Leadership Network is a nonprofit organization that helps innovative Christian leaders increase their impact. Leadership Network's main office is located in Dallas, Texas. It has also been less precisely described as "a non-profit church-growth consulting firm", "research group and consultant", "a church-growth think tank", and "a church consultant group".
Leadership Network was co-founded in 1984 by Bob Buford.
Of the estimated 350,000 churches in North America, only a relatively small number play a significant role in introducing innovations to the Church at large. Leadership Network's "DNA" is to work directly with those few pioneers who are testing and implementing the new ideas that will drive the Church in the future.
The investment in high capacity innovators is central to their strategy of diffusing the best information and ideas throughout the Church. Many churches that participate in the leadership communities become teachers themselves, taking what they have learned to a broader and larger audience. Leadership Network's book publishing initiatives, e-newsletter Advance, concept papers and events spread these best practices even further. As innovation spreads, the Church better fulfills its mission to serve, to love and to expand the Kingdom of God.
Leadership Network will continue to identify, explore and develop new areas of innovation and share the results with others.
Leadership communities are small groups of innovators and thought leaders pursuing a common ministry outcome, sharing ideas, developing strategy and benchmarking measurements in the context of authentic relationships. Leadership Network discovers emerging ministry initiatives and carefully invites strategic leaders into these communities of peers who are seeking to improve their personal and organizational performance in the focused outcome areas.
The leadership community employs a process where peers work interactively through a series of gatherings, conference calls, web dialogues and planning tools to achieve a significant increase in their personal and organizational performance. To these communities, Leadership Network brings a variety of resources and tools that address both the unique challenges of individual organizations as well as the common "mega challenges" of the community as a whole. The communities will also provide a framework for peer and coach accountability to assist participants in reaching their accelerated target outcomes.