Over 1,000 Church Leaders To Gather In Lagos For Inaugural Global Church Systems Conference

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More than 1,000 pastors, church leaders, and ministry executives from across Africa and other parts of the world are expected to converge on Daystar Christian Center this July for the maiden edition of the Global Church Systems Conference (GCSC), a summit designed to address what organisers describe as one of the biggest challenges facing growing churches: the absence of sustainable systems.

Scheduled to hold from July 16 to 17, 2026, at the church’s Lagos headquarters, the conference is themed “Building Sustainable, Scalable, Spirit-Led Church Systems.” Organisers say the event will focus on helping ministries build structures capable of outlasting their founders while supporting long-term growth and impact.

The conference will be led by Sam Adeyemi and Nike Adeyemi, who will headline discussions on governance, leadership development, technology, finance, succession planning, and church operations.

Speaking ahead of the event, Sam Adeyemi said many ministries struggle not because of a lack of vision but because they fail to establish effective systems capable of sustaining growth.

“Growth is a blessing, but unmanaged growth becomes a burden,” he said. “Too many ministries are still personality-dependent. When the leader is gone, the structure goes with him or her. This conference exists to change that. We are not here to inspire people for two days and send them home. We are here to help them build something that outlasts them.”

According to the organisers, the conference will draw from more than three decades of organisational experience developed at Daystar Christian Centre. Participants will be introduced to the church’s proprietary S.H.E.P.H.E.R.D. Model, an eight-part framework designed to strengthen governance, people management, ministry operations, technology integration, and succession strategies.

Nike Adeyemi said the conference would place equal emphasis on structure and people development, noting that effective systems should enhance care and growth within church communities.

“Systems without people are cold, and people without systems are chaos,” she said. “What we have learned over thirty years is that the strongest churches are the ones where structure actually protects people. It gives them room to belong, to grow, and to be cared for, even as the church gets bigger.”

Unlike many conventional church conferences that focus primarily on keynote speeches, organisers say GCSC will adopt a practical and interactive format aimed at implementation.

Each session will follow a Teach, Reflect, Discuss and Share model, allowing participants to work in small groups to identify gaps within their ministries and develop practical solutions. Attendees are also expected to leave with customised 90-day implementation plans tailored to their organisations.

Explaining the approach, Sam Adeyemi said the goal is to ensure participants return home with actionable strategies rather than temporary motivation.

“We didn’t want another conference that people forget by the time their flight lands,” he said. “You leave with a plan, not just a feeling.”

The two-day programme will cover topics ranging from vision casting and governance on the first day to finance management, staffing systems, technology adoption, and action-planning workshops on the second day.

Organisers said the summit is specifically targeted at senior pastors, general overseers, executive church leaders, ministry administrators, and operations managers seeking to strengthen the institutional foundations of their organisations.

Registration for the conference has commenced, with participation available on a first-paid basis. Scholarship opportunities have also been provided for student pastors, according to the organisers.

The launch of the Global Church Systems Conference comes amid growing conversations within faith communities about succession planning, accountability, organisational resilience, and the need for churches to develop structures that can sustain growth in an increasingly complex and technology-driven