Everything rises and falls on leadership.

That is the message Bill Hybels, founder and senior pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, gave in the opening session of the Global Leadership Summit in Chicago Thursday.

“The reason he says that is because of something you and I know to me true: leadership matters,” co-pastor at Crossway Church T.J. Tennison said to the crowd gathered locally. “There is nothing that gets better without a leader.”

Both Thursday and Friday, Crossway Church, 1825 U.S. 61 South, has been the local host of the leadership summit happening live in Chicago and being telecast to more than 500 locations throughout the country.

A total of 137 people registered locally to attend the two-day conference meant to hone leadership skills of people in the community. Eight different sessions were planned with 13 speakers covering different facets of leadership.

“Everybody leads in some capacity so everybody can get something out of this,” said Christy Wilson, promotional strategist for the summit in Vicksburg, adding the summit covers all kinds of leadership including parental, coaching, religious and civic.

This is Crossway’s fifth year to host the summit in Vicksburg. Wilson said the conference is not expensive and hosting the telecast in town makes the information available to people who may not be able to leave their families for a two day conference.

“Leadership training makes everybody better. So if we can offer leadership training that’s affordable and accessible to the community so they don’t have to travel, then it can only increase anything that’s going on in that community. It can only make every single person better,” Wilson said.

Michele Connelly, executive director of the United Way of West Central Mississippi, said she has limited funding for professional development, and she has found the summit to be invaluable to her and the rest of the United Way staff.

“There is no way my staff could gain this experience anywhere else other than here,” she said. “Last year I said let’s try this, lets go for it, and I’ve caught the bug. We are going to be here as long as it is being hosted.”

Connelly said she plans to use the terminology covered in the sessions and refer to the analogies used by the speakers with her staff throughout the year.

“I’ll use that in my staff meetings all year long,” she said. “And everyone in my staff will know exactly what I’m talking about because we have that common language that we got from here.”

After the first session Thursday, Tennison, Connelly and Robert Andrews of Elevate Church presented plaques to community leaders in an effort to thank them and inspire them to continue to lead.

“The landscape for leadership can be very difficult. True leaders have to navigate quite a bit,” Tennison said, adding a thank you can go a long way to encourage someone.

Those honored were Vicksburg fire Chief Charles Atkins, Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace, Vicksburg police Chief Walter Armstrong, Warren County Board of Supervisors president Richard George and Mayor George Flaggs Jr.

“We decided to do for a few what we wish we could do for many,” Tennison said.