INDEX
Promotional Strategist Overview
2
Vision Casting the Global Leadership Summit
4
Site Specific Goals
9
Leveraging the Impact of Your Senior Pastor
10
Identify and Connect with Key Influencers
13
Organizing a Leaders Gathering
18
Targeting College and Seminary Students
22
Targeting Your Own Congregation
25
1
PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIST OVERVIEW
The WCA is committed to doing everything we can to maximize the transformative
impact of the Global Leadership Summit (GLS). We are committed to a National
Marketing Campaign to spread the news of this event through brochures, emails,
advertising, and press releases. However, we need your help to personally reach out to
leaders in your church, community, and region.
As I’m sure you have discovered a personal invitation is the most effective tool to get
people to attend and experience the GLS. That’s where you, the Promotional Strategist,
come in.
First and foremost, an effective Promotional Strategist is someone with a huge passion
for the local church.
This position has a lot to do with relationships: identifying current and potential relational
connects, initiating and forming new relationships with upper-level leaders, nurturing
existing relationships, linking like-minded leaders with each other, etc. To be effective in
this role, someone would be:
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Outgoing, with strong relational skills.
Able to comfortably work with people at all hierarchical levels.
Able to command the respect of upper-level leaders.
Creative, with a marketing mindset.
An excellent communicator, both verbal and written.
Able to identify and recruit the right team members and lead them well.
Position Summary
The Promotional Strategist will inspire, connect, equip, and mobilize Christian leaders
through their participation in The Global Leadership Summit. He/she will plan, manage,
and direct the execution of activities designed to:
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Complement & create synergy with the National Marketing Campaign
Build & leverage relationships with key influencers to further leadership
development in regions around the country
Achieve Summit goals at your location
Role Priorities
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Achieve Summit attendance goals at your site
Develop and implement a local Marketing Plan that complements and supports
the National Campaign.
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Cast vision to churches and organizations on how the Summit can be leveraged
for leadership development
Persuade churches to bring larger teams to fully leverage the Summit (10% of
adult church attendance)
Encourage alumni churches to commit to this annual gathering
o Identify, build, and leverage relationships with key influencers to maximize
the Kingdom impact of the Summit. Key Influencers to consider are
church leaders, denominational leaders, academic leaders/seminaries,
urban leaders, rural leaders, ethnic leaders, ministerial associations,
marketplace leaders, para-church leaders, etc.
o Network through the relational contacts of Senior Pastor/Point Leader,
other staff members, members of your congregation, others outside your
church.
o Plan and execute a variety of promotional efforts such as mailings, email
campaigns, web advertising, phone campaigns, leader luncheons, or other
gatherings, networking, etc.
Assemble and Lead a Marketing Team at Your Site
o Recruit a team to support your efforts in your church and community
o Share the responsibilities for promotion dividing tasks among the team
based on skill, expertise, and connections
o Facilitate a monthly or bi-monthly meeting to ensure promotional activities
are in process and heading toward your goals.
3
VISION CASTING THE GLOBAL LEADERSHIP SUMMIT
At the Willow Creek Association we believe the Summit to be significant because:
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The church truly is the hope of the world
Envisioned, equipped, and encouraged Christian leaders can make a difference
in their own church or organization that can be literally life-changing and eternityaltering
The phenomenal number of leaders trained at the Summit over the years is an
indicator of the significance and effectiveness of the event:
o At the first Summit in 1995, there were about 2,000 Registrants.
o In 2011, the Summit was broadcast via satellite from the Willow Creek
Community Church to 185 sites in the U.S. and over 65,000 leaders.
Then, globally to 80,000+ leaders in 260+ cities and 75 countries.
o In total, over 900,000 leaders have been trained at the Summit over the
past 17 years!
The potential Kingdom impact created by all of these trained and motivated
leaders could literally change the world, for Him!
As Bill Hybels says of the potential impact of the Summit:
Change a leader, change a church, change a community, a city, a country,
and eventually the world!
Why is Effective Leadership in the Church so Important?
The following is an excerpt from a message that Bill Hybels gave at the first Summit in
1995. He has cast this vision on many occasions and in many countries since then, and
he’s even more convinced of it today. It gives us all a glimpse of how passionate Bill is
about the local church and why effective leadership within the church is so extremely
important.
I say it a lot, but I mean it every time I say it. One of the reasons why leaders are so
important is because the local church is the hope of the world. I don’t know if you
really buy that. But I’ll tell you, I think you should. Just look at our world, friends. It is
unraveling at a rapid rate, and pretty much nobody knows how to fix it.
Bill Bennett said it well when he said, “I submit to you that the crisis of our time is
spiritual. What afflicts us is a corruption of the heart and a turning away of the soul.
Nothing has been more consequential in the unraveling that’s going on in our society
than large segments of the American (or your country) people privately turning away
from God. And, to turn things around, there must be wide-scale personal spiritual
renewal.”
Question: Who traffics in the spiritual renewal business? We do! The church!
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I’ve come to the crystal clear conclusion that the church possesses the single ray
of hope left in the darkening skies of human depravity.
The church has the Gospel. The church has the instruction manual, the Bible, for
human behavior, the guidebook for relationships, the road map for ethics and morality.
The church has the gift of community to offer wayward, wandering, and lonely people.
The church has a transcendently powerful mission to invite people to be a part of. For
this church or your church to reach its redemptive, life-giving potential, it must be well
led.
It must be powerfully envisioned, strategically focused, internally aligned. Its members
and volunteers must be motivated; its message must be preached with clarity; its
problems have to be addressed and solved; its values must be enforced; its resources
must be leveraged, and that’s all the business of leaders.
Which is why the Apostle Paul cried out:
If you have the spiritual gift of leadership, for God’s sake, LEAD!
Who Can Leaders Learn From?
The following is an excerpt from Bill Hybels on why we select the Summit faculty we
select. He casts the vision that as leaders, we should and can learn from a wide variety
of leaders.
Who can a leader learn from or who should a leader be able to learn from? How wide is
the field of candidates that you as a leader can learn from? Is it real narrow? Is it midrange? Or is it quite wide? I know some leaders who can only learn from people who
are pretty much like them. Think like them, pray like them, vote like them, see the world
the way they do. Whenever I see a leader like that I feel sorry for the leader and I feel
even worse for her or his followers. Because they are going to be cut off from a whole
world of information and a world of powerful ideas that God could use to challenge that
leader to stretch them to grow them up as a Christ follower and to grow them up as a
leader.
Some of the best leadership lessons I’ve ever learned have come from very unlikely
candidates. If you would have told me a president of an academic institution would be
able to deposit practical, unforgettable leadership lessons in me I would have said, “Not
likely”. But it happened a few summers back. Steve Sample, President of the University
of Southern California, made a huge and lasting impact on my life. I still correspond with
him and he’s become a kind of mentor at a distance for me.
If you would have told me that I would learn invaluable leadership lessons from a pastor
from Soweto, a Hindu Harvard prof, an agnostic leadership researcher, I would have
doubted you. But I have a huge debt to pay to Mosa Sono from Soweto, Ashish Nanda
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from Harvard and Jim Collins, who we’ve all benefited from. And I want to ask you,
“Who can you learn from?” Yesterday we all got our bell rung by a British filmmaker who
hasn’t put all the pieces of his faith together yet. But we learned from him. Is your
learning bandwidth getting wider or narrower as you mature as a leader?
Now, for what it’s worth, it’s my fiercest determination to keep putting faculty lineups
together that make a portion of you get your underwear in a bundle. It is! Now
sometimes, I get afraid that you think we wind up with some on the edge faculty
members by accident. There are no accidents here, friends. This is absolutely
intentional. We think one of the ways that we can serve church leaders is to expand
their learning bandwidth. We think you are big boys and girls. We think you are
discerning. We think you can separate wheat from chaff. We think you can balance stuff
out, subject it to the witness of the Holy Spirit and the word of God, take the good and
leave the bad. We’re so bold as to expect market placed leaders to come and learn
from pastors because a lot of market placed people have cut themselves off from faith
based leadership learning. We don’t think that should happen either. But at the end of
the day, it’s all about learning, leaders. It’s all about learning.
If the local church is the hope of the world, and I’d take a bullet defending that
statement, I do believe it is and if I’ve been given any senior level leadership
responsibilities than I better be a learner and I better expand my learning bandwidth so
that I can learn and grow and do the best job that I can.
Overcoming Objections to the Summit
As you begin communicating to churches and individuals about attending the Summit,
you can expect to hear differing reasons people can’t or won’t want to register. Below
are some good responses to those objections:
What does leadership have to do with the local church?
Everything! The local church is the most important institution on planet Earth. We need
to do everything humanly possible to assure its success and vitality. Becoming a better
leader will help in building better teams, putting together more relevant programs, and
establishing more effective ministries. Many churches have great ideas; they just don’t
have enough leaders to put action into them.
Why do I need leadership training?
Every leader can get better, and it’s his or her responsibility to do so. Leadership
development is an ongoing journey that really never ends. The people you are
responsible for will follow a leader who recognizes the value of ongoing improvement. A
leader who can vision cast, prioritize objectives, and lead teams is going to be more
effective. These skills can be learned and improved upon. If you are at 50% or 80% of
your leadership potential, the question really is what are you doing to get to 100%? The
church deserves your best.
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There are so many conferences to attend. I don’t have enough time and/or money
to go to everything.
The Willow Creek Association broadcasts the Summit via videocast to cities all over the
world. This makes it extremely convenient and affordable to bring your team. Time and
money are always a precious resource, so that’s why you need to make sure you’re
getting the best value for them. The Summit offers a world-class faculty with new and
fresh content every year, giving your teams the best two-day experience possible for the
money. The money and time is a small investment for the return. This will change your
church’s leadership for the better.
I would like to attend, but I don’t really want to bring anyone else from my church.
We have heard many stories where leaders felt they cheated themselves, their staff,
and their church by attending solo. The Summit is designed to encourage, cast vision,
and provide next steps into becoming a better leader. It is for existing staff, elders, and
board members, as well as emerging leaders and lay leaders. Please don’t say no for
them. Let them have an opportunity to experience this event. It’s a fantastic way to pull
leaders from your congregation into the game of ministry. To create a leadership culture
and critical mass within your church, The Summit needs to be experienced by a team.
I don’t know Willow Creek Community Church, or I’ve heard some negative things
about Willow.
The Global Leadership Summit is not about methodology or how to do church. It’s about
developing leaders for the sake of the local church. The Willow Creek Association’s
desire is that every Bible believing church wins and prevails regardless of worship styles
or methodology, and that drive has a lot to do with leadership. The WCA’s primary
parameter for membership is that churches are Bible believing, teach the gospel, have a
heart for lost people, and are willing to do what is needed to reach them.
Willow Creek has been classified as a seeker-oriented church which is biblically
conservative with a more progressive approach to its presentation of the gospel. Willow
feels it must communicate to their culture without compromising with their culture. Some
people have fallen prey to misinformation and misunderstandings. Willow would
welcome them to experience the church anytime.
I think we’ll just buy the Team Edition DVD this year.
The intent of the Team Edition DVD is really to resource churches after the Summit so
they can continue learning and allow their team to go deeper and process the
information from the event. To really create a leadership culture or a leadership
movement, the church must have an experience. You’re not going to get this experience
from reading books or watching a DVD. There is something catalytic about experiencing
the Summit together as a team. The Summit, if leveraged properly, can really be a
launching pad for planning the next ministry season. Capitalize on the energy and
enthusiasm your team has from this experience by spending time together and
discussing next steps. There is also value in connecting with other leaders from your
community who are also passionate about the local church. It’s amazing to see what
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God might do when the Big “C” Church works together for the common good of the
community.
We’ve been before. We want to try something new this year.
In ministry, there is value in having multiple tools in your tool box. We would strongly
recommend that you don’t eliminate or sacrifice your leadership development training.
We feel there is huge value in getting to the Summit every year for an annual injection
of learning and encouragement needed to do ministry another year.
There are hundreds of general leadership conferences available, but the Summit is
unapologetically Christian and designed to advance leadership for the sake of the local
church. There is not another conference which will offer your team the cutting-edge
content or experience for the money.
I haven’t heard of of these speakers. Or, I’ve already heard these speakers before.
The Global Leadership Summit is really a university-type experience, with world class
faculty offered each year to pull and stretch us, as well as provoke new thoughts and
ideas on how to be a better leader. The team at the WCA works countless hours
coordinating content for the Summit. They invite speakers because of their expertise
and work with them to ensure the talks are relevant to the audience. The talks are not
canned presentations. If you have heard the speakers before, it’s likely you will hear
something new and fresh. The WCA guarantees the Summit to be a premier, worldclass, intellectually sophisticated, church-leader focused, transformation-minded event.
There is nothing like it!
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SITE SPECIFIC GOALS
Insert Your Goals
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LEVERAGE THE IMPACT OF YOUR SENIOR PASTOR
Often, the Summit at your site is under the direction of your Senior Pastor or Point
Leader, so it’s very important for the two of you to have an agreed upon strategy and
budget. If at all possible, you, the Senior Pastor, and perhaps another executive leader
should meet to confirm a budget and plan.
Determine a marketing strategy to reach your Site’s goals.
 Review Registration Goals
 Craft a plan to cast vision and register the leadership core at your church.
To make an impact in your congregation, 10% of your adult weekend attendance
should attend and learn from the Summit.
 Identify potential Marketing Team members. Promoting the Summit is a team
effort; it should not be done alone. Make careful consideration of your
congregation and your region to build a team to assist the Senior Pastor and
Promotional Strategist.
 Identify Key Influencers (those whom others respect and whose opinions and
endorsements matter in your region). Decide which ones would be strategically
important for your Senior Pastor to personally connect with, versus those that
you, as the Promotional Strategist can handle. Decide how you can help facilitate
these meetings.
 Set a budget and allocate resources, etc.
Discuss your Summit relationship as Senior Pastor and Promotional Strategist.
Use the following as topics of discussion:
 Determine the best use of your Senior Pastor’s time. We have seen success
when the Promotional Strategist is able to serve as the arms and legs while the
Senior Pastor provides the face of the Summit for your site. It is of utmost
importance to leverage both of your strengths in this commission.
 Decide the best use of your Promotional Strategist’s time. Work together to
set priorities of leaders to contact and plan the best tools to achieve success.
 Establish the best use of your senior pastor’s influence. Creating space for
your senior pastor to connect with the most influential Christian churches in your
region is key. Agree to an appropriate schedule of meetings your senior pastor
can use to vision cast the Summit to these leaders.
 Discuss a schedule of Leaders Gatherings. By assembling leaders together
who have not attended the Summit, you can engage in conversation about
developing leaders for the church, the Summit and beyond.
 Decide the best communication avenue between you and your Senior Pastor
during the Summit campaign season for updates, meeting requests, etc.
On the next two pages, is a sample budget you might consider using.
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My Local Marketing Budget
Meet with your Senior Pastor or church Leadership Team to confirm your starting budget
$____________________ Total Summit Budget Set from Senior Pastor Meeting
Potential marketing costs your church may incur
Budget
Actual
Web site
Web Designer to update church Web site
$________
$________
$________
$________
$________
$________
$________
$________
Phone Campaigns
Cost for local and long distance phone calls
$________
$________
E-mail Campaigns
Writer to prepare copy
Designer to design the E-mail(s)
Email Distribution Provider (if applicable)
$________
$________
Printed Materials
Photocopy or printing costs for:
church bulletin inserts
flyers
brochures
postcards
personal invitation letters
envelopes
banners
$________
$________
$________
$________
$________
$________
$________
$________
$________
$________
$________
$________
$________
$________
$________
$________
Mailing costs
$________
$________
Radio
$________
$________
$_________
$_________
$_________
$________
$________
$________
Leaders Gatherings
Invitations
Food Cost
Giveaways
Advertising costs
30 second spots
60 second spots
Public Service Announcements
Continued on next page
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My Local Marketing Budget Cont.
Budget
Actual
$_________
$_________
$_________
$_________
$________
$________
$________
$________
Press Releases
Distribute free press passes
Other
$_________
$________
Promoting Event to Congregation
Printing
Phone calls
Meals to meet with key people
$________
$________
$_________
$_________
$________
$________
$________
$________
Scholarship Funds
$________
$________
Miscellaneous
Mileage Reimbursements
Volunteer expenses – food and/or snacks
thank you cards
$_________
$________
$_________
$________
Complimentary registrations for partnerships
$_________
$________
Other _________________________
$_________
$________
$_________
$________
Print Advertising
Placement in local newspaper(s)
Placement in school newspaper(s)
Placement in direct mail packages
Placement in regional journals
TOTAL
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IDENTIFY AND CONNECT WITH KEY INFLUENCERS
Key Influencers are important because when they catch the vision of the Summit, they
can help promote the Summit both inside and outside their own congregation or
organization for the benefit of the Kingdom in your community.
Spend dedicated time brainstorming leaders who are Key Influencers in your
community – those whom others respect and whose opinions and endorsements
matter. Use the Key Influencer Brainstorm document found on page (Insert page #) to
jot those ideas down. Consider Key Influencers among the following categories:
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Leaders from other area churches
Denominational headquarters or district/territory offices
Regional associations or networks of church leaders
Para-church organizations
Other ministries
Philanthropic organizations
Not-for-Profit organizations
Christian-owned businesses
Student and Campus ministries such as Campus Crusade, InterVarsity, and
Young Life
Civic organizations
Connect with staff at your church to see if they have other key contacts to add to
your list.
Network with other staff members and congregants to find out who might have
relationships with these Key Influencers.
Strategically connect with each Key Influencer on your list by sending a letter
informing them of the values of the Summit and inviting them into this leadership
movement. Include the following items in the letter:
 Any local testimonies
 Marketing material
Follow up the letter with a phone call. Remind them that by sending their people
to the Summit:
 The individuals will be envisioned and equipped in ways that can apply
personally, professionally, and as leaders in their churches.
 The organization benefits as the individuals apply what they’ve learned in the
workplace.
 The benefits to the organization are multiplied as teams experience, process,
and implement Summit learning together.
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For those Key Influencers who are willing to promote the Summit, track their
network or circle of influence and see how you can support their efforts by
providing marketing collateral, etc.
 Consider if any of these Key Influencers would be good candidates for the
complimentary registrations that are available to your site.
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Key Influencer Brainstorm
Contact Name
Church /
Organization
Area of Influence
Contact
Information
On the following pages are some examples of letters you could edit to these key
influencers.
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Sample Host Church Letter to Senior Pastor
Please Note: The following is intended as an example of a letter that could be sent from
the Senior Pastor of your church to an area leader. It could be tailored to a particular
recipient or group. To credibly represent your church, it should be printed on your
church’s letterhead. Before you send out a letter on your Senior Pastor’s behalf, of
course, it must have his or her sign-off, approval, and signature.
(Insert Date)
Dear (Salutation),
I’m writing to make sure you and your staff are aware of the upcoming event taking
place at (name of church) (Insert Date). We’re an official location for The Global
Leadership Summit 2012, the Willow Creek Association’s annual world-class leadership
event. As a videocast host site for this event, we truly believe the Summit to be one of
the most accessible and affordable opportunities for leadership development available
anywhere.
I hope you’ll consider bringing your team to (name of church) for The Global Leadership
Summit. My recommendation is that you put together a team of staff and lay leaders as
big as 10 percent of your church size, bringing both veteran leaders and new leaders. I
know many churches use this event as a leadership retreat, during which they can build
relationships while sharpening their skills and abilities together.
I feel so strongly that your team will benefit from this experience that I will be happy to
provide meeting space for your team while you’re here at our church. In fact, if I can
help you plan or otherwise serve you in any way, please let me know. We love the
personal growth that comes from participating in the Summit, but we also love the
chance to reach across denominational lines to see the Church come together with a
shared purpose — to bring the hope of Christ to this area as we develop leaders for the
sake of the church.
Thank you for your time. I hope to hear from you soon…and to see you here in (Insert
Month)!
In Christ,
Name, Senior Pastor
Your Church’s Name
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Sample Host Church Letter to Businesses, Not-for-Profits, and ParaChurch Organizations
Please Note: The following is intended as an example of a letter that could be sent from
the Senior Pastor of your church to an area leader. It could be tailored to a particular
recipient or group. To credibly represent your church, it should be printed on your
church’s letterhead. Before you send out a letter on your Senior Pastor’s behalf, of
course, it must have his or her sign-off, approval, and signature.
(Insert Date)
Dear (Salutation),
I’m writing to make sure you and your team are aware of the upcoming event taking
place at (name of church) (Insert Date). We’re an official satellite location for The Global
Leadership Summit 2012, the Willow Creek Association’s annual world-class leadership
event. As a videocast host site for this event, we truly believe the Summit to be one of
the most accessible and affordable opportunities for leadership development available
anywhere.
I hope you’ll consider bringing your team of leaders from your organization to (name of
church) for The Global Leadership Summit. The event is an excellent opportunity to
develop leaders of all stripes. It features leadership training from experts recognized all
over the world — the kind of transferable training that’s as appropriate for business and
non-profit leaders as it is for those in church leadership. I know that, in the past, a
number of organizations have used this opportunity as a staff retreat or a team-building
experience.
I feel so strongly that your organization will benefit from The Global Leadership Summit
that I will be happy to provide meeting space for your team while you’re here at our
church. In fact, if I can help you plan or otherwise serve you in any way, please let me
know. We love the personal growth that comes from participating in the Summit, but we
also love the chance to meet new people and learn from other leaders like you.
Thank you for your time. I hope to hear from you soon…and to see you here in (Insert
Month)!
Sincerely,
Name
Title
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ORGANIZING A LEADERS GATHERING
Leaders Gatherings provide a venue for you to envision key pastors and other Christfollowing influential leaders from your area about the need for ongoing leadership
development in your region. The primary goal of this gathering is relationship
development between the Host Church Senior Pastor and other senior pastors in your
area, in order to open the door to talking about the need for leadership development, to
share your experience with the Summit, and to share details about the upcoming event.
If the Summit is new to your area, we suggest you use this outline for a Leaders
Gathering during your first and second year of hosting. As you move into a third year of
hosting, your Leadership Gatherings may need to take on a new dimension. Check out
the next section for more information. Use this base as you plan your own gatherings
with key pastors/influential leaders in your area.
While the Promotional Strategist can provide administrative and organizational
leadership for this event, the Gathering should be hosted and led by the Senior Pastor.
Conduct at least one Leaders Gathering with the Senior Pastors in your region, but
consider other Leaders Gatherings with specific groups. Last year, one Host Site
conducted three gatherings—one with all senior pastors, one with all business leaders,
and one with all school teachers.
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Use the Leadership Gathering Planning Worksheet on page (Insert Page) in
this section to brainstorm several networks and groups of leaders to bring
together at one or more gatherings.
Pick your meeting time. Experience has proven that the Gatherings work best
around a meal. Breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner meetings have all been
used. Some sites have even done mid-afternoon ―coffee/dessert‖ events.
Pick a place. The Gathering could be held in your church, though it’s more ideal
to host these Gatherings in a private room at a club, hotel, or restaurant. Be sure
to have a right-sized room set up with skirted tables in an open square. This
arrangement allows everyone to see each other, which greatly enhances a
conversational setting!
Invite a group of about 20 leaders. It’s ideal to have a couple of Summit
veterans included who, at the appropriate time, can speak to the value of the
Summit experience, but be sure to include key leaders who’ve never attended
before.
Issue invitations personally from the host Senior Pastor via personal letter,
email, or phone call and require an RSVP. A team member will likely need to
drive the process to support your pastor.
Include a start and stop time on the invitation and hold to it carefully. Two
hours, including the meal, is an optimal time frame.
Prepare for the gathering by:
o Creating name tags as well as name plates for each place setting.
o Assembling a packet to send home with each person/church.
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Talking Points for Leaders Gathering
At the Actual Event:
 Use the Talking Points on the next few pages for your presentation.
After the Gathering:
 Send a thank you note to each attendee from the Senior Pastor.
 Keep a list of each attendee’s contact information.
 Follow Up with these leaders after the Summit to create an ongoing
Pastor/Leader Gathering for the purpose of mutual support and leadership
development.
Welcome:
 Welcome and thank you for carving out the time to be with us today.
 Everyone here is involved in doing ministry with great value—furthering the
cause of Jesus Christ.
 It’s my hope that today’s get-together will form the nucleus of an ongoing team
that would support and pray for one another as we strive to provide excellent
leadership to our churches to further the cause of Christ in our region.
Introductions:
 Go around the room and ask each person to introduce himself or herself, by
sharing their name, church name, ministry role, how long they’ve served in that
role, and one additional interesting fact about their church/ministry.
 Ask each person to share a surprising outcome from their recent Easter services;
or/ in-30-seconds-or-less talk about a ―Yea, God‖ moment or ministry highlight
from the past month or two. Model what you want them to do by going first.
These introductions should be no more than two minutes each.
 Example: My name is John Smith, and I’m Senior Pastor at First Community
Church in Springfield—just celebrated my 10th year. One of our ministry
highlights this spring was an outreach event, where we had 200 volunteers who
worked to paint the community center in town and landscape the entrance to the
local high school—the impact was huge…made headline news and an article in
the paper!
Transition to Topic:
 After introductions, make a clear transition to the topic of leadership by saying,
―Here’s why I asked you to come.‖
 Include talking points that relate to leadership development opportunities in your
region. (Don’t make the entire event about the Summit).
 Our church cares about leadership development for the sake of Jesus Christ and
His Church. I invited you here today to talk about one way we’ve chosen to help
further this cause right here in our region—and to tell you a little bit about it.
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Vision Cast for the Importance of Leadership:
 Leadership in the local church is one of the most difficult and demanding roles
any man or woman can ever play—also the most important. What we do literally
has the power to influence human destinies for all eternity.
 A church that is strong and growing stronger is almost always led by spiritually
gifted leaders, fully surrendered to Christ, answering the call of Romans 12:8—to
lead with all diligence.
 When we do our jobs well, the Kingdom of God advances.
 Leadership requires specific skills and fresh infusions of knowledge in order to do
the unique roles only a leader can perform: create action, build teams, initiate
bold plans, ignite hearts with new vision, inspire, motivate, engineer change, set
strategy, achieve God-honoring goals—and then give God all the glory.
How The Global Leadership Summit Has Helped Us:
 One of the tools we’ve used at our church is The Global Leadership Summit.
 Annual training event that’s accessible and affordable.
 Created 17 years ago by Willow Creek Association—a not-for-profit Christian
ministry dedicated to helping churches like yours and ours succeed in our
primary goals of building believers and reaching out to those still outside God’s
family.
 Two days every August in North America and presented via videocast around the
world in October-December.
 Always have world-class faculty with all-new content each year.
 Always deal with very practical issues affecting church leadership—through the
years they’ve covered topics like Self-Leadership (managing stress, spiritual
growth, maintaining resolve, life management); Creating a Leadership Culture
(staff development, volunteers, developing emerging leaders); Vision Casting
(sharpening and communicating vision and mission); and Leading through
Change (navigating change, embracing new opportunities, sharpening skills to
match new direction).
 Great way to get all of the leaders on our team to set aside time for leadership
development we can count on—i.e. two days every 12 months.
 Chance to sharpen our skills and recalibrate ourselves spiritually as well.
 Gets us all onto the same page—gives us common language and new motivation
for the year.
 Great way for us to network with other churches in the area that care about
leadership development and succeeding in pushing the Kingdom forward.
The Global Leadership Summit 2012:
 In 2011, the Summit was broadcast via satellite from the Willow Creek
Community Church to 185 sites in the U.S. and over 65,000 leaders. Then,
globally to 80,000+ leaders in 260+ cities and 75 countries.
 In total, over 900,000 leaders have been trained at the Summit over the past 17
years!
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In 2012, the Summit is projected to reach 65,000 people in the U.S. at 200+
sites.
In 2012, the Summit is projected to reach 90,000 people outside the U.S. at 260+
cities in 85 countries.
Here’s a brief rundown of this year’s unique content: (Share speaker’s names
and highlights and what they’ll be talking about.)
Invite Them to Attend the Summit and Bring Their Teams:
 We’d love to have you and your team at the Summit.
 The Summit has been a great tool for me and for our team, so much so that
we’re partnering with Willow Creek Association to bring the event right here to
our area.
 We’re providing the facilities and the volunteer team to run this event, in order to
make it more affordable to you, your church team, and to other teams across our
region.
 The cost to attend is…
 The Summit costs a fraction of what this kind of training would cost in a secular
setting—and it’s consistently one of the highest caliber training events I’ve ever
experienced.
 Also available are special scholarship rates for College and Seminary Students
and Faculty.
Provide Printed Registration Materials and Contact Name
 I’d like to give you a copy of the Summit brochure (or flyer) with some of the
details.
 I’d also like to provide you with a complimentary DVD which includes a session
from last year’s Summit.
 If you have questions, or want more printed materials, please contact (NAME OF
YOUR PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIST.)
 Make sure you emphasize to register early to receive the best rates.
Thank You and an Invitation to Meet Again
 Thank you for coming today. Again, if you have questions about the Summit or
would like printed materials for your team, contact (NAME OF YOUR
PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIST).
 Offer additional promotional materials to the Summit.
 I’d love to get back together again after the Summit to talk further about helping
our teams with leadership development. If you’d be interested in being a part of
an ongoing pastor group on the topic of leadership, please let me know.
 Close in prayer for their churches and their leadership.
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Leaders Gathering Planning Worksheet
Network or Leaders
Date
Collateral Needed
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Date
Time
Total # of invites
Refreshments
Equipment
Budget
Date invites mailed
Marketing materials needed
Staff needed
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TARGETING COLLEGE AND SEMINARY STUDENTS
From business to communications to ministry, students in any area of study can benefit
from the quality training of The Global Leadership Summit. A growing number of
Christian schools are using the Summit as a training event for their student
development staffs and student leaders.
Recognize the benefits for students. Just like any attendee of the Summit, students
can develop leadership skills, access leadership tools, and learn from the faculty of
nation-wide leaders. However, there are several benefits that are unique to
students/faculty:
 Students and faculty enjoy a scholarship rate at all locations!
 Often, schools will offer academic credit to students attending a conference
such as the Summit through independent study or other program.
Understand your promotion time window. Due to the academic calendar reaching
students and faculty is a time-sensitive effort. Determine what is best in your region of
the world.
Cast the vision to mentors in your congregation and community. Student ministry
and college pastors, small group leaders, or campus leaders all have student contacts
who should be at this premier event. Experience has also shown that students attend
the Summit when a respected leader personally invites them.
Encourage faculty who are members of your church to attend the Summit with your
team or with a group from their school.
Develop a list of colleges, universities, and seminaries in your community. Use the
Academic Contact Tracking Worksheet on the following pages to keep track of contact
information.
Determine a contact at each institution in your area. Departments that serve
students – such as Academic Advising, Spiritual Life, Student Services, and Student
Associations can distribute event information to students.
 Send an introduction letter about yourself and the event- see sample letter on the
next page.
 Follow-up with a personal phone call to discuss how you can partner to promote
the Summit.
Work with your school contact to share Summit information:
 Use campus communications such as school newspaper ads, weekly bulletin
announcements, alumni magazine, intra-campus cable channel ad, or a mass Email to the campus community.
 Host an on-campus registration booth in the student commons using the official
Summit banners for a backdrop to decorate an information table of materials.
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Sample Host Church Letter to Student Organizations
Please Note: The following is intended as an example of a letter that could be sent from
the Senior Pastor of your church to an area leader. It could be tailored to a particular
recipient or group. To credibly represent your church, it should be printed on your
church’s letterhead. Before you send out a letter on your Senior Pastor’s behalf, of
course, it must have his or her sign-off, approval, and signature.
(Insert Date)
Dear (Salutation to President, Director of Student Life, Campus Pastor, etc.),
I’m writing to make sure you and your students are aware of the upcoming event taking
place at (name of church) (Insert Date). We’re an official satellite location for The Global
Leadership Summit 2012, the Willow Creek Association’s annual world-class leadership
event. As a host site for this event, we truly believe the Summit to be one of the most
accessible and affordable opportunities for leadership development available anywhere.
I hope you’ll consider bringing a team of students to (name of church) for The Global
Leadership Summit. The event is an excellent opportunity to develop leaders of all
stripes — faculty, veteran student leaders, and even students who are still growing into
their potential —to demonstrate how each are leading where they are. I know that, in
the past, a number of colleges and/or seminaries have used it as content for a course,
as a field trip, or as a team-building retreat. Perhaps your students would benefit from
one of these approaches.
Willow Creek feels so strongly that this conference will be a valuable time for your entire
team that they’re offering a special discounted rate of (Insert Price) for all college and
seminary faculty and students.
Our team would be happy to offer meeting space while your team is at our church for
The Global Leadership Summit. In fact, if I can help you plan or otherwise serve you in
any way, please let me know. We love the personal growth that comes from
participating in the Summit, but we also love the chance to reach across
denominational, ethnic, and generational lines to see the Church come together with a
shared purpose — to bring the hope of Christ to this area.
Thank you for your time. I hope to hear from you soon…and to see you here in (Insert
Month)!
In Christ,
Name
Title
Organization
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TARGETING YOUR OWN CONGREGATION
The “Diffusion of Innovations” study illustrates how a distinct percentage of participation
is required for a group to embody new ideas. Likewise, we have found that the Summit
is best leveraged when 10% of a church’s adult attendance is present at the event. It is
an excellent training opportunity to envision the members of your own congregation on
the importance of leadership and will help develop skills that contribute to the success
of your entire ministry.
It’s important to develop a strategy early to create a buzz with those who will help
execute the event as well as benefit from its teaching. Their word-of-mouth energy and
excitement will also encourage attendance by others in the community.
Begin Promotion with your Church Staff. Once they are aware of the opportunity for
leadership development, your team will be individual promoters for the Summit.

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
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Think through the different avenues available to communicate with your
church. Consider the Summit Sunday concept for a broad invitation to everyone
in your congregation.
Review the tools available to communicate within your church. Experience has
proven that at least four to six contacts are necessary to relate the importance of
this event. (see the following WORKSHEET for reminders & suggestions)
Draft a communication plan identifying dates, avenues, and tools.
Meet with strategic decision-makers to review the plan and adjust as
necessary to accommodate the planned ministry calendar.
Communicate to all departments involved once the plan is final. A plan is only
as good as the execution, so be sure one person owns the strategy and can
coordinate adjustments as needed along the way.
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Internal Host Site Promotion Worksheet
Name
Department
_______________________________
Senior Pastor
_______________________________
Leadership Team
_______________________________
Usher Lead/Guest Ministry
_______________________________
Communications Team
_______________________________
Administration/Phone Team
_______________________________ _______________________________
_______________________________ _______________________________
_______________________________ _______________________________
_______________________________ _______________________________
_______________________________ _______________________________
Available Resources
Host Church Communication Avenues
□ Weekend Services
□ Departmental Gatherings
□ Mid-Week Services
□ Outreach Events
Host Church Communication Vehicles
□ Print Newsletter Article
□ Print Newsletter Ad
□ E-newsletters Article
□ E-newsletters Ad
□ Weekly Bulletin Article
□ Weekly Bulletin Ad
□ Weekly Service Handout □ Weekly Service
□ Weekly Service Sidescreen
□ Lobby Literature Stands
Announcement
Announcement
□ Church Web site
□ Church Schedule of Events
□ Brochures
□ Flyers
□ Note cards
□ Posters
□ Web Banners
□ Campaign Graphics
□ Business Cards
□ Sample Letters
□ PowerPoint Presentation
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Creating a Presence on Your Church Website
The Internet is an incredibly valuable marketing tool. We ask that each Summit Host
Site create a presence for Summit on their Web site. This will easily provide information
about the event to Host Site congregants, as well as to the general public.
Promote the Summit throughout your church’s web site. Be sure to include at
least one, if not all of the suggestions below:




Home Page Banner Ad - post one of the supplied web banners with the custom
link provided below to the WCA public Summit Web site. This link will direct
customers to the most concise information and provide easy registration.
Dedicated Web Page - create this unique page to post general information on
the Summit with two different links: one for host church congregants to register
and one for other community people to register.
Listing on your Calendar of Events
Connect with an IT professional at your church to help build the web pages
and links needed. Make sure you connect with enough time to honor normal
procedure standards with your church.
Keep Your Site Fresh
 Inform and remind ministry leaders of the high-caliber training they’ll receive at
The Global Leadership Summit
 Include reminders for pricing deadlines
 Announce speakers
 Complement WCA activities
 Assist attendees in finding directions, Site-specific details, and more as time
progresses closer the event.
 Announce any meeting options during the lunch break that individuals may need
to register for
 Feature an announcement about the on-site bookstore offered during the Summit
 Highlight any volunteer needs
Don’t Forget the BLOG-World
One of the easiest and cheapest ways to promote The Global Leadership Summit is to
post information on your blog and encourage the leaders in your church to do the same.
Through this grass-root way of communication, you will be able to provide pertinent
information regarding the Summit on a continual basis and encourage people to register
to attend at your church. A suggested initial format would be to post an entry of why
developing your leadership gift is important and the benefit of participating in The Global
Leadership Summit. Then, periodically, you can post new entries as more information is
provided concerning the Summit, such as speakers, registration deadlines, etc.
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Join Facebook and Twitter
It is important to leverage your relational connections not only through blog world but
through social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. The WCA has an official
Facebook page for anyone to join to keep the momentum moving forward for The
Global Leadership Summit and provide up-to-date speaker info.
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