The International Educational Leadership Conference

April 2-5, 2025, Hungary

Theme: Fear Not!

"Fear not!" is the most often repeated phrase in Scripture and is often connected to an announcement of God's presence or provision in some way. As leaders in Christian education, we must also be reminded of the reality of God's presence and provision in a culture inundated by fear and anxiety. How has God provided for His people? How are we continuing to depend on His power and authority? Why is His truth foundational to all knowledge? Speakers and workshop leaders will help us to reflect on these questions and engage us in practical solutions for the Christian school in our society. 

Main Session Titles:

• Leading with Courage: Standing firm in a Shifting World
• Building a Culture of Faithful Resilience in Schools
• Facing Today's Challenges with Wisdom
• Hope for Tomorrow: Inspiring the Next Generation of Christian Leaders

Keynote Speakers:

Dr. Larry Taylor

Dr. Taylor is the President of ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International). ACSI works with more than 25,000 schools in 108 countries and helps more than 5.5 million students worldwide receive a Christian education. ACSI also provides services to schools such as accreditation, legal/legislative assistance, professional development and curriculum publishing.

Prior to accepting the President position at ACSI, Dr. Larry Taylor served twenty years as the Head of School at Prestonwood Christian Academy (PCA) in Plano, Texas. Prestonwood Christian Academy serves more than 2,000 students.

Prior to PCA, Dr. Taylor served for twelve years at The First Academy in Orlando, Florida as a High School Principal and Assistant Headmaster.  He also has held teaching positions within the public-school system. Dr. Taylor co-launched a national training institute for schools, “Becoming a Kingdom School Institute” and founded the Student Leadership Institute (SLi) program.   He developed a training program for parents titled, “Becoming a Kingdom Family.”  Dr. Taylor published the book, Running With The Horses, that helps parents raise children to be servant-leaders for Christ and helps to build a family plan. 

Dr. Taylor received his Ph.D. in Philosophy in Leadership Studies from Dallas Baptist University (2009); his Master’s Degree from Nova University (1993) and his Bachelor’s degree from University of Central Florida (1986).  Dr. Taylor has been married to Delinda Rose Taylor for 39 years and has five sons, and six grandsons and two granddaughters.

Liviu Căprar was born 1962 in Romania. During communist times, he struggled against the marginalization of Christians and later became founder and Director of Logos Baptist High School in Bucharest. He has also been a church pastor for fifteen years, as well as a Religion teacher at Logos. Liviu received a M.Ed. degree in 2009 at CAIRN (Philadelphia Biblical) University through their program based in Kandern, Germany. He is frequently involved with the Romanian Department of Education in curriculum development and written subjects for teacher’s national exams. He is executive Secretary for EurECA (European Educators’ Christian Association) and an Educational Consultant for Christian schools, on behalf of ACSI Romania. He is married to Ema, with two daughters (Medy, married to Emi, and Dorothy). 

Paul Madsen. Assistant Director of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) Europe and works to support the growth of Christian schools across Europe through strategic school improvement, teacher training, spiritual formation, and leadership training for students since 2012. He has his Masters in Education and a Bachelors in Biblical and Theological Studies. After teaching in the US, he spent 14 years in Spain teaching and developing a student leadership program at ECA, an international Christian school and working in a Spanish youth ministry program. He is married to Ellie, who is originally from Ecuador, and they have 2 teenage boys who were born in Spain.

Laci Demeter. Director of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) Europe, based in Budapest. His work and passion is to foster the improvement of Christian schools and to advocate for excellence and an eternal perspective in education. Laci has been part of ACSI Europe since 1995 and holds degrees in engineering, English teaching, and educational leadership. Laci, along with his wife Rita, are the parents of six children and grandfather of six grandchildren.

What is IELC?

The International Educational Leadership Conference brings together Christian school leaders for strategic collaboration and inspiration from across Europe and beyond. ACSI Europe has hosted the IELC since 2015 for participants from more than 40 countries and we are blessed to be able to partner with you for the promotion of quality Christ-centered education around the world.

Conference Goals:

• Inspire a shared vision for Christian education globally
• Encourage fellowship among Christian school leaders
• Encourage collaboration among Christian schools
• Inspire biblical leadership through interactive sessions

Conference Location: Budapest, Hungary

• Our conference venue will include hotel options as well as meals for participants at the Benzcur Hotel near Hero's Square. 
• Hotel venue: Please book your own lodging based on your preferences. Rooms will be available at special rates. Booking form download.
• Room availability is guaranteed until 15 February, with a special rate available for participants. After this date, availability cannot be assured. You can also look for other local accommodation that fits your needs.

Program Details:

• This conference will highlight keynote speakers from various regions. A draft schedule is available here.
• Workshops will be available, presented by highly experienced and qualified educators working in Christian school settings.
• Various learning tracks will be offered to participants wanting to focus their attention on themes related to the opportunities for Christian education to address real and pressing challenges in our communities.
• If you do not speak English, you will need to provide your own translator for networking. There are various apps such as GoogleTranslate that can be used for simultaneous written translation in selected languages during the main sessions and the super seminars.

Workshops

Would you be interested to present a workshop at IELC 2025? Please fill out this form. The conference organizing committee will select the workshops for the conference from the submitted proposals. Workshop Proposal Deadline February 15, 2025.

Workshop Titles and Descriptions:

1. All workshops must fit within the conference theme and be related to the opportunities for Christian education to address real and pressing challenges in our culture and educational context. 
2. Please make your titles and descriptions "attention getting" and informative.
3. Many of the conference participants will be non-native English speakers but workshops must be presented in English.

The ACSI Europe Christian School Improvement Platform (CSIP)

ACSI is committed to supporting excellence in both academics and spiritual formation for Christian schools. ACSI Europe has developed a multi-lingual tool to build school communities through identifying strengths and weaknesses in a setting of strategic professional support between member schools and partner organizations. Your use of this platform as a member school will further enable you to build meaningful partnerships through your connections at IELC that best support the needs of your school community. You can read more about CSIP here.

Conference Booths and Partnership Development:

• Organizations can be assigned space to host conversations with other participants during the conference breaks.
• We encourage you to think about ways that you want to collaborate with schools from other countries for mutual benefit and support based in a biblical vision of education. The best encouragement for partnership is highlighting what you can offer to others in these partnership opportunities.
• Reserve your table by March 15, 2025. An extra fee will be collected for any organizations promoting paid services or products.

Conference Costs: 

Note that conference prices do not include accommodation. We will provide a link to discounted prices at the conference hotel where you may reserve your preferred room type in your confirmation email. You may also select from other local accommodation options.

* This is a subsidized price for certain participants, which helps to cover the costs of this event.

All registrations include 2 dinners, 2 lunches, 4 coffee breaks, access to main sessions, workshops, translation options, conference materials, the digital conference resources and networking as well as a trial access to CSIP.

A 5% discount is available for groups of 5 or more participants from the same school. 

Payment and Cancellation Policy:

• Conference fees must be paid by March 15, 2025.
• Payment can be made by credit card or bank transfer after completing the registration process.
• Cancellations between February 28 and March 15 receive a 50% refund.
• No refunds or cancellations after March 15.

Updated on Jan. 27, 2025