Our friends at Christian Week have shone a spotlight on this year’s Global Leadership Summit. Thanks to Doug Koop for sharing his thoughts on how the Summit can impact Canadian church leaders.
KELOWNA, BC—“I really do believe that the local church is the hope of the world, but for it to reach its redemptive potential it must be well led,” says Bill Hybels, founder and senior pastor the Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois.
Propelled by that undergirding vision, the Willow Creek Association produces an annual Global Leadership Summit that is telecast to more than 200 cities in more than 70 countries.
This includes Canada, where The Leadership Centre Willow Creek Canada is partnering with 22 host churches to make the Summit available to some 7,300 participants throughout the country.
This year they lowered the price and changed the date in order to increase the impact of the Summit in Canada.
“When we consulted leaders in our network we quickly realized that the traditional date in August doesn’t work very well in the Canadian context,” explains marketing director Brian McKenzie. “It was inconvenient for the host churches and limited access for potential participants.”
The Canadian edition of the Summit is now slated for the end of September.
The roster of presenters for the 2011 event is a stellar line-up of accomplished leaders from a wide range of fields—business, arts, church, academy, ministry. The list includes Hybels, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, “innovator and cultural architect” Erwin McManus, Australian minister John Dickson, and many more.
Scott Cochrane, executive director of The Leadership Centre Willow Creek Canada, is urging Canadian pastors to sign up and bring teams of both veteran and new staff and lay leaders.
“I know of many churches who intend to capitalize on the new dates and use this event as a leadership retreat… where the can build relationships while sharpening their skills and abilities together,” he says.
The deadline for early bird price break is May 24.
