North Central Vice President: Dr. Robert J. Priest
Director, PhD Program in Intercultural Studies
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Urban Mission/Short-Term Mission: Call for Papers

February 26, 2011 (8:15 - 4:30)

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois

The EMS will focus this year on Urban Mission, with a scheduled publication to result from this. In addition to this theme, we will be adding others in accord with expressed interests of EMS members.  One room will be devoted to the theme of "short-term missions."

To communicate an interest in presenting a paper, or proposing an additional conference theme, please communicate with Bob Priest [ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ].

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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