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A Passing of the Torch: the interview with Francesco Schiano Lomoriello, new GBU General Secretary

Francesco tells his story in this interview: the decision to propose himself as General Secretary (GS), the emotions he has experienced in the last year and his wishes on the future of the GBU.

Francesco, the Board has chosen you as the new GS. How did you welcome this news? What feelings did you have?

It is news that gives me many new stimuli. I have been GBU Staff in Naples for over ten years, and I have had the opportunity to serve the Lord both in the local group and in various projects at national level. They have been very rich and formative years, but certainly this is a big change which brings with it many responsibilities and requires a lot of time to dedicate to it.

I was also surprised and encouraged by the many messages I received after the news was made public. People more or less close to the GBU world wrote to me, but I honestly did not expect so much affection. I thought, in fact, that the news would remain more internal to the GBU, and instead it was good to know that there are so many people who are praying and will pray for me, for this new commitment.   

What was the thought process that led you to apply as the new SG?

The truth is that among the senior staff members is also me!

I was and am aware that I would not face many difficulties in terms of experience and knowledge of the GBU. Then there was a more personal reason, regarding the calling I feel to the GBU and the path we are on as a family.

Furthermore, after more than ten years in the GBU I feel more and more distant from the students, in the sense that it is becoming more and more complicated to take part in Bible studies in the faculty and to go and evangelise with the GBU students. If until a few years ago I could delude myself into thinking I was a (very) out-of-date student, now that I am about to turn forty… (laughs, ed).

I still want to be close to students like GS. But it will be in a different way and more in harmony with my new role. It is one of my goals in the coming years.

So you will have to leave your role as GBU Staff in Naples?

Yes, but thank God in Naples there will be Rebecca Iacone, who graduated a few years ago, finished her Staff in Training and now wants to stay and serve the GBU Naples group. This is one of those favourable circumstances which the Lord has prepared and which encouraged me to apply to be GS.

In addition to this, to be closer to my family and the local church we attend, we will soon be moving to Bacoli, moving away from Naples and the students a little. This family aspect is also more compatible with a national role than a commitment to a local GBU group.

Great then, you can happily devote yourself to your role as GS. What are your future dreams for the GBU?

I have a number of wishes and expectations for the GBU. They have matured in me naturally over these years, and I pray that they will inspire and motivate my commitment to this new role, and also the commitment of all GBU staff.

Some of these desires are fully in tune with the history of the GBU, and are to be preserved. Others are things we still need to work on or explore. I would certainly like the students to always maintain a central role in the GBU and in sharing the Gospel in the university, along with the centrality of the Word of God in everything we do.

I would also like the mission to strengthen its interdenominational dimension, being able to interact with different church realities in Italy, to reach out to those churches which do not yet know about the GBU. I hope and pray to be able to see this happen in the next few years. I have learned a lot about relationships with churches through my involvement with the ‘Noi Festival’ (an initiative of the Billy Graham Ass., ed.). It was very much a learning experience and I will strive to achieve a good result in the near future. 

This interaction with churches is crucial for several aspects, including the possibility of having more students involved in Sharing Jesus in Italian universities.

One of the things you were involved in as GBU staff was ‘interacting with the university’. Do you think the GBU has room for growth in this aspect?

Yes, I would really like to be able to make a contribution so that the GBU is more active and able to answer university students’ questions and doubts. I would like students to be stimulated and challenged in this, but I would also like to involve professors and professionals, including international ones, who can address specific and relevant issues in the university environment.

There are also many ideas and wishes, but we will see as we go along. For the time being, I am living this transition period to the fullest, in which I am the ‘elected SG’, but not in office (laughs, ed.). These will be useful months for the handover and I will be able to interact well with Johan, who will be a great help during this phase.

Speaking of Johan, did you read his advice for you in his interview? What do you think about it?

Yes, I thank Johan for his affection, his esteem, but above all for his example. He has done a great job to give the GBU a structure that now allows us all to move with more ease and it will be the same for me in the role of GS.

I certainly want to maintain and also strengthen the structure that Johan created, in continuity with his work and in harmony with all GBU staff members. 

One of the reasons I accepted the post was precisely the knowledge that I had a strong team, made up of people full of skills and spiritual gifts. It would be impossible to do my job without this talented team. My intention, of course, is to take Johan’s advice and rely on all the members of the GBU Staff family, as well as the other members of the fellowship.

By Domenico Campo, GBU Staff Sicily
Johan, a destra, insieme al Comitato Direttiv

A Passing of the Torch: An Interview with Johan Soderkvist, Outgoing General Secretary of GBU

Johan (on the right in the photo, alongside the GBU Board) shares his story in this interview. His time as General Secretary (GS), the evolution of GBU, his future, and his advice for Francesco (on the left in the photo), the new General Secretary.

Johan, you’re stepping down as General Secretary this year after how many years?

I became GS in 2009/2010, so officially it’s been 15 years. But in reality, I was already active as GS from 2005 because I was President of the GBU Association, and I took care of some aspects of the GS role, which didn’t exist at the time. So, it’s either 15 or 20 years!

So, we can call this a moment of great change in your life and in GBU’s history. How did you come to this decision? Wait… were you fired?

Yes, finally I can say it officially: they got rid of me (laughs). Actually, the term of a GS, by statute, is five years renewable. After these five years, we ask ourselves whether to continue or not. Twice, the Board and I chose to continue. 

After the first five years, I felt there was still much I could give, and it was easy to decide to continue, together with the Board. Five years ago, however, was a somewhat particular period, especially from an administrative and GBU development point of view, so it was also a necessity.

I loved being the GS of GBU and I had many satisfactions and blessings in these 20 years of teamwork. Today, the Staff team is full of capable people, and I felt it was the right time to make room for others to exercise their gifts in this role.

What will you do now? Will you remain involved with GBU?

Three years ago, IFES asked me if I wanted to commit to their Governance program, which involves training the Boards of GBU groups in various countries around the world. It was a proposal in line with my gifts and passions, because I will be dealing with leadership and structure. So I accepted the proposal, aware that it was not compatible with the GS role.

It seems the timing was good.

Yes. A prospect of service in IFES at a time when I was starting to think that someone else could continue as GS with GBU. The desire to leave the role to someone else after about 20 years coincided with the arrival of this proposal to be more involved in this IFES program, where I was already involved since 2019 as a TRAINER, to help the various Boards of GBU groups internationally.

Now a question that to answer properly might require writing a book (why not do it?!)… Thinking about these 20 years, what was GBU like when you started as GS and what is it like now?

This is probably the most encouraging and blessed aspect of these years. We started from a much smaller GBU, in terms of the number of national groups, students involved, and Staff around Italy, but also in terms of donations and finances in general. Looking at the numbers, it’s a completely different GBU.

Looking at what GBU does and its mission, the roots are the same. The passion is the same, as is the centrality of the student and consequently the vision of Sharing Jesus from Student to Student. All these things have remained almost the same.

In these years, we have added a lot of structure around these foundations. For example, today we have a path to train coordinators, the same for Staff in Training. As we grew, it was necessary to add structure because the risk would have been an isolated and detached growth, while this way there is organized and homogeneous growth. Today we are still a student movement founded on students, but in some ways, we are a more structured and connected organization, more capable of relating to different churches from different contexts, with more students, with a richer Staff team, whilst being present in more university cities.

What happens now? Will you remain involved with GBU? What will your role be?

My work in IFES will not take up all my time. I will certainly remain available to the GBU and the new GS. There will be a transition period between me and Francesco, to give him and all the Staff time to get used to the new setup. After that, I will still be available to the GBU. Certainly, there are areas where I could continue to serve with some of my specific gifts, without conflict with the GS role or with Francesco, also considering his gifts, which are many and different from mine.

Francesco will be the new GS of GBU and will certainly appreciate some advice from you! What advice would you like to give him?

In these months, I’ve thought about it several times, because I’ve analyzed the good things and the less good things of my journey. I wouldn’t want to give Francesco a list, but rather share some reflections

I believe that Francesco should feel free to use the many gifts God has given him and his passions, and lead GBU through them, towards the goals we have before us. In doing so, I hope he will want to preserve the structure we have managed to create in these years, or at least improve or adapt it to the times, to remain stable on a foundation that is necessary, and that also allows him to freely exercise his gifts and help GBU to “change” in the things he feels need to be changed, created, or implemented. I am sure he will find his space and his personal way to carry out the role of General Secretary.

I hope he continues to do collaborative work, where every element of GBU feels part of the family. This will become increasingly complicated as we grow, we have seen it in the last ten years; similarly, there are different ways to involve everyone, especially for those strategic aspects that concern long-term work. It will be important that this is maintained.

I am confident that the Board has made an excellent choice. I am certain that Francesco will bring valuable and unique contributions, different from mine. I trust that the Lord will continue to bless the GBU and guide all of us in our work of sharing the Gospel in universities.

by Domenico Campo, GBU Staff Worker in Sicily