North Central Vice President: Dr. Robert J. Priest 
Professor of Mission and Anthropology 
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

April 21, 2012 Conference at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Deerfield, IL) -- 8:15 - 4:45

There will be tracks on:

          1.) Missionary Methods
          2.) Preaching and Culture: Contextualizing the Sermon
          3.) Ethnodoxology: Contextualized Arts in Mission
          4.) Theology of Religions              
          5.) Vocation, Work, and Money in Global              
                Christianity & Call for Papers

 

Call for Papers
The EMS will focus this year on Missionary methods, with a scheduled publication to result from this. In addition to this theme, we will also focus on other themes as outlined above. To communicate an interest in presenting a paper on one of these themes, please communicate with Bob Priest [ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ].

For Full Information on the Conference and Registration Materials, go to www.missiologymatters.com/conf 

Report on the 2010 (Feb 27) EMS North Central Region

By

Amit A. Bhatia

PhD/ICS student, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School hosted the North Central Region of the EMS on February 27 under the theme of  “Diversity and Mission.” There were fifty different sessions – forty-seven papers and three film screenings – that focused on issues related to race, culture, gender, and ethnicity, etc., as they are experienced and addressed by a variety of mission organizations.  This year’s conference also featured a Spanish language track.  The theme of “diversity” was not only reflected by the topics of the presentations, but also through the diversity of two-hundred-and-sixty presenters and attendees. Twenty percent of the presentations were by women.

Some of the topics of the presentations included views of peace in Islam and Christianity; issues relating to ministry of single women to Mormons; mission work of immigrant churches in the U.S. and in South America; racially diverse images of Jesus; church discipline in churches in Malawi; a look at healthy discipleship in multi-ethnic churches; the role of short-term missions in crossing ethnic divides; sex, trafficking and missions; the significance of contextualization in Muslim contexts; a look at African Christianity in Ghana and Zimbabwe; and a look at case studies relating to short-term missions to Peru, to name just a few.  The multitude of voices spoke from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, advancing lessons pertinent to cross- and multi-cultural ministry.

Presenters of the various sessions included pastors, students – undergraduate, masters and doctoral, professors, mission organization leaders, and missionaries.  Over half of the attendees were students, hailing from China, Korea, India, Egypt, Colombia, South Africa, Brazil, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Spain, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, Norway, Taiwan, Japan, and, of course, the United States.  Many of the presenters have been – and are – engaged in ministry in a plethora of countries in cross-cultural settings.  Professors and students represented institutions such as Asbury Theological Seminary, Boston University, Dallas Theological Seminary, Wheaton College, Northwestern College, Olivet Nazarene University, Concordia University, Whitworth University, Moody Bible Institute, Greenville College, Western Theological Seminary, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.  It was a global and a diverse dialogue.

No matter which session one attended one could not help but observe the rich diversity of the global body of Christ.  The conference was fertile ground for training future missionaries and pastors in our increasingly globalized and diverse world.

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