PRESS RELEASE

New Breakthrough Leadership Conference for Church and Business Leaders

Stephen Ministries announces the first Breakthrough Leadership Conference, which will take place October 8-13, 2006, in St. Louis, Missouri. This comprehensive training event for leaders of all types--pastors and business executives, educators and entrepreneurs, administrators and managers--will offer the best leadership concepts and practices, enriched with sound psychology and firmly rooted in biblical principles.

Stephen Ministries is a St. Louis parachurch organization best known for Stephen Ministry, the lay caring ministry used in 9,500 congregations from 100 denominations worldwide. More than 1,300 ELCA congregations are involved in Stephen Ministry.

“The Breakthrough Leadership Conference was a natural next step for us,” says Stephen Ministries founder and Executive Director Rev. Kenneth Haugk, Ph.D., a pastor and clinical psychologist. “Since 1975, we’ve equipped more than 50,000 church leaders to lead high-quality ministry. For years lay people from countless professions have told us that our ministry leadership training has been a tremendous benefit to their careers. And pastors have said the principles and skills we’ve given them have made them better leaders in all areas of their congregations.

“Thirty years of guiding our organization has given our executive team a wealth of leadership knowledge to share, from both a church and business perspective,” says Haugk.  “Both the church and the world today are in great need of quality Christian leaders. Our conference will help fill that void.”

The conference runs from Sunday evening, October 8, through noon on Friday, October 13. In addition to 15 whole-group sessions, the conference offers seven breakout sessions, allowing participants to select specialized topics to meet individual needs and goals.

One breakout option is a four-part Breakthrough Congregations Track that will help pastors, church staff, and lay leaders apply the conference's strategies and practices to the specific challenges and opportunities of leading a congregation or bringing about significant, positive change in a congregation.

“The Breakthrough Leadership Conference is unique among leadership events,” says Haugk. “It’s an in-depth, roll-up-your-sleeves leadership training course. Sessions interrelate and build on each other. People will go home with a comprehensive understanding of how to be a more effective leader and with real-world skills they can use right away--in the church and in the world.”

Breakthrough Leaders are servant leaders, focused on their mission, not on themselves. They’re humble yet intense, passionate, determined to achieve their vision. Rather than simply giving orders, they’re equippers who teach, empower, and support others who serve together to carry out a mission.

The Breakthrough Leadership Conference will cover topics such as:

- How Jesus Led: Twelve Behaviors That Will Transform Your Leadership

- How Breakthrough Leading Brings Out the Best in the Right People

- Living Your Faith at Work

- How to Handle People Who Drive You Crazy

- Leading in Times of Crisis

- Teams: When to Use Them, How to Build Them, How to Lead Them

- Leading a Powerful Visioning Process

- Building a Breakthrough Culture

- Eight Steps in a Proven Strategy for Leading Change

Log on to www.breakthrough2006.org or call Stephen Ministries at (314) 428-2600 for more information.

Stephen Ministries
2045 Innerbelt Business Center Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63114-5765
(314) 428-2600
www.stephenministries.org