Abstract
Greetings from the Overseas Ministries Study Center at Princeton Theological Seminary! It seems like a good time to share briefly what has been happening at OMSC since our move. But before I report on the present and the future, I will attempt to situate the ongoing story of OMSC in relation to our first ninety-nine years of ministry.
Those who know our history immediately caught the meaning of “Version 3.0” in my title. For those who may still be scratching their heads, “Version 1.0” was launched in 1922 in Ventnor, New Jersey, as the Society for Foreign Mission Welfare known informally as the Houses of Fellowship. Made possible by the generous gift of American Baptists Ida and Marguerite Doane and their family, the Ventnor campus (see picture) eventually came to occupy an entire city block just a stone’s throw away from an expansive beach. For sixty-five years, “Ventnor by the Sea” gifted furloughing North American missionary families with a lovely refuge for catching their breath and restoring their health before heading back “overseas” to the “foreign fields” for another term. Marguerite, the elder Doane sister, directed the Houses of Fellowship until 1949.
In the post-Doane era, under the leadership of executive director Alice Bell, the trustees recognized a need for continuing education, and in 1967 they instituted a series of seminars and changed the name to the Overseas Ministries Study Center. In the late 1960s Marjorie Roberts succeeded Bell as executive director, serving until 1973, when R. Pierce Beaver was appointed as OMSC’s first academically trained director. It was Beaver’s successor, Gerald H. Anderson, former missionary to the Philippines and director from 1976 to 2000, who made the quarterly IBMR into what it is today, expanded OMSC’s ecumenical profile, and improved the academic level and appeal of the seminar series.
In the midst of epochal social, cultural, and political changes that impacted the missionary movement and the non-Western churches in the postcolonial era, it became clear that OMSC needed a place better suited to increasing global engagement than that provided by a remote seaside village. A decision was thus made to relocate close to a major academic institution with a world-class library. After considering various options, the trustees decided to sell the Ventnor campus and relocate to New Haven, Connecticut. In 1987 Anderson and his staff launched OMSC’s “Version 2.0” on sound financial footing and on the much smaller New Haven campus (see the three photos on the previous page), on Prospect Street, just up from the Day Missions Collection at the Yale Divinity School Library.
Several new research initiatives and programs were launched by Anderson and his immediate successor, Jonathan Bonk (2000–2013). Some of these were continued, and others were discontinued by their successors, Nelson Jennings (2013–15), interim director Darrell Whiteman (2015–16), and yours truly (2016–present). In addition to the ongoing contributions of the IBMR and study program, OMSC’s major research initiatives to date have included the Pew-funded Research Enablement Program (1992–99), which, under Anderson’s leadership, had a significant impact on the developing field of World Christianity, and the Dictionary of African Christian Biography and Project Luke (2000–2012), directed by Bonk and funded by OMSC and several donors. The DACB was a response to the dearth of information about Africans who have shaped the history of Christianity in Africa. Between 1999 and 2011, OMSC offered up to three Project Luke scholarships each year to African teachers, pastors, or church leaders to enable them to write biographies for the DACB while in residency in New Haven. In 2012 the DACB moved to Boston University’s Center for Global Christianity and Mission, where it continues today under the direction of Michèle Sigg, a member of the OMSC staff from 2004 to 2011. Other notable programs include the Artist in Residence, January Student Seminars on World Mission, Senior Mission Scholars in Residence, Mission Research Colloquia, Mission Leadership Forum (formerly called the “Study Group”), Pastors Luncheon, and the Korean-Global Mission Leadership Forum. Thanks to the spirit of welcome and hard work of staff and the generous support of individuals, congregations, and foundations, OMSC Version 2.0 was an exciting time of growth.
The World Christian movement continued to undergo astounding transformations in the New Haven years. For OMSC, the most dramatic change was in the residents who came to participate in our study program. Though the study program had been designed originally for North American missionaries on home assignment, more and more residents were coming from countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Oceania. In fact, since I became executive director in 2016, all study program participants have been local and cross-cultural church leaders, scholars, and artists from the Majority World. (See photo of the study program certificate ceremony from May 2019.)
The trustees began to realize that OMSC was not sustainable for the long term in its New Haven iteration. At the same time, they were convinced that this ministry—a unique place where church leaders, scholars, and artists from mainline and evangelical Protestant, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and independent churches can meet for a sustained time of intellectual and spiritual renewal—was simply too important to fail. Consequently, with the 2022 centenary on the horizon, we began to seek a new way forward. A decision was made to solicit proposals from leading seminaries and divinity schools who were interested in welcoming OMSC as an integral part of their own mission and community. I am delighted to report that we received several enthusiastic offers, which is a testimony to the good work that was accomplished in Versions 1.0 and 2.0. At a special meeting on March 13, 2019, the OMSC trustees voted to pursue the proposal from Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS). We signed a Memorandum of Understanding in June 2019, and a Covenant Agreement in June 2020. Following our move to Princeton, Version 3.0 was officially launched on July 1, 2020.
With thanks for the generous support of the seminary and all who have given to our Second Century Campaign, the newly renovated OMSC House is ready to open its door once the COVID menace is finally behind us all. Guided by the watchword Continuing the legacy, embracing the future, Version 3.0, or “OMSC at PTS,” has already entered into a new phase of ministry during the pandemic. In the fall of 2020 we launched our first ever online study program, with twenty-four seminars, webinars, and meet-the-author events. It has been a great success, with more than 400 participants from every continent logging onto these online events. Even though we cannot now bring the world to OMSC, we are taking OMSC to the world.
Finally, let me take this opportunity to briefly introduce four exciting new initiatives we plan to launch in the 2021–22 academic year. These will be of interest to you and your colleagues.
The Gerald H. Anderson Annual Lectures: The lectures will bring leading scholars in mission studies, World Christianity, intercultural theology, or a cognate discipline to deliver lectures at the PTS World Christianity Conference.
The Lamin Sanneh Research Prizes: Each year, we will be announcing Requests for Proposals for two grants for research and writing in mission studies, World Christianity, intercultural theology, or a cognate discipline, which will be presented at an international academic conference.
Online curriculum: We will be piloting an online certificate program “Lived Theology and World Christianity.” One goal of this new initiative is to equip global partners around the world, many of whom will never have a chance to come to OMSC, with the skills and sensitivity to discern God’s presence at work in the social, cultural, political, and spiritual contexts that they are engaged in. I want to thank Easten Law, our new assistant director for academic programs, who has taken the lead on this new initiative.
English translations: With a goal of making significant Christian scholarship written in other languages available in English, these translations may be from any field in the theological curriculum. They will be published as a special feature in the IBMR.
In addition to the IBMR and our regular programs, these new initiatives are very much in the spirit of the Research Enablement Program and the DACB. They all are ways for OMSC at Princeton Theological Seminary to continue amplifying the voices of the World Christian movement. Thank you for your continued interest and support. To God be the glory!
We hope you enjoy the July issue, and as always, we look forward to hearing from you.
