' 'What is your cut?'

But we must be concerned. We have children who will be born today who must be provided with quality health care for them to live life to the full years. We have ten-year-old children who must be equipped with character and competency to provide better leadership to benefit this nation. But if this generation can’t cope with current problems of corruption and lack of leadership, our children will think bright people are those involved in shoddy deals and that quality leadership is greedy, selfish and self-centred. Currently, we have a nation that does not honor character, hard work, patriotism and competency. And it is becoming harder to find a people who will bother to put so much time and effort into doing well in anything.

The need for mindset change by the government and the citizen is more critical than never before. But who will provide leadership for this mindset change? It won’t be the government. Its mind set is fixed - it has the monopoly of wisdom and whatever it does is right. It won’t be the ordinary Zambian because it is not his business - his mindset is fixed - that is the way we are as Zambians. In fact most of the resources that are being mismanaged are not his as he is poor; has no job; and does not pay income tax. So, why should the ordinary Zambian worry when its’ not his money? 'Let those who benefit from the system (lawyers, politicians, selected NGO’s and church leaders) talk', says the ordinary Zambian.

Our hope is in the hands of the Christians who form 80% of the Zambian population. Christians are not supposed to have a fixed mindset. The Bible says Christians ought to be transformed by the renewing of their minds everyday. Christians ought to 'test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.' Christians are not called to throw their hands up in the midst of risks and challenges. Changing mindset requires radical disciple making. Jesus spent three years with ordinary fishermen. At the end of three years their mindset were so transformed that they embarked on a journey to transform the world.

Are you in the business of making disciples? Do you have women and men in your church who have what it take to grow in their mindset and to live by the rule of law? How many people in the church can say they have what it takes to be disciples of Christ? How many in your church have the courage of Peter whereby people can take note that these people love Jesus? Until the church of Christ in Zambia take the commitment to make disciples seriously, Christians and non-Christians alike will say, 'There is nothing we can do to change our culture of complacency and corruption.'"

Lawrence Temfwe

The Global Leadership Summit in Zambia and all over the world works to change the mindsets of leaders. To expand horizons, to challenge beliefs; to envision, call out and inspire. The GLS in Zambia takes place November 6-7 in Lusaka.

The GLS Progress: The First Full Weekend

2009-09-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

We are gearing up for the first full weekend this fall for the Global Leadership Summit. We have 9 sites in 3 different countries. Here is the list below.

New Zealand, Taupo
New Zealand, Whangarei
South Africa, Johannesburg
United Kingdom, Belfast
United Kingdom, Bracknell
United Kingdom, Bristol
United Kingdom, Edinburgh
United Kingdom, London - Orpington
United Kingdom, Stafford

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers this weekend as there is much need. Ask God what to pray for as He may lay one of these sites specifically on your heart. Or, God may lay one of the GLS-wide areas of need on your heart. Here are just a few of our specific needs.

Attendees: Pray that God would open the hearts and minds of all the attendees, that they would be open and receptive to the leadings and promptings of the spirit.

Programming and production: Ask that God would use the programs to prepare the soil of these leaders' hearts. Ask that the worship would glorify God and lift the attendees' eyes to Him. Prayer is needed for seamless transitions, and for tech support that enhances the programming without distracting with glitches and problems. Our desire at the GLS is to create an environment where God can move. Tech can either support that tremendously or detract with issues in execution or equipment.

Facilitator: The facilitator is a key GLS role who guides the discussion of the content the attendees will take in during the GLS. He guides the moments during the GLS sessions when attendees will have heard impactful sessions and need to further digest with their teams what they have learned. Pray that the facilitator would be open and authentic in their comments. Ask for intuitive discernment to ask the right questions and to prompt the right discussions for the context of that country.

GLS teams: Several of our teams, including a team who GLS run begins this weekend, have sent requests regarding unusually tumultuous events in their lives; whether personal, relating directly to the GLS, reports of natural disaster - as in the Philippines, or political unrest as in Honduras. Every year around GLS time, there is an unusual rise in disrupting issues such as these going on with our teams around the world.

"For we know our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12

The GLS serves international church and business leaders, some of whom work in impossibly difficult circumstances. Corrupt governments, the lack of resources we in the US can't even imagine, political oppression, limited access to training, and cultures completely resistant to the Gospel is just an example of the struggles our delegates work against. Our prayer is that God will use the GLS to uplift, inspire and train these leaders. Hope, however, is at a premium in these countries. These leaders need it desperately. Hope that God can move and work in and through them. The GLS gives hope. Our prayer is that God will unleash that and more in these next few weeks.

Singapore Finishes Strong - Day 2

2009-09-24T08:01:00.000-07:00

As the first GLS site in 2009 draws to a close, we thought you would be inspired by hearing about its conclusion as told below:

Day Two GLS in Singapore was full of heart.

Beginning the day with the Heath Brothers there was laughter and connection. People were challenged to highlight the ‘Bright Spots’ of success in their leadership and discussion time again was hard to stop!
At lunchtime we hosted a Foreign Delegates luncheon with the four countries who are hosting GLS for the first time either this year or next, and the support personnel from Singapore and Australia who will work alongside them to assist them in any way possible. As reps from each country stood and shared from their hearts some of the difficulties they are facing, there were moments where ‘you could have heard a pin drop’. They were all inspired to go back to their countries and do the very best with what they have. For some, this is not a lot...but they will still give all they have to make the GLS a reality. The needs ranged from no projector powerful enough in their country, to marketing difficulties because of political pressure, to finances, to unity amongst churches...all very real and poignant.

After lunch, Wes Stafford took the screen. A ministry time for healing and forgiveness was led by the Facilitator [the person at the GLS who leads discussion times] who himself shared he had been through many ‘calvary’ moments that were what has shaped him over the years. Some people stayed in their seats, some came forward to the front of the auditorium...Tears were shed and people knelt on the floor in worship and surrender.

The last session saw us start with our Volunteer Appreciation moment. A brief DVD and the doors were flung open, the band began to play and more than 150 volunteers filed down the four isles [it took an entire minute for them to enter] and up onto the stage. All dressed in black pants and red shirts...it was quite a sight to behold. The audience broke into a spontaneous standing ovation [not a common thing in this part of the world] and the clapping was thunderous! The appreciation of others is surely one of the greatest things we do as leaders. We then prayed that we would continue to have the heart of Christ who came to be the Servant of all...that we would serve the Kingdom in a selfless, sacrificial way. Then, Harvey Carey began and it was a perfect end to the day. The band was ready when his last words were uttered.."Is there anybody here who is ready to see the church be the church? Then Give God a praise!” ...and people jumped to their feet.

As you can tell, it was an extremely impactful event. Our prayer is that these leaders will be forever impacted, that their leadership will grow to what God has created and called it to be, and that as a result, the church in Singapore will never be the same. Check back for updates from our next events, taking place October 2-3.

The GLS 2009 is underway! Singapore Day 1

2009-09-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

The Global Leadership Summit 2009 is underway! The first event was held in Singapore, at Grace Assembly of God and it was a great success. Below are some highlights from the event as told by a Willow Creek representative.

We are at the end of Day One GLS in Singapore....the first global site....and it has been a fantastic day. The opening of the first session, called Choir Planet [a blend of different choirs singing from all over the world] was greeted with a roar from the crowd as they saw Riverlife Church [another Singapore GLS host site] portrayed on the screen. We felt more than ever that this year it truly is about global connection. It is so often the case that whilst the speakers seem good in the USA they seem so much more impacting on a large screen in a local setting.

150+ volunteers from the host site all in red t-shirts. Everywhere you turned, someone was there with a smile and lending a hand, pouring coffee, assisting you into
lifts...amazing! This church has such a strong sense of loving community- a high Willow value – that they truly seemed like it was a pleasure to serve others.

Registrations totaled around 747 [with volunteers it totalled almost 900] and some significant people were in attendance...meaning heads of denominations and businesses in Singapore.

During the discussion time, the delegates were given ample time to really process, no one was restless or left the room. Rev Vincent Lun [of Riverlife Church mentioned above] has released many of his staff and key personnel to work alongside and compliment the Grace AOG team where needed. This expression of support and unity is also part of the huge blessing of the day...and a great way for an experienced site to mentor and coach a new one. There’s nothing like the church when it is working well!

As you can tell, we have started the fall with a bang! Leaders were inspired, challenged and envisioned. Click on the picture below to see some pictures of the event. Our next big weekend is Oct 2-3 when we have 9 sites in South Africa, the UK and New Zealand. Check back here regularly for updates. We can't wait to see what the rest of the fall will bring.

The Impact of the Global Summit: Vincent's Story

2009-09-18T13:37:00.000-07:00

Many of us can remember a time when we sensed God clearly speaking to us. For some, it was a defining moment that radically impacted our life. In fact, we could not imagine our life had it not been for that experience and the ensuing journey it launched us on. That is the story of one WCA pastor in Singapore.

Vincent Lun is the Senior Pastor of RiverLife Church in Singapore. RiverLife was planted in 1991 by Vincent and a team from Bartley Christian Church in what was once an unchurched community in Singapore. In a mostly Buddhist country with only 10-15% of the population identifying as Christian, the need for a thriving church in every community is great.

Five years into his journey at RiverLife, Vincent was at a crossroads in his life. Feeling as if his temperament and gifting were not cut out for what he believed was the traditional role of a pastor, he was wrestling with the idea of returning to the marketplace where he began his career. Then, while attending a conference in Australia, he heard Bill Hybels talk on the critical importance of leadership in the church. Hearing for the very first time that leadership, strategic planning, and team building were not only needed in the church, but vital for the church to prevail was incredibly freeing to Vincent. He finally felt he had permission to pastor a church from his gifting, rather than feeling confined to the traditional roles and expectations of others. It was through this experience that Vincent received new direction and purpose in his role as a senior pastor.

With renewed zeal for the local church and a passion to reach people far from God, Vincent returned to Singapore excited to put his leadership gift to work. Like all great leaders, Vincent realized he had to develop his own leadership, but also the leadership potential in those around him. Playing a critical role in his team’s development were the talks they listened to from The Leadership Summit, WCA’s annual training event that took place in the United States. Each year they focused on applying a few key principles and gradually saw the effectiveness and impact of their church improve.

As The Leadership Summit grew into a global event, Vincent was one of many pastors asked to be part of the first Global Leadership Summit in Singapore. Since 2006, more than 2,100 people from more than 100 churches have been able to attend the Summit in Singapore. God is using the Summit to transform churches in their country.

This year, the first Chinese speaking Summit in Singapore will take place—opening up even more opportunities for every local church in their country to prevail. Not only are Vincent and these other pastors impacting leaders in Singapore, but they are also transforming their region by freeing up their staff, resources, and facilities to train other countries hosting the Summit in Asia. Simply put, these pastors have developed a heart and passion to see the local church prevail throughout their region of the world.

We hope you’ll join us in prayer that God uses events like the Summit to “free up” thousands of leaders around the world, just like Vincent.

special thanks to Jarrett Ruffino for researching and writing this story

As we head into GLS season...

2009-09-17T14:15:00.000-07:00

The first GLS is only 4 days away. On September 21-22, our friends in Singapore will start what promises to be a fall of changed lives, inspired leaders and spirit-filled promptings at our 159 sites across the globe. Our teams are entering the last push of preparation, with emails flying, last minute details being attended to, and long, hard hours being worked. All will be ready when the time comes. As we draw closer, we wanted to leave you with this thought:

Imagine the effect of the Summit on one leader.

Picture a leader working in an impoverished city, with corrupted governments to contend with, few resources for the ideas he wants to implement, and even fewer tools to help him realize the vision God put in his heart. This leader is without hope. Hard years have taken their toll. His thoughts fixate on giving up. This same weary leader, if given the opportunity to attend the Summit, leaves with God placing a new energy in his soul. Fresh strategies for his ministry and tools to implement them. New vision to revitalize his tired congregation. Fresh eyes with which to view the same circumstance. Such life breathed into a leader can change the game.

We hear this same story over and over again. A leader about to give up, tired, war-weary, and without hope, comes to the Summit. And all that changes. Imagine the potential with the 60,000 such leaders we will reach this year.

Now you can see why we can't wait.

The GLS Progress - Update 2

2009-09-02T11:43:00.003-07:00

Welcome to our latest progress update. Things are busy around here preparing the soil for what we know will be a movement of God this fall in countries all over the world.

To give you an idea of all that goes into just one GLS site, picture this. An Organizing Committee convenes months and months, sometimes a full year before the GLS happens in a country. They carefully guide the direction of the event, recruiting key volunteers, selecting venues and choosing content for that country's event. In the months leading up to the event, there are trips to Chicago to view the Leadership Summit at WCCC, negotiations with host churches. Volunteer teams are put in place. Different print and web marketing campaigns are launched are strategic times to attract the country's best church leaders. Content from the Leadership Summit is translated into the native language. Volunteers including tech, programming, and event management teams are trained in the highest quality event production techniques. Banners printed, stage decor designed, content processing tools written, registration confirmations sent out, bands and vocalists rehearse, caterers selected, notebooks printed. It is hard to overemphasize all that goes into just one GLS location. Multiply that times the 160 sites this year and you have an idea of all the activity that is happening all over the world, right now. The first GLS is 10 days away, with most being in early October, so our teams are in high-production mode.

Would you pray for our teams overseas as they prepare? Each one has a multitude of details to attend to. Their desire is to create a seamless event so God's leaders, most of whom are serving under very difficult circumstances, can be envisioned, equipped and inspired. Those leaders, some of whom leading in impoverished, corrupted cultures, come to this event every year because often times, it's the only event in their country that affords them access to quality leadership development. These leaders need this development most of all.

The GLS in Kazakhstan

2009-09-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

According to Christianity Today, evangelical Christianity in Kazakhstan is on the rise. While most of the country claims a Muslim faith, urban Kazakhs are a part of a growing trend of young Christ-followers in the country. Kazakhstan is a country of collisions where several different ethnic and religious traditions intermingle, although most Kazakhs call themselves Muslims. A former state in the Soviet USSR, Kazakhstan served as a deportation site of many ethnic groups during the reign of Stalin, further contributing to the colorful cultural landscape.

The GLS has been in Kazakhstan since 2007. Pictured below are worshippers during our first year there.

The GLS in Kazakhstan has not been met without resistance. The country's current leader is constantly working to ban free press along with banning his political opponents. Christianity in Kazakhstan hasn't gone unscathed. Recently, the governement tried to pass a law effectively prohibiting the presence of foreign missionaries in Kazakhstan, and it was under the threat of this law that the GLS in 2008 was almost shut down. To get a feel for all that happened, here is an email excerpt from one of the GLS's representatives in attendance there:

Almaty, Kazakhstan 2008-11-26

”What do you think of the GLS?”

“We don´t think…we feel. We feel Grace, we experience the
Grace and the Mercy of the Lord”

…so much for trying to be a smart journalist….

This was said after Bill´s [Hybels] first session at the Kazakhstan GLS. A GLS, that has encountered several obstacles during the last couple of days. First session went very well…people were engaged and laughed and applauded.Then during the break one of the Organizing Committee members came and told us that the Security Police
had called and asked what kind of event was going on and also they sent an officer to check during the break. They asked if there were any non-Kazak people on stage…..but both our facilitator and all worship teams are Kazak. There is a new law about to be passed end of this week that will quite effectively prohibit internationals to enter the country to do any sort of missions related work. Even Russian citizens are considered foreigners in this regard.

So, keep praying that the GLS can go on today and tomorrow without any further interference from the authorities. Pray also for the Body of Christ in Kazakhstan and the Church leaders ….they are under hard pressure and we are honoured to be able to serve them by bringing the GLS here. It´s greatly appreciated!

Ulf

After this official government inquiry, the GLS was allowed to continue. The leaders there were envisioned and inspired. And, the law itself never officially passed.

God is at work in Kazakhstan. Be in prayer for the Christian leaders of this country as they have massive obstacles they are up against. Entrenched cultural systems and governmental opposition are just a couple examples of all they have working against them. The GLS exists to build these leaders up so these dedicated men and women can have the leadership tools in their arsenal that they need to bring the gospel to Kazakhstan.

The GLS Progress - Update 1

2009-08-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

With the first GLS being about four weeks away and most happening in October and November, we thought you all might be interested to hear about all the various irons that are on the fire around the world in preparation for the GLS this year.

Today, we wrap up the East Africa GLS training which took place all this week. Volunteers from Uganda, Malawi and Kenya were poured into, envisioned, and trained in the nitty-gritty details of putting on these events in their country. We covet your prayers as our team heads to Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria next week to continue training our teams in West Africa at our 7 different Nigerian sites. Below is a picture of some tech volunteers being trained in Kenya this week.

All summer there have been and will continue to be various other trainings occurring all over the globe, including locations in Singapore, Bolivia, and South Africa to name a few. Training is an extremely high value at the GLS. Quality events are ensured by quality training, and we are dedicated to pouring into the volunteers who so selflessly sacrifice their time to participate in this venture. We are SO grateful for them, and without them, the GLS truly couldn't happen.

Another massive project in making the GLS happen every year is the incredible task of translating the content from the Leadership Summit into 29 different languages. This process is extremely complex, detailed and time-consuming, and our translators give extreme diligence to generating the most accurate, clearest translations possible. Imagine taking the highly conceptual, idiomatic content from the Leadership Summit and trying to translate it into the given context for that particular language.

Take this quote from Gary Hamel, one of this year's Summit faculty: "Their employees were prisoners of precedent, locked in jails run by the custodians of covention." This is a compelling sentence in its original English context, but native speakers can sometimes take for granted that the jargon and idioms in their language can be easily translated into others. Can you imagine translating that sentence understandably into 29 different languages? That's just one instance, and it happens for each and every Summit session at every foreign-language GLS location.

That gives you just a taste of all the activity going on around the world right now in preparation for this exciting event. Check back again next week to hear more about the exciting initiatives being spearheaded as we prepare for God to work mightly through this event.

The Story of the GLS

2009-08-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

If you can change a leader, you can change a church. When you change a church, you can change a community. And when enough churches are changing, you can affect a region, a country and eventually the world.

In the wake of this mission, the Global Leadership Summit was born. Through the impact of the original Leadership Summit and travelling with the international arm of the Willow Creek Association; Bill Hybels, pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, started to notice a trend. When a church leader led well, communities were effected, people were evangelized and churches were refreshed. In short, the gospel in all its fullness was spread when an impassioned, dedicated, inspired leader exercised his Romans 12:8 gift. When leaders suffered through a lack of training and inspiration; churches died away, cultures grew more and more secularized, and the corruption in governments festered. Hybels and others with him recognized the widespread need for top-quality leadership training to be made available world-wide; regardless of location, language or ability to pay.

After much strategizing and planning, a new idea was forming. The content from the Leadership Summit was so high-quality, and applied so well to the contexts of the world-wide church - there had to be a way to leverage it internationally; cost-effectively, with the highest impact possible. But there wasn't a model in existence that would enable the content to be available at the scope the leaders envisioned. But, what about ...DVDs?

A DVD conference. But, who would sit for two days watching a screen? Would that be the kind of top-quality event the leaders envisioned? Would it work?

They didn't know if it would work. But, it was an ingenious way to broadcast the content world-wide in a cost-effective way.

And so, in the fall 2005, the Global Leadership Summit launched in 22 sites and 9 countries. The logistical challenges were immense. There was venue selection, catering, notebooks to print, content to translate, resources to order and translate and ship, projectors, sound-systems, and volunteer teams. There was live music and programming; requiring knowledgeable tech teams and talented artists. All of those elements and more were obstacles at each of the 22 sites. Every element you see at a WCA conference was delivered, ensuring the highest quality standards. The leaders of the GLS were determined to deliver a world-class event for each delegate who attended. And deliver they did. Originally, they thought they might reach 3,500 or so international participants.

There were 14,000 in attendance that first year.

God was up to something. In fact, He still is. Each year, the GLS has continued to widen its breadth. In 2006, there were 51 sites in 18 countries with 24,219 delegates in attendance. In 2007; 78 sites, 30 countries and 42,617 attendees. In 2008, despite the financial crisis that gripped the world, the GLS continued to expand to 115 sites, 51 countries and 46,556 attendees.

And in 2009, with finances still tight, we are projecting 160 sites, 57 countries and roughly 60,000 participants.

God is still at work. This has truly morphed into a spirit-inspired leadership movement. Check back here often as the fall progresses for updates on the GLS, to hear the stories of the leaders impacted, and to get a front-row seat to the work God is doing across the globe. We couldn't be more excited.

Welcome to The GLS blog!

2009-08-13T08:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome, all.

This fall, the GLS will reach 57 countries and 160 sites. A need exists to connect our participants to each other from Asia to Europe, to Latin America and Africa and back again. Imagine the potential a simple blog could offer us to unite GLS attenders and volunteers from all over the world, share stories of life transformation, send updates and news about the GLS and tell how God is working. Check back soon and often for our new look and fresh content. We can't wait to see what God is going to do this fall through the GLS, and while we know the story will be too big to tell here, we hope this tool will give us glimpses into the Kingdom he is building through this ministry.