‘Either the church impacts the culture of its city,’ says Mal Fletcher, ‘or the culture will impact the church.’

With that in mind, Mal has made the focus of Next Wave International for the next decade or more the penetration of the mainstream marketplace of ideas and services with Christian values, worldview and truth.

In the first half of 2014, Mal has twice addressed a group of young business and civic leaders who are part of Hillsong London’s marketplace leadership masterclass.

The group meets weekly at night for two hours of lectures featuring some key marketplace figures. Mal’s lectures on Innovation and the Future of Social Enterprise have been extremely well received.

The masterclass is the vision of Pastor Gary Clarke, leader of the Hillsong London church, and is overseen by Pastor Kris Mikkelsen, leader of the church’s Surrey campus.

After the second visit to the masterclass, Mal said: ‘It was wonderful to bring the type of presentation I do to civic and business leaders into this environment – and really sharpen it for this particular group of people.’

‘I always insist on a Q & A at these types of sessions – and even after some church services these days – so that people get the opportunity to learn my thought process, rather than simply hear the end result.’

‘The questions at these sessions were very sharp and reflected a depth of understanding that bodes well for their future success and influence.’