About the Willow Creek Association & GLS
Founded in 1992, The Willow Creek Association (WCA) is a not-for-profit Christian organization that exists to maximize the transformative power of local churches.
We believe the local church is the hope of the world, because it plays a central role in God's chosen strategy to redeem and restore a need-filled world.
Convinced of the critical role the church plays in this redemptive drama, the WCA is committed to serve those churches and leaders most willing to fully devote themselves to this cause. We provide vision, inspiration, connection, tools, training, and resources, along with opportunities and platforms for these churches to learn from and support one another. Currently, WCA Member Churches represent more than 90 denominations and networks in 35 countries.
WCA's vision is to see every local church reach its full redemptive potential--becoming an unbridled conduit for the transforming power of Jesus Christ.
Why We Host The Global Leadership Summit
When God wants to begin a new work in the world, He almost always starts by speaking into the heart of one person. Drawing up the courage to listen, obey, and share the vision with others, these are the people we call leaders.
Over the years we've come to appreciate just how critical leadership is to church vitality. We have observed that a church's effectiveness in pursing it's God-given mission is largely dependent on the character, devotion, and skill of its leadership core. This is why WCA's focus is to elevate the quality of leadership within the church. That leadership could be formal or informal, staff or volunteer, full-time or bi-vocational, clergy or laity. It doesn't matter where the leadership comes from; it just matters that it is present.
WCA recognizes that the leadership core of any church includes leaders from the business, education, government and social sectors. The Global Leadership Summit welcomes leaders from all these sectors and fully believes that the maximum influence and impact of the Church is felt when all of its Christ-centered leaders are at the forefront of establishing and growing well led local churches, companies, schools, governments and social enterprises. This is the Church at its best! This is when God's love and care inevitably spills out into our neighborhoods, towns and cities through acts of love, justice, mercy, service and restoration.
Each year, we do our best to provide a world-class leadership training event that challenges, inspires and serves the leadership core of every church.
