How to Host a Leadership Empowerment Conference

If you are interested in hosting or coordinating a Leadership Empowerment Conference in your community, please consider the following questions: Will the conference you propose serve the pastors and Christian leaders of the entire community? Are you in a position to bring together the pastors and other Christian leaders in your community? Are there other conferences scheduled in the community at the time proposed for the Leadership Empowerment Conference you will host?

Usually a community-wide, inter-church conference is coordinated by cooperating with or utilizing the leadership of the city's association of pastors or association of churches. Leadership Empowerment Conferences are intended to serve the entire Christian community, not only one local church. If one local church or denomination desires to host a conference just for that church or denomination, it can happen, but would require a special arrangement with increased financial obligations on the part of the host organization.

Any of the subjects included on the Seminars page of this website are available for teaching. However, the following schedule is recommended. It addresses: (1) The Christian leader’s personal spiritual development, (2) The Christian leader’s family life, and (3) The Christian leader’s public pulpit ministry:

If you are interested in hosting or coordinating a conference please read the following materials carefully and then contact Ron Meyers at ronrm@juno.com.

LEADERSHIP EMPOWERMENT CONFERENCE
Advanced Education for Professional Leaders
Instructors: Ron Meyers, Ph.D. & Char Meyers, Ed.D.
Addressing: The Christian leader’s personal spiritual development, family, and public ministry.

DAY ONE
Session 1 Seven Principles of Christian Ministry A teaching on Christian leadership, human needs, and how God answers prayer better than we can pray
Session 2 The Power and Danger of Prayer A teaching about how prayer is most effective and productive when we pray according to God’s agenda, not ours
Session 3 Philosophy of Christian Education How to identify and confront contemporary non-Christian worldviews with biblical truth
Lunch Break
Session 4 Bible Study as Preparation for Teaching and Preaching, Part One How to dig for diamonds in the Word of God as preparation for better preaching/teaching
Session 5 Intimacy with the Heavenly Father A teaching about the confidence and strength Christian leaders enjoy through intimacy with Abba Father

DAY TWO
Session 1 Bible Study as Preparation for Teaching and Preaching, Part Two How to dig for diamonds in the Word of God as preparation for better preaching/teaching
Session 2 How to Grow in Character as you Marriage Grows, Part One Instructions for husbands and wives based on the Bible, experience, and contemporary literature
Session 3 How to Grow in Character as your Marriage Grows, Part Two Instructions for husbands and wives based on the Bible, experience, and contemporary literature
Lunch Break
Session 4 How to Raise Confident Children Instructions for parents about how to create a stimulating atmosphere in which confident children can develop
Session 5 How to Raise Obedient Children Instructions for parents about how to lovingly, yet firmly, train and discipline children so they grow up to be good citizens and Christians

DAY THREE
Session 1 Bible Study as Preparation for Teaching and Preaching, Part Three How to dig for diamonds in the Word of God as preparation for better preaching/teaching
Session 2 How to do the Impossible A twelve-part teaching to assist the Christian leader avoid both timidity on one hand and presumption on the other
Session 3 Where are the Elijahs? A ten-part teaching on Elijah, instructing Christian leaders today about how to influence their generation as Elijah did his
Lunch Break
Session 4 Structure and Delivery of Strong Biblical Sermons Practical instructions about how to organize material and present it attractively, persuasively, and powerfully
Session 5 Discussion – In this unstructured session, comments, questions, and responses will help each participant better understand and apply what he or she has learned during the conference

Two Possible Daily Schedules

9:00 – 10:00 AM - Session One
10:10 – 11:10 – Session Two
11:20 AM – 12:20 PM – Session Three
Lunch Break
1:50 – 2:50 PM – Session Four
3:00 – 4:00 PM – Session Five

8:00 – 9:00 AM - Session One
9:10 – 10:10 – Session Two
10:20 AM – 11:20 PM – Session Three
11:30 – 12:30 PM – Session Four
12:40 – 1:40 PM – Session Five

The schedule requires a great effort on the part of the hosts, lecturers, and participants. But the life and ministry changing benefit is worth the effort.

We seek to be flexible with the daily schedule. One host requested that we begin at 6:00 each morning. We were through before noon and avoided the hot afternoon temperatures because of his good suggestion. Each host knows what is best for his situation.

Financial Policy
Leadership Empowerment Conferences are cooperative joint-ventures. This practice is true in finances as well as other aspects. The instructors, Drs. Ron and Char Meyers , are free gifts conducting spiritually insightful, academically sound, advanced, inter-church, and area-wide conferences. The instructor’s travel and meal expenses are usually presented to the host Coordinator.

The local leadership is responsible for local expenses. These expenses can be kept to a minimum by using church buildings as venues and scheduling the sessions from 8:00 AM until 1:40 PM to avoid a meal expense. Participants report that the quality of the program is such that attendees are amply rewarded with long-lasting ministry benefits

Scheduling Policy
Leadership Empowerment Conferences are initiated by invitations from Church groups or pastors associations in African cities or communities. Typically, the Meyers will travel to a southern African nation about the 4th of the month and return to Pretoria, South Africa about the 24th of the month. During the 20 days in-country four conferences are conducted. One of the weeks, usually the second week, two conferences are conducted by holding one on Monday – Wednesday and the other on Thursday – Saturday. As the quality of the program became known, almost from the beginning in 2007, the conferences have been scheduled about two years in advance. The two-year waiting period gives the local association of churches or pastors ample time to arrange for venues, schedules, and word-of-mouth publicity.

Empowerment
Lecturers Ron and Char Meyers take seriously the mission of empowerment of Christian leadership. For two centuries of missions work in Africa, foreign leadership and finances, though well-intended, have never-the-less had the effect of communicating to African leadership that successful projects require foreign leadership and finances. This false notion has at least retarded the development, self-reliance, and autonomy of the Church in Africa, if not actually weakening her. The Meyers accept invitations to bring their high-quality teachings to those who appreciate the personal and professional development occurring when one assumes leadership responsibility and does not overly rely on others. The contents of LECs and the leadership and fiscal practices are all consistent. Africans are stepping forward and proudly accomplishing great things by depending less on outside resources and exercising their own faith, vision, and courage.

Course Materials
Course materials for the entire conference (101 pages) and Certificates of Attendance are available to those participants who are willing to pay the cost of copy work. Course materials are provided in electronic form free of charge. Those interested just need to submit their email address.

Certification and Limitations
Certificates of Attendance can be made available to participants with a satisfactory attendance record for the fifteen sessions. These certificates document participation in the conference. Certificates of Attendance are no more and no less valuable than is merited by the academic and spiritual qualifications of the instructors.

We recommend that no other organized or required meetings other than informal fellowship opportunities be included in the fifteen-hour, three-day program. This allows participants to informally discuss the new ideas and help each other apply the principles to the African context. It also allows participants to give their full attention to each session without becoming over-tired.