One of the most significant leadership events in Romania today is the Global Leadership Summit, made available in our country through the partnership between BIG Impact and Willow Creek Association. Three years into this program, thousands of leaders have been challenged to lead where they are, to be better stewards of the resources entrusted to them by God, and to fully believe that the local church is the hope of the world.
Bill Hybels, the senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, IL, believes that local church leaders have the potential to be the most influential force on planet earth.
Following this belief, on February 8, Bill Hybels came for a few hours in Bucharest for the Leadership Gathering, an informal meeting with key leaders from across Romania, for an open discussion on leadership. Also present were Ulf Usterlund, Willow Creek Association Regional Director, and Gary Schwammlein, Willow Creek Association International Executive Vice-President, and, also, a team of leaders from Albania, who intend to introduce the GLS in Albania this year.
107 leaders attended this event in the beautiful venue at Ramada Park Hotel in Bucharest. Bill answered lots of questions and moderated the discussion about how to effectively lead the church in these difficult times.
Here is what some of participants shared with us:
Virgil Achihai, Bucharest: I was convinced I will get to meet a big leader; instead, I met a big Christian, who spoke with faith and passion about the Church of Jesus Christ.
Nelu Coman, Targoviste: I felt small and helpless. I rejoiced with my heart and bled with my heart. We are so far away from excellence and are wasting ourselves in unimportant things (at least this is how I live). I am amazed how such a valuable man acts so ordinary and natural.
Teodor Horodinca, Târgoviste: It was a successful conference, a very, very special pastor. I liked the person first (character and discipline), then I liked the minister (a visionary warrior). I grew in my knowledge about leadership, learning about those whom you lead, the level of those who are equal to you, the level of accountability, specially the matter of self-leadership.
Dora Ciuca, Braila: There were many personal take aways for me. Among these, it seems important for me the emphasis he put on the fact that, as a leader, I have to be enthusiastic, so that I can inspire my team, working with them and, also, as a leader, I have to have a vision to motivate people, a vision that has to be clearly laid, so that it can be understood.
Catalin Bugyi, Târgoviste: For the first time in my life, I realized that the church ministry, no matter how well it goes, can become better and that contentment is the biggest danger for the Romanian churches. I understood that church ministry has to be geared toward building new believers, but we often fail in maturing believers.
Below you can find a picture gallery from this event. To view a full size picture, you need to click on it’s center, and to browse through the pictures, you can use the arrows.
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