Bill Hybels - The Global Leadership Summit

The Global Leadership Summit

Hybels started the Global Leadership Summit (hosted by the Willow Creek Association) in 1995 as an annual training event for church, ministry and other leaders to sharpen their skills. The Global Leadership Summit exists to transform Christian leaders around the world with an injection of vision, skill development, and inspiration for the sake of the local church. The Summit telecasts live from the campus of Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago, reaching more than 185 premier host sites across the United States. In the months following, the Summit moves into more than 200 cities in 70+ countries across the globe, via videocast. Summit 2010 attracted 122,000 leaders. That year Fast Company featured an article on Willow Creek and The Global Leadership Summit.

The Global Leadership Summit 2011 videocast events took place from late September through January 2012 and were planned to reach 268 cities within 75 countries. The Summit is translated into 34 languages. Over 165,000 leaders from over 20,000 churches worldwide experienced the 2011 Summit.

Each year this event features experts in the arena of leadership in lecture and interview formats, plus worship and dramas. Past speakers have included Bono (former Time Magazine Co-Man of the Year and U2 lead singer), Ken Blanchard ("The One Minute Manager"), Marcus Buckingham ("StrengthFinders"), Jim Collins ("Good to Great" and "Built to Last"), and Mike Singletary (NFL Hall of Fame linebacker for the Chicago Bears). The 2007 event featured live and taped sessions with Colin Powell, Carly Fiorina, Floyd Flake, Marcus Buckingham, John Ortberg, Michael E. Porter (Harvard), Richard Curtis (film producer) and Former President Jimmy Carter.

In 2011 speakers in addition to Hybels included Erwin McManus (Activist; Filmmaker; Cultural Architect of Mosiac), Michelle Rhee (Founder and CEO of StudentsFirst.org), Dr. Henry Cloud (Clinical Psychologist; Bestselling Author), Seth Godin (Bestselling Author; Squidoo Founder; Marketing Blogger), Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil (Speaker; Thought Leader; Founder & President of Salter McNeil & Assoc.), Len Schlesinger (President of Babson College), Steven Furtick (Lead Pastor of Elevation Church), John Dickson (Sr. Minister, St. Andrews Anglican Church in Sydney, Australia), Cory Booker (Mayor of Newark, NJ), and Mama Maggie Gobran (Founder & CEO, Stephen's Children Ministry; Nobel Peace Prize Nominee).

Starbucks' CEO Howard Schultz canceled a scheduled appearance at the 2011 event following calls to denounce Willow Creek’s position on homosexuality. In response, Hybels clarified that the church adhered to "the sexual ethics taught in Scriptures, which encourage sexual expression between a man and a woman in the context of marriage."

In 2012 along with Hybels, speakers at The Global Leadership Summit included Condoleezza Rice (Former U.S. Secretary of State), Jim Collins (Nationally Acclaimed Business Thinker and Author), Geoffrey Canada (President & CEO, Harlem Children's Zone), Sheryl WuDunn (Best-Selling Author; Pulitzer Prize Winner; Business Executive), Craig Groeschel (Founder and Senior Pastor, LifeChurch.tv), John Ortberg (Senior Pastor, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and Author), Mario Vega (Senior Pastor, Mision Christiana Elim, El Salvador), Marc Kielburger (Co-Founder, Free The Children; Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Me to We, Toronto, Ontario), Pranitha Timothy (Director of Aftercare, International Justice Mission, Chennai, India), William L. Ury (Co-Founder and Senior Fellow, Harvard University's Program on Negotiation), Patrick Lencioni (Founder and President, The Table Group; Best-Selling Author).