The 2011 Haiti GLS Report: Awesome and Inspiring

This is an update on the Global Leadership Summit in Haiti. The first day was awesome and inspiring. In five years for the first time we had 300 reservations on the eve of the event. We also had a number of walk-ins that brought the total number to 330. The registration process went well and fast and our volunteers at the Solution Table did a great job. We enjoyed the ministry of a talented worship team from Quisqueya Chapel, the international church of Port-au-Prince. Edner Jeanty as coordinator made a short speech to present the vision of the GLS to a full house made of pastors, Christian NGO staff, business people, young leaders, educators, etc. from the city but also from out of town (including Cape Haitian, St Louis du Nord, Pignon, Mirebalais, etc.).

The various messages of the day were all well received, especially Bill Hybels' "Five Critical Questions" and Henry Cloud's session, "The Fool, the Evil and the Wise". The other speakers were Len Schlesinger of Babson College (Entrepreneurship and Leadership) and Rick Warren (Leadership as Stewardship). The translation was easy to understand and the people laughed at the jokes and
expressed they understood the insights. The Resource Center attracted many leaders who were happy to find titles they have been wanting to get for some time. Several media outlet came to the Karibe Convention Center requesting interviews about the Summit. Radio Metropole, Signal FM and Scoop FM had run interviews in the previous weeks. The day ended on time and the delegates left with anticipation for the second day. Of course we had also our share of challenges, like when our main vehicle stalled in front of the Barnabas Center office just when we needed to carry the last boxes of materials to the conference center the night before. But the Lord provided another way and all got under control. We were very grateful for the first day of the Summit and we looked forward to the blessings of Day Two.

At the end of the second day of the Haiti Summit many participants came up to the organizers to say how satisfied and blessed these two days had been. All the talks got high marks in the evaluation form, especially the live talk by Mr. Roosevelt Jean-François, journalist, university professor and author of Leadership sur le vif. This was a sweet reunion for Roosevelt and Edner who had not met since graduating high school together in 1983. The facilitator for the day felt the sessions were her special birthday gift and an answer to prayer. The manager of a health program commented that the sessions have put a lot of challenges on her plate. One young married man wanted at least the one session by Andy Stanley on "Focused Leadership" that stressed "cheating" the work/ministry but not the family.

Jeanty was pleased to watch the audience reactions to the jokes and cultural allusions that are always a challenge for translators. In the session by Newark Mayor Cory Booker, the joke about Tiger and Eeyore looking for [Winnie the] Pouh was "adapted" to a soccer metaphor in order to reach the same punch line. The "new" joke in French was: "What were Ronaldo and Robiño doing in the restrooms in the locker rooms? They were looking for Kakà." (The name of this Brazilian soccer player sounds like the word for "poop"). And the audience responded with laughter here, a "yes" there, they prayed with the speakers, and got involved in the experience. When Hybels, at the end of "Tough Callings", instructed people to take their piece of clay, everyone reached for the pieces of broken clay jars that were provided for the occasion.

The young pastor Steven Furtick turned out to be an appropriate ending, calling leaders to "start digging with [the audacity of] faith". The Haitians liked the level of energy that he displayed and this was helpful to offset the shock of the tight pants that he was wearing. We had a limited number of secular business people in the crowd. A few of them complained that the sessions at this leadership conference "were too much about church". This statement may show a bias against church, but it also tells that the Christian witness did not get lost in the process. The book sales went well and there were a lot of demands for the Team Edition DVD and a few requests for an audio CD. The recorded video of the live presentation will be available the first week of December. The volunteers did a great job: they assumed responsibility, they treated the guests well, and they looked good together. You are welcome to view the pictures on the facebook page of the Haiti Summit.

The GLS is offered in Haiti under the umbrella of LEADHAITI, a board representing various Christian individuals and groups committed to leadership training. All the planning is done by the Barnabas Christian Leadership Center.  Jeanty had a special Thank You for the gifted translators and voice talents. The organizing committee is grateful to Partners Worldwide that sponsored the conference notebook in part with a grant. Of course, this event would not be possible without the support of Community Covenant Church that introduced the GLS in Haiti 5 years ago and continues to be committed to this initiative and representing it at Movement Day in New York. The Haiti Summit was made possible especially by the Willow Creek Association, the producers of the Global Leadership Summit. We appreciate the trust and respect that has characterized this relationship. A number of churches and organizations payed directly for many of their partners in Haiti via our website at www.leadhaiti.com. We appreciate the Christian groups in Haiti that continue to send their leaders and staff: Compassion, Food for the Hungry, World Vision, Wesleyan Mission, UEBH, Baptist Haiti Mission, Lifeline, The Bible League, etc. And this year we had a special collaboration with the Haitian Bible Society. TopEvangelique.com provided a valuable support in getting the word out to its large database.

The next event is the GLS in the South, at Les Cayes, December 15-16. Various groups have contacted us about holding it also in Cape Haitian even in January. And until we hold next year's Haiti GLS in November 2012, God willing, the Barnabas Christian Leadership Center will be doing follow up and training in partnership with EQUIP (www.iEQUIP.org) with a vision to have 1000 leaders in training in their communities throughout the country.

Pray for Haiti and its leadership. Pray for the Barnabas Center that we will be used of God to help mobilize a new generation a principled leaders. Financial contributions are welcome and can be received online. For more information, please contact us at info@leadhaiti.com or call 772-242-6024 (in USA) or +509 3647-3553 (Haiti).