The SALT & LIGHT Leadership Initiative Course, organized by the Blessed Sacrament Church’s College and Working Adult Ministry, was successfully held on April 14, 2018.

It was in collaboration with EQUIP (Equipping Leaders To Reach Our World), a non-profit organization founded by John C. Maxwell. EQUIP specializes in training and mobilizing effective Christian Leaders.

The SALT & LIGHT Leadership Initiative is aimed at individuals who wish to make a difference, and to lead wherever they are…be it at the church, in the community, or at the workplace. In other words, to be a transformational leader.

Roundtable discussions

Unlike any other leadership course however, this one-day course explores the principles of leadership within a Christian context, by drawing inspiration from the life of Jesus Christ’s relationship with those around Him.

107 participants were given the opportunity to learn about transformational leadership from Greg Smith and Eileen Leong. They are experienced trainers who flew in to Kuching specially for the occasion.

EQUIP Trainers, Eileen Leong and Greg Smith

With materials developed by EQUIP, participants engaged on the theme of transformational leadership via video lessons, roundtable discussions, and self-evaluation. Among the topics discussed were: “How we can adopt Jesus’ way of connecting with others to lead those around us; The importance of a positive attitude; and How faith plays a role in leadership”.

Below, some participants share their experience at the SALT & LIGHT Leadership Initiative:

Louis Ting, chair organiser of the course – “For long enough, I’ve been running away from responsibility; away from God, trying to find myself; my purpose. I’ve been searching outside of church and got to know many life gurus. John C. Maxwell is one of them. I happened to mention my interest in John C. Maxwell to Fr Felix, and he connected me to EQUIP. That is how I got to know Eileen and Greg.

It wasn’t easy handling an event like this for the first time, but it has been a definite gain for me. Being able to get to know the trainers better and watching them inspire others, made it all worthwhile.

Through this journey, God has found me. He led me back to Him. My prayers from long ago on how to be His instrument has been answered. I hope to inspire more of the young ones to do more for themselves and find God in the process. God is present. God leads.”

Simon Siah – “I learnt that all of Jesus’ actions had been planned towards a goal, and He does not leave His ministry to chance by making sure that proper plans are in place before executing them. Thus, as a leader myself, I’ve learnt that I must also always plan before the execution and not leave things to chance. Planning leads to success.”

Jason – “Greg and Eileen opened my eyes to the world of leadership through the Holy Bible, by reflecting on each character’s capabilities and gifts from God. They have also influenced me to bring up leaders from among the ministries, so that we can continue to grow and serve effectively.”

Group photo: Participants with Fr. Felix, Trainers and Organizers

If you are interested in participating in such a leadership course, but missed the chance to attend our previous one, keep an eye out for the 12-week Beyond Success round table sessions. The keys to success and living a life of significance will be explored in detail.

Materials used will be from EQUIP. This will be a great opportunity to learn about leadership from John C. Maxwell, from the Christian faith’s perspective.

– Contributed by BSC College and Working Adult Ministry –

Photos by Dominic Bong / Stephanie Chua