Past experience verifies Summit sites are most successful when the Senior Pastor/Leader believes in and communicates the life-changing potential of on-going leadership development. Although many tasks can be delegated to your Summit Team, we can't overstress the pivotal role the Senior Pastor/Leader plays as an advocate for the Summit, both in your own organization and in the community.

In addition to the Senior Pastor/Leader, Host Sites need a Summit Team comprised of staff and/or volunteers to help promote, manage, and facilitate the overall Summit experience. Five essential leadership roles have been identified: Promotional Strategist, Onsite Event Manager, Technical Director, Producer, and Resource Coordinator. Each role requires a different time commitment, focused months of involvement, and defined goals. Job descriptions are spelled out for each team member. If these roles are assigned to staff members, it's important to help prioritize and recognize their additional workload, especially in the months leading up to the Summit.

We consider each Premier Host Site a partner with us for The Global Leadership Summit. Extensive support is offered for promotion, event management, and production, and to provide select equipment and technical support. As our partner in raising the value of leadership development for the sake of the Church, your Senior Pastor/Leader is invited to take part in special gatherings with Bill Hybels and other WCA staff throughout the year.

Each of your Summit Team leaders will be working with the appropriate WCA staff leader for training and ongoing communication as needed. Guidebooks are provided giving step-by-step instructions for each role. Your team will also have access to a wealth of information through Summit Central—a website dedicated to providing up-to-date information, timelines, orders, and promotional tools.

The volunteers serving your registered guests play one of the most important roles in creating a successful Summit experience. WCA leaders come alongside your Onsite Event Manager with recommendations and support on building a complete volunteer team, and outlining the various roles that need to be filled.

A satellite dish and receiver will be installed the first year at each location, paid for by WCA. In addition, WCA will provide a main stage, center screen rental, and high-quality projector. Each Premier Host Site is responsible to oversee setup and strike of the screen with adequate personnel (usually six to eight people). At your own expense, you will also need to have two computers with Internet access available in your production booth. One computer is for the live Web stream—the backup plan in case the satellite signal is lost. The second computer is for the Producer to participate in an online chat room where continual updates are given and cues are called.

Kick-off for promoting the Summit begins in late February, with marketing materials delivered to you in March/April. We strongly encourage Premier Host Sites to begin communicating with area churches and their own congregations as early as April—before people lock down their summer plans. Since almost half of registrations typically come in after July 4, ongoing communication is needed with churches and individuals leading up to the event. (After the Summit, we encourage continued communication through next-step gatherings or small groups that result from the Summit itself.)

As a Premier Host Site, you are asked to guarantee a certain number of paid registrations from your own church/organization—at a dramatically discounted rate of less than half the regular rate others will pay to attend the Summit at your site. You are asked to guarantee a specific dollar amount in registration fees—if there is a shortfall, you will need to make up the difference immediately following the Summit.

In addition, there may be costs involved in promoting the Summit in your area (for example, Host Site scholarships, banners, local printed pieces, regional marketing, postage, etc). These costs typically total around $1,000; however, each site is unique in approaching event promotions and the expenses they incur. A small revenue share—based on the number of registrations from those outside your own church/organization—is available to help offset some of those costs.

The vast majority of your Summit guests will be from within a 20-mile radius of your site. As s general rule of thumb registrations from each Premier Host Site should equal least 10% of your adult weekend attendance. Ideally, 25 percent of the participants registered at your site will be from your own church or organization. The remaining 75 percent should come from area churches, parachurch ministries, seminaries/schools, and businesses.

The number of churches/organizations represented at your site could range from as few as 20 to as many as 75, with the average around 40. Obviously, the greater the number of teams involved, the greater potential impact on your community, as more individuals have the opportunity to develop their spiritual gift of leadership and pursue transformation in their own lives and the lives of those they lead!

Take advantage of our "Summit Partner Initiative," which encourages you to recruit three area churches of different denominations (to increase the diversity of networks and contacts) so together you can reach as many people as possible with this leadership development opportunity. Summit Partners receive a registration discount for their members in return for their commitment to share and participate with you. The goal is to make the Global Leadership Summit a community-wide leadership development effort.