At a time when many organizations are managing economic uncertainty, rapid technological change and a growing need for trusted leadership, Dr. Anthony D. Shannon Sr. is advancing a timely message: Success becomes more significant when it helps someone else succeed.
That philosophy is the foundation of the Prayer Breakfast of Champions, a three-day, in-person experience taking place August 28 through August 30, 2026, in Westland, Michigan.
Presented by ADS Consulting Group and led by Dr. Shannon, the event is designed to bring business owners, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, pastors, authors, speakers, nonprofit professionals and community advocates together for prayer, leadership development and purposeful relationship building.
The weekend begins Friday, August 28, with a meet and greet, followed by the Prayer Breakfast of Champions on Saturday, August 29. A speaker service will conclude the gathering on Sunday, August 30.
Although prayer is at the center of the weekend, the program is also focused on action. Dr. Shannon wants participants to leave with more than inspiration. He wants them to identify practical ways to share their knowledge, create opportunities and help other leaders move forward.
“I believe leadership is not only about what we accomplish,” Shannon said. “It is also about what we give, whom we serve and what we leave behind.”
A Different Measure of Leadership
Business culture often celebrates growth, revenue, visibility and individual achievement. Those measurements are important, but they do not tell the complete story of a leader’s influence.
The Prayer Breakfast of Champions introduces another measurement: How many people are stronger, better equipped or better positioned because a leader decided to help?
For more than 30 years, Shannon has worked across ministry, corporate business, entrepreneurship, executive coaching, speaking, mentoring and community development. He has built organizations, trained leaders and created environments where people can connect and collaborate.
Those experiences shaped his belief that leadership is not simply demonstrated by reaching the top. It is also demonstrated by reaching back.
Through Leaders Live Generously Academy and the Prayer Breakfast of Champions, Shannon promotes three guiding principles: Lead. Love. Give.
Leading means acting with integrity and providing a path others can follow. Loving means recognizing the dignity and potential in people. Giving means sharing the resources, relationships, wisdom and opportunities that can help someone else grow.
For local leaders, that generosity might look like mentoring a new business owner, introducing an entrepreneur to a potential client or helping an emerging speaker find a platform. It could mean sharing expertise with a nonprofit organization, recommending someone for a contract or taking time to encourage a young professional.
Generous leadership does not always require a large financial contribution. It requires a willingness to use what is already available.
Why This Gathering Is Needed Now
The Prayer Breakfast of Champions arrives at an important moment for Metro Detroit and communities across the country.
Leaders are navigating fast-moving changes in technology, communication and the workplace. Small-business owners are trying to remain visible and competitive. Nonprofit organizations are being asked to address significant community needs, often with limited resources. Emerging professionals need mentorship, while experienced leaders are considering the legacy they want to leave.
At the same time, digital communication has made it easier to connect with hundreds of people while sometimes making it harder to build one trusted relationship.
The Prayer Breakfast of Champions is intended to close that gap.
Its in-person format gives participants time to speak with one another, hear different perspectives and discover where their goals may align. A business executive may meet a community leader who understands a local need. An entrepreneur may connect with a pastor whose congregation could benefit from a service. A seasoned professional may recognize potential in an emerging leader who needs guidance.
Those meetings can lead to partnerships, referrals, mentoring relationships and new opportunities. More importantly, they can help restore a sense of shared responsibility among leaders.
Communities need people who are willing to collaborate across industries and institutions. They need business leaders who understand that economic success and community well-being are connected. They need experienced professionals who will transfer their knowledge instead of allowing valuable lessons to disappear when they retire.
In that environment, the message of the Prayer Breakfast of Champions is especially relevant. Leadership cannot be concerned only with building personal platforms. It must also build people.
Generosity as a Business Principle
The word “generosity” is frequently associated with charitable giving. Shannon’s definition is broader and directly applicable to business leadership.
A generous leader shares information, provides useful feedback and connects people to opportunities. That leader develops employees instead of treating them as replaceable. A generous entrepreneur opens doors for vendors and collaborators. A generous executive sponsors rising talent and makes sure capable people are considered when decisions are made.
This approach is represented by the three foundational principles of Leaders Live Generously: Seed, Service and Knowledge.
A seed is anything that can produce future growth. It may be money, but it can also be an idea, referral, introduction or invitation. One connection can lead to a customer. One recommendation can lead to a contract. One conversation can give a leader the confidence to pursue a larger opportunity.
Service places leadership in practical terms. It asks leaders to identify needs and use their experience to help meet them. Service can be expressed through volunteering, mentoring, problem-solving or creating access.
Knowledge recognizes that wisdom has limited impact when it is kept private. Business owners and experienced professionals possess lessons that can help younger leaders avoid costly mistakes. Sharing that knowledge strengthens the local leadership pipeline and gives emerging entrepreneurs a better chance of succeeding.
The Prayer Breakfast of Champions is designed to put these ideas into practice. Participants are encouraged to arrive not only asking what they can receive, but also considering what they can contribute.
A Mission Rooted in Personal Experience
Shannon’s commitment to developing leaders is connected to his own story.
As a child, he faced a speech challenge. Speaking confidently in front of an audience once may have seemed beyond his reach. Over time, however, the area that presented one of his greatest difficulties became a central part of his purpose.
Today, Shannon is a pastor, international speaker, executive leadership coach, author, television host and master emcee. He has trained leaders, coached professionals and addressed audiences around the world.
His journey informs the way he looks at potential. A person’s current struggle does not necessarily predict that person’s future contribution. Someone who needs encouragement today may become the leader who influences thousands tomorrow.
Shannon also understands what access to a platform can mean. An invitation to speak, lead or participate can affirm a person’s abilities and introduce that individual to new possibilities. That is why he is committed to creating spaces where established and emerging leaders can meet.
The Prayer Breakfast of Champions is one such space. It recognizes experienced champions while creating room for the next generation to learn, connect and be seen.
Three Days With a Purpose
The weekend’s schedule is structured to move participants from connection to reflection and then to action.
The Friday meet and greet provides an opportunity to begin conversations in a relaxed setting. Instead of waiting until the main event to exchange business cards, attendees can learn about one another’s work, interests and community involvement.
The Prayer Breakfast of Champions brunch on Saturday will place faith, fellowship and leadership at the center of the experience. Participants will be encouraged to consider how their values influence the way they manage organizations, treat employees, serve customers and make decisions.
The Sunday speaker service will conclude the weekend with messages intended to equip and activate attendees. The goal is for participants to return to their businesses, churches and organizations with a renewed commitment to serve.
Together, the three days emphasize prayer, purpose and provision.
Prayer offers spiritual clarity. Purpose gives leaders direction. Provision may arrive through an idea, resource or relationship that helps a person take the next step.
Local Leaders Can Make the Difference
While Shannon has a vision for Leaders Live Generously to grow nationally and internationally, the August gathering also represents an opportunity for Metro Detroit leaders to strengthen their own community.
Westland and the surrounding region are home to established corporations, family-owned companies, churches, schools, nonprofits and a growing entrepreneurial community. These institutions often serve the same families and neighborhoods, yet their leaders may have limited opportunities to connect.
The Prayer Breakfast of Champions can help create those connections.
Local business owners can participate by attending, bringing an emerging leader or inviting a colleague from another industry. Executives can contribute by offering mentorship and sharing what they have learned. Pastors can connect community members to resources. Nonprofit leaders can introduce business professionals to important local needs.
Participation does not require someone to have all the answers. It requires a willingness to listen, share and build relationships.
The event also offers established leaders an opportunity to examine their legacy. A successful career may produce awards and financial security, but its influence becomes more enduring when knowledge and access are transferred to others.
“Leaders live generously, and legacies live forever” summarizes that responsibility.
Moving From Success to Significance
Shannon’s books, including “Sacred Success: Unlocking God Given Prosperity” and “The Process of Change Is Now,” reinforce the ideas behind the Prayer Breakfast of Champions.
“Sacred Success” presents prosperity as something larger than titles, income or recognition. It connects achievement to purpose, stewardship and the responsibility to use success to benefit others.
“The Process of Change Is Now” challenges readers to stop delaying action until every condition appears perfect. That message is relevant to leaders who recognize a community need but have not yet decided how they will respond.
The Prayer Breakfast of Champions gives them a place to begin.
A local entrepreneur may discover a mentor. A retiring executive may identify someone to develop. A nonprofit leader may meet a potential corporate partner. A young professional may receive an introduction that changes the course of a career.
None of those outcomes can be guaranteed, but they become possible when leaders gather with the intention to help one another.
An Invitation to Participate
The Prayer Breakfast of Champions will take place August 28 through August 30, 2026, at 32747 Grand Traverse in Westland, Michigan.
The three-day schedule includes:
Friday, August 28: Meet and Greet
Saturday, August 29: Prayer Breakfast of Champions Brunch
Sunday, August 30: Speaker Service
General admission is $197, with a special ticket available for $177. Space is limited.
Metro Detroit business leaders, entrepreneurs, executives, pastors, nonprofit professionals and community advocates are encouraged to attend and bring another leader who would benefit from the experience.
Tickets and additional information are available at PrayerBreakfastOfChampions.com.
The challenges facing today’s communities are too complex for leaders to work in isolation. Progress requires trusted relationships, shared knowledge and people who are willing to open doors for one another.
The Prayer Breakfast of Champions offers local leaders a place to begin that work.
The question is not only what a leader can accomplish. It is also who will be better positioned because that leader chose to participate, contribute and live generously.
