About WEA

About WEA Leadership Institute


IMAGINE what will happen when together we strengthen National Evangelical Alliances through effective leadership development programs in every one of our countries!


The Leadership Institute was officially launched as a WEA initiative during the General Assembly in Pattaya, Thailand (Oct. 2008). The mandate of the Leadership Institute is to strengthen National Evangelical Alliances by developing effective leaders.


Many National Alliances in the WEA constituency struggle in realizing their strategic role as a platform for Evangelical voice and action. There is little understanding of associations and their function. Little time is devoted to growing membership and servicing constituencies. Lack of finances is often cited as the main cause of weakness. Yet working partnerships seldom emerge and the Alliance is sometimes seen as a competitor for limited resources. Without greater training, our networks will not begin to achieve their transformational ministry potential as strong associations mindful of their representative and proactive role in society.


WEA Leadership Institute curricular research completed in 2008 confirms six areas of critical need. The first three are functional (what an Effective Alliance does): an effective National Alliance unites, represents and serves its constituency. The other three are a methodological (The means to fulfill the function) and they are: Leading, Funding and Partnering. A Certificate in Association Leadership was created to address these needs.



“There are brilliant people leading effective Alliances among WEA’s members, but they rarely get to share their insights and best practices with other leaders. Our urgent need is for a collaborative learning community that brings expert resources together in such a way that Evangelical leaders are equipped for association effectiveness in all of our Alliances and throughout all their constituencies. To accomplish this, we see an Alliance-sponsored leadership institute in every WEA member country by our next General Assembly in 2014. Working together for the glory of God—we can accomplish this bold vision.”


--Jonathan P. Lewis, Ph.D., Founding Director, World Evangelical Alliance Leadership Institute