‘If the church is to be City on a Hill,’ says Mal Fletcher, ‘its leaders must not only be in touch with the times but, to a degree, ahead of the times.’

This is the driving philosophy behind a new initiative launched in December, by Next Wave International in cooperation with the 2020Plus think tank.

The inaugural 2020Plus Invitation Think Tank Event was held in London’s prestigious Institute of Directors (IOD), in Pall Mall.

The event was brought together 26 invited leaders of significant local churches from across the UK.

The full day event featured two hours of keynote presentations by Mal Fletcher, who heads NWI and chairs 2020Plus.

Based on up-to-the-minute research on likely technological and social shifts in the coming decade, the lectures outlined how leaders can get ahead of the change curve.

Following two and a half hours of intensive keynotes from Mal, roundtable sessions featured an extended Q&A, plus sessions focused on ideas generation and identifying where change strategies might begin.

‘We were very pleased with the end result,’ said Mal Fletcher immediately after the event. ‘People were on the edge of their seats throughout the lectures and were highly engaged in the interactive sessions.’

‘The Q&A and ideas-generation sessions could have gone longer. In fact, leaders are already asking that we follow up with another event for the same group in 2014.’

The next 2020Plus Invitation Think Tank Event is now planned for June this year. It will focus on church leadership. A further event is slated for September, which will focus on Leaders in the Marketplace.