PRISON FELLOWSHIP BLOG: Global Leadership Summit

Every year, the Willow Creek Association broadcasts its Global Leadership Summit to audiences across North America, encouraging and equipping participants to become better employers, instructors, and leaders.

Included with the hundreds of churches and organizations who hosted the 2016 simulcast were 43 prisons, where attendees were given the tools and support needed to become effective leaders in prison and, for those who are preparing to leave prison, productive members of their communities.  

In August 2015, Prison Fellowship and Willow Creek collaborated to bring The Global Leadership Summit (GLS) to more than 1,500 prisoners at 11 prisons. Just last week—at the 2016 Summit—more than 4,000 incarcerated men and women streamed in from 43 prisons across the country.

When someone says “leadership,” what is the first thing that comes to mind?  For some, the first image of a leader is a captain of industry—a visionary like Steve Jobs who has changed the world with innovation and an indomitable spirit. 

At Prison Fellowship, we don’t want to do ministry to prisoners. We want to do ministry with prisoners. That one little word makes a big difference. Prisoners aren’t our projects – they are our partners. As you and I walk with them on the road to restoration, men and women behind bars become leaders of the Church behind the walls … sharing the Gospel and discipling those around them, serving their families, and preparing for a new life back in the community.

For the last 20 years, the Willow Creek Association has presented the Global Leadership Summit, a two-day event that brings together leaders from both the business and church spheres.  This year the event was broadcast via satellite to over 300 venues around the world – including three locations not often considered for their leadership potential.