EMS Regional Meeting 2026

Call for Papers – Theological Anthropology For Missional Engagement

Theological anthropology is central to missiological reflection and practice, since acts of gospel witness, service, and cultural engagement all rest on assumptions about human identity, dignity, and destiny. In a rapidly changing world—marked by shifting views of spirituality, ethnicity, gender, technology, and ecology—the church must embrace a biblically faithful and missionally engaged understanding of the imago Dei. This year’s Evangelical Missiological Society Conference invites reflection on the meaning of being human and on how the doctrine of the imago Dei shapes evangelism, discipleship, community, and global mission. Together we will ask: How do theological anthropology and Christian responses to debates about personhood and identity inform the theory and practice of mission? 

Papers are invited on any aspect of theological anthropology, but below are some suggested ideas

• Imago Dei in Mission: Human dignity, human rights, and gospel witness. 
• Theology and Culture: How do specific cultural patterns, traditions, and beliefs impact the missionary task? 
• Gender and Sexuality: Engaging the ways that questions of gender, sexuality, singleness, and family affect missionary work. 
• Technology, Transhumanism, and New Humanity: Artificial intelligence, bioethics, the value of embodiment, and the limits and telos of humanity in light of the Christian story. 
• Race, Ethnicity, and Reconciliation: Anthropological foundations for ethnic identity, justice, and unity in Christ within the context of mission.
• Ecology and Creation Care: Humanity’s vocation as stewards of creation and its missiological implications.
• Disability and the Image of God: Rethinking inclusion, personhood, and the missionary task among vulnerable populations.
• Political Theory and Practice: Human dignity, civil rights, migration and borders, and the realities of violence and war in relation to the missionary task.
• Psychology and Neuroscience: How research on consciousness, sin, suffering, and human flourishing informs missionary work.
• Theology of Work and the Arts: How human capacities and vocation shape our approach to work, commerce, and the arts.

Please send your 250 word abstract to Phil Hopkins @ PhilHopkins@gs.edu by February 6.

 

More details as the conference comes closer, but R. Daniel Shaw, Senior Anthropology Consultant, SIL International and  Senior Professor of Anthropology & Translation at Fuller Seminary will be our keynote speaker.