Year after year, the Summit has trained me to be a leader. I used to go to the Summit just to support my leader husband. It was a few years before I had opportunities to lead myself.

I remember the seat I was in when I caught the vision that the local church is the hope of the world. It lit a passion inside me for evangelism. In the years since, I've personally led a lot of people to Christ by various means of opportunity the Lord gives me. One of the ways I influence others year round is by leading a small group through my church in San Diego. There is always an opportunity to influence right where we are.

Having been poor for most of my young life, it never occurred to me that I could be a part of mission work.

Then new opportunities presented themselves, and I started to go on mission trips to share the gospel and provide care to those in need of medical care. I realized being an influencer is also being a leader. And now I often lead that medical team!

Having been poor for most of my young life, it never occurred to me that I could be a part of mission work and have this kind of influence. The churches I had attended until then never talked about such things.

I could not imagine how I would afford going into mission work. But someone told me, the Lord would provide and I could do fundraising, and He’s been providing ever since.

I have learned through the Summit to cast the vision to others and now I bring others along on these trips. These are people who will be going to the mission field long after I'm no longer able. One of my personal goals is to get others to go on these trips so that God’s Kingdom will advance and lives will be forever changed like mine was. I love the opportunity to have a strong influence on helping to disciple women who go on these trips.

I’ve seen a ripple effect in influencing people for Christ. I'm currently with a team that provides medical care to the very poor and we also go to prisons. And hundreds of people get saved each year.

If I had not attended the Summit and realized the leadership God put in me, I would be warming a pew in a church, going to church functions and living a nice quiet suburban life, oblivious to the struggles of the rest of the world.

One of the surprising things in all this is that this poor kid from the sticks of Missouri could make any difference in the Kingdom. It is always most surprising when I get ready to pray or speak to people and the Lord gives me what to say right then. He gives me a deeper insight into who they are or a battle they may be going through. It’s amazing to see the vast ripple effect as I share the Gospel.

If I had not attended the Summit and realized the leadership God put in me, I would be warming a pew in a church, going to church functions and living a nice quiet suburban life, oblivious to the struggles of the rest of the world. I would have had no global vision for the suffering in the world, no vision to see others obtain clean water, correct the injustice of human trafficking or help persecuted Christians around the world. Now I participate in these things because I am becoming a global Christian. I also lead a small group, and am very proud of them. God is helping me encourage men and women in my small group and friends to go to the mission field too!

Just because you may already be a good leader doesn't mean you have every piece of the puzzle you could have. We can diminish over time if we don’t refuel our spiritual tank or renew or learn new skills. There are leaders who gain from the Summit every year who could be one of the featured speakers. Learning is ongoing and God has a way of placing just what you need in the Summit.