Archive - Asia RSS Feed

GLS 2011 moments to celebrate

March 14, 2012 in Africa, Asia, Changing Lives, Events, Follow the GLS, Leadership, The Global Leadership Summit, Willow Creek Association with 0 Comments

The Global Leadership Summit is a lifeline to thousands of leaders around the world. Faced with natural disasters, religious persecution, and poverty, these leaders crave the inspiration, encouragement, and practical training the Summit offers. It’s often the one time each year they are reminded that they are not alone and that God still has a plan to use them to transform their communities. These 3 short stories are just a glimpse of how God is using the Summit to renew hope around the world.

900 Junior and Senior High School Students Gather in Japan
2011 Global Leadership Summit in JapanIn the aftermath of the tsunami that devastated Japan, 900 young people gathered for a special evening experience created just for students. Featuring hip hop music, dance, and worship led by local students, the evening featured Blake Mycoskie’s story of leading TOMS. Inspired by this story of generosity these students collected over $3,000 for the tsunami victims. A sense of hope and opportunity to impact the next generation in Japan permeated the room.

Hope in the Midst of Violence
2011 Global Leadership Summit in Kaduna NigeriaDays before the start of the GLS in Kaduna, Nigeria, terrorists entered a church in a nearby city killing 2 women. With tensions high and travel restrictions in place, local leaders decided to proceed as the GLS offered exactly what was needed to bring hope, encouragement, and restoration to this city. In fact, one senior leader purchased 40 Team Edition DVD sets to be given to those that couldn’t attend.

A Capacity Crowd in Myanmar
2011 Global Leadership Summit in MyanmarMore than 1,000 leaders gathered and an additional 200 leaders had to be turned away. One pastor commented that in 26 years of ministry, he had never seen such a large crowd gather for a Christian event. With government restrictions easing in recent months, there is great hope for increased religious freedom. People are hungry and desperate for the kind of inspiration and training the GLS offers.

You can be a part of the GLS movement – watch the webcast and register today!


Register now for best rates

Movement of God in Myanmar

December 19, 2011 in Asia, Follow the GLS, International Leadership with 2 Comments

Leaders praying for their country matter. The prayers of some of these leaders are being felt powerfully in one of the poorest countries in Asia. Despite being a resource rich nation, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) is desperately poor, Asia’s third poorest.

But, church leaders there have a vision for how things could be different. Several years ago, a small group of leaders began praying for their country. Those leaders were able to work out a way to bring the Global Leadership Summit there, despite the watchful eye of government.

Now in its third year, the impact of the GLS in this country has been almost unimaginable. A report from this year’s event:

Words can’t express the day we have had here. It is the year of breakthrough for Myanmar. More seats had to be put out to add to the already 880 set up the day before. At the morning breakthere were 1000 people wall to wall in the auditorium, not counting the volunteers. They had to turn away 200 more people as there just wasn’t room.

Because of the number of people, they were not allowed to go to breaks or lunch because the owners of the hotel were worried the government would come and shut down the event. So all delegates were served food and refreshments in their seats throughout the day.

As you can imagine, the event staff has worked around the clock to cater for the last minute growth. They did not sleep at all last night, even going and buying 2 printers to work through the night printing 250 more workbooks for everyone.

The presence of God is a tangible thing here.

This is our poorest nation in Asia, and it may grow to be one of our largest sites. The reason? The people here are hungry and desperate for the teaching they are receiving. They are engaged and drinking in every word! Praise God for those who have carried the vision of seeing this come to pass.

Leaders matter. Vision matters. Prayer matters. God is moving in Myanmar – Please join us in serving under-resourced leaders.

By: Alex Mills (@xandy_mills)
International Team, Willow Creek Association

Connecting Pastors in Indonesia

November 11, 2011 in Asia, Follow the GLS, Oceania with 0 Comments


The Global Leadership Summit (GLS) has become a bridge to connect pastors and leaders within Indonesia who are from all different denominations. They are brought together by the GLS to learn how to grow and mature their leadership skills and take it to the next level. Julian Foe, GLS leader in Indonesia, is excited about this year’s GLS in Indonesia as it provides the opportunity to have relevant topics and biblical leadership, while creating a movement for a leadership learning culture.

Julia says, “In our culture, there is often a reluctant ‘save face’ attitude toward leadership – People have a fear of what other people might say, and have a tendency to hide their differences and feelings”.

Over the years, our team at the WCA has seen that the GLS provides a space to encourage and raise up leaders to step out of their comfort zone. In Indonesia, there is a growing need for the church leaders to focus more on how the church can impact the communities. After one of the previous GLS events a group of leaders in Indonesia collaborated as their hearts overflowed with compassion. The group started an “Adopt a School” program as a social movement for the betterment of education in Indonesia. And another leader started an entrepreneurship, development, and mentoring program.

Join Julian as he prays for the GLS in Indonesia this year, and that more leaders will be moved to step out in faith for the sake of their communities. Pray also for unity, passion and commitment to take up GLS event to bless other cities. And that GLS event will influence broader spheres of influence – Government, schools, and the marketplace.

    “I’ve learned that if I have poor leadership practices, eventually my whole organization will suffer. Participating in the GLS, and learning from other leaders has enlightened me to bigger opportunities. It has inspired me to develop and grow as a leader to increase my impact in my community.”- Julian Foe, GLS leader, Indonesia

By: Willow Creek Association (@wcagls)

GLS kicks off in Canada, Papua New Guinea, India This Week!

September 27, 2011 in Asia, Follow the GLS with 1 Comment

We were fortunate enough to spend time with Kumar, the GLS leader from India who has been hosting the event. We asked about how he came into ministry: “I come from a Dalit, un-touchable, background [the lowest caste in the caste system]. I heard the message that I am created in the image of God and then I decided to take the message to the 250 million Dalits in India.”

The religions in India are: 80.5% Hindu, 13.4% Muslim, 2.3% Christian, and 1.9% Sikh. Kumar told us that the church in India is hungry for leadership training, empowerment and encouragement as they face the many challenges against them, including the challenge of breaking the barriers of the caste system, and the continuous persecution against the Christian church. Kumar dreams of seeing the church equipped and empowered to reach the people of India and to share the gospel message of grace.


The GLS has truly made an impact on leaders in India! One of the pastors, Vijay, started fourteen cell groups which later turned to be churches as a result of his commitment after attending the GLS three years ago. What an encouraging answer to prayer – to see the church grow in India even in the face of persecution.

Kumar’s prayers for the GLS:

    1) That God would open up more sites in India where church leaders can come to be encouraged to continue their work in ministry. He says, “Whenever I am discouraged, I go to the GLS videos and re-listen to the messages to encourage myself.”

    2) That the church in India will be revived and the country will be reached for Christ.

    3) That they will have the needed finances to continue their work of bringing the GLS to India to encourage and equip pastors

Meet Kumar and hear more of his story in this video-

Leaders Helping Leaders

August 30, 2011 in Asia, Changing Lives, Follow the GLS with 0 Comments

Regardless of a country’s history, culture, or wealth, we know this: leadership matters and the development of Christian leaders is critical in God’s plan to restore our world through the transformative power of the local church.

Although the Summit in the United States has started wrapping up, another full season of leadership development and transformation through the Global Leadership Summit begins this fall in 75 countries. The Global Leadership Summit will extend into 268 cities outside of the United States and be translated into 34 different languages. The Summit internationally is expected to serve and train 100,000 leaders. However, it’s the individual stories of life and church transformation that tell the real story of the Summit’s impact.

    I come from a Dalit, un-touchable, background. I heard the message that I am created in the image of God, then I decided to take the message to the 250 million Dalits in India. One of the pastors who came to the Summit, Vijay Kumar, started 14 cell groups which later turned to be churches as a result of his commitment after attending the GLS 3 years ago - Kumar Swamy Bangalore, India

    My personal experience was after my first GLS. I decided to come back to the ministry after years of grieving - Piotr Gasiorowski Krakow, Poland

    I ‘ve been blessed personally by the GLS. God taught me how to be a cause of blessings for others. The GLS opened up many new experiences. It is a changing of the spiritual batteries to make more influence as church leadership to unchurched people. - Victor Kulbich Kiev, Ukraine

    A church was planted in Bucharest because God spoke to one of the participants in our first GLS - Cristian Voaides Bucharest, Romania

Of the 100,000 leaders who are expected to attend, 50% are not able to fully cover the costs for travel and registration.

Our Summit offering each year helps offset a large portion of these needs, and we’re absolutely thrilled that nearly $900,000 was given across the 185 U.S. Summit sites. This year’s offering was $300,000 less than last year. This leaves about 6,000 under-resourced leaders still waiting for support.

If you missed the opportunity to contribute to the Summit offering, we still need your help. These are leaders who have answered the tough callings we discussed at this year’s Summit. Each donation of $50 will cover the costs for one more leader to attend. With the international Summit events beginning at the end of this month, all donations received by October 1 will allow us to quickly open the Summit to more leaders.

Click here to donate.

Follow the impact of your contribution on the Leaders Helping Leaders section of the blog. Thank you for your partnership and investment in leaders around the world. Grateful to be in ministry together!

By: Willow Creek Association (@wcagls)

Page 1 of 3123»