GELF

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Written by Atul Tandon, Executive Chairman of GELF

In October 2010, 200 leaders from around the world convened for the Global Executive Leadership Forum (GELF) as part of the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization: Cape Town 2010.

Two questions were the focus of the GELF meetings: 

1) “What is the role of lay leaders in the global advancement of the Gospel?”

2) “What does it look like for Christian leaders to be in strategic relationships/partnerships with each other to address global issues?”

Four priorities were fundamental for GELF 2010:

• Opportunity to participate in a historic global conversation about the future of world evangelization
• Creating a safe environment for marketplace leaders to interact with global Christian ministry leaders
• Growing the business leaders personally and spiritually – in understanding and living the whole Gospel
• Balancing perspectives between all voices

Since the Cape Town meeting, GELF leaders have remained engaged and involved.  There has been a sense of providence with several leaders expressing their ongoing commitment to Lausanne, GELF and the opportunity to engage marketplace leaders in the work of evangelization.  Bob and Leslie Doll, in particular, have stepped forward to provide leadership.

GELF, as envisaged by these leaders, is a network of senior Christian marketplace leaders with global vision and influence.  The purpose of GELF is to provide association and networking for these leaders, so that ministry opportunities and passions can be pursued with better efficiency and effectiveness.  The purpose is to provide an environment where marketplace leaders can solicit others and provide partnership and servant leadership.  GELF will catalog, publicize, and facilitate these opportunities and specific ministry projects for members to engage each other and our needy world.  GELF will have an advisory council of full-time ministry leaders which can provide leadership assistance in matching interests and needs.  GELF will also strive to provide opportunities to assist the faith journey of its members.

There has been a desire on the part of both the Lausanne Board and the GELF team to seize this unprecedented opportunity.  To this end, the Lausanne Board voted at its Boston meetings that GELF should take on a more permanent form to serve its constituent purposes that are:

• Advancing the Gospel across the world in today’s context as understood and expressed in The Cape Town Commitment
• Building a platform where the most influential Christian marketplace and other leaders can come together
• Creating strategic partnerships between practitioners and marketplace leaders to help advance the Gospel
• Responding to both the immediate and the long-term needs of the global church
• Defining and creating a role for marketplace leaders in meeting Lausanne Movement objectives
• Building community between these leaders and enabling them deepen their own faith walk.

The leadership group has set the following goals for the first phase of GELF:

• Engage 150 worldwide leaders by December 2012
• Create 2-3 effective global, regional, issue partnerships serving Kingdom advance with these leaders, by December 2012
• GELF should have successfully convened a Global gathering and 2-3 regional/issue gatherings by December 2012
• Raise seed funding and operationalize a self-sustaining funding model for GELF

God calls us to new beginnings and a new creation.  He calls the foolish and the wise alike.  And, His call cannot go unanswered.  Please join these leaders, as they pray and devote themselves, to the task of building a new network, affiliated with Lausanne, devoted to the cause of Christ.  Pray that the seeds being planted will grow into a might vineyard and the fruit will be pleasing to the Lord.