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International Connection
by Gary Schwammlein (Willow Creek Association)
Global Summit Exceeds All Expectations
In early November, in Perth, Australia, nearly 500 pastors and leaders experienced the final Global Leadership Summit (GLS) event for 2005. I want you to know and to be encouraged by the extent to which we relied upon and saw the guidance of the Holy Spirit to achieve this milestone.
To recap briefly, in September, October, and November we launched the Global Leadership Summit, with events in 22 cities and nine countries. These conferences utilized pre-recorded talks on DVD from eight of the 2005 Leadership Summit sessions, with live programming teams from each host country.
When we first presented this idea, many said it would never work. I’m delighted to report, not only did it work — it worked far more powerfully than we had ever dared to hope!
As we were planning the Global Leadership Summit, we knew that in order to succeed it would have to be a “wow” experience. And that’s exactly the comment we heard most from our staff and attenders — “Wow!”
Here are just a couple of comments from an attender and a staff member:
From our Willow staff and host church pastors — “Fantastic!! Leaders were challenged, encouraged and developed … The engagement of people with the videocast was unexpected and powerful … People cried, laughed, called out, clapped, and cheered, stood to be prayed for … I have had literally dozens of delegates come to me to express thanks and excitement about the event.”
From attenders — “I must admit, most of the time I forgot we were watching it via video. It is hard to put into words the impact this event has had on our lives. The GLS was life changing, like a wakeup call to get back on track again. It was amazing to see God work so powerfully through modern technology. I was challenged, confronted, encouraged, and touched by the amazing variety of speakers and our God’s awesome Spirit.”
These affirmations confirm the decision to present The Leadership Summit via recorded means to an audience around the world that could never have attended a site in North America. It truly is the message, not the medium, that makes the difference.
What made the global Summit a success? We believe it centers on six things:
• World Class Speakers
• Presentation: Screen Size and High Picture Quality
• Facilitation
• Volunteers
• The Experience
• Prayer
Now we are moving ahead into next year with even greater faith and confidence, with a six-year goal of expansion into 80 countries and 180 cities! Thanks to you for being such a critical part of this great adventure!
Gary Schwammlein is the executive vice-president of WCA’s International Ministry |
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