The Overseas Ministries Study Center at Princeton Theological Seminary (OMSC@PTS) cosponsored three academic conferences during the spring 2023 semester.
Participants attending the World Christianity Conference March 14–17 considered a complex interdisciplinary topic: “War, Pandemic, and Climate Change: Global Crises—Past and Present—and Their Place in World Christianity Scholarship.” The fourth international gathering organized by the PTS World Christianity and History of Religions Program sought a “fresh inquiry into the nature and responsibility of World Christianity scholarship” at a time of “overlapping crises of such ominous magnitude that the very ecology of life” looks increasingly imperiled, according to the conference promotion. Gerald H. Anderson Lectures were given during the conference by Ezra Chitando, University of Zimbabwe and University of the Western Cape; Arkotong Longkumer, University of Edinburgh; and Aparecida Vilaça, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. The annual lectures are named for OMSC Director Emeritus Gerald H. Anderson.
The Ecclesiology and Ethnography Network, a global community of scholars working on ethnographic approaches to theology and the study of religion, gathered at PTS for its North American conference March 24–26 (www.ecclesiologyandethnography.net/event/north-american-conference-march-2023). The gathering utilized dialogic and workshop-based plenaries and panels to foster “creative conversations across diverse specialisms and learning at the intersection of qualitative research, theology, and the world church” and to prioritize the academic work of doctoral students and early career scholars. The network’s annual European gathering was scheduled for September 15–17, 2023, in association with St. John’s College, Durham University, Durham, UK.
The PTS Center for Asian American Christianity held its annual Asian American Theology Conference with the theme “Multiple Belongings in Transpacific Christianities: Christian Faith and Asian Migration to the US.” Participants attending the conference (https://pts.events/events/aat-2023-mbtc/) from April 28 to 29 examined the Christian faith “within the ebb and flow of Asian migration to the US” and explored how Christian community creates belonging and unbelonging for Asian migrants experiencing dislocation, following the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. Some of OMSC@PTS’s global partners led a panel discussion on how Christian faith shapes their sense of multiple belonging in diverse Asian contexts.
Appointed. Damaris Seleina Parsitau, religious studies professor, author, and social justice educator, as director of the Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity. Calvin University, Grand Rapids, MI. She was Kenya Country Director and CEO of the British Institute in Eastern Africa. Parsitau continues to serve as President of the African Association for the Study of Religion. Previously, she was a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, History, and Religious Studies at Egerton University in Kenya, where she taught Religion and Development, Women Studies and Religion and Gender courses, and served as the Director of the Institute of Women, Gender, and Development Studies. The new Nagel Institute leader received a PhD in 2013 from Kenyatta University and has been a visiting professor at other universities including Harvard Divinity School, where she was a Visiting Associate Professor of Women’s Studies and African Religions and a Research Associate in the Women Studies in Religion Program. Her Harvard research topic was “The Kingdom of Holy Women: Pentecostalism, Sex, and Women’s Bodies in an African Church.” Parsitau, who describes herself online as an “advocate for a just society that provides equality and adequate opportunity for women and girls,” brings to Nagel more than twenty years of teaching, research, and leadership experience. She is the founder and convener of the Kenya Women Rising, and the Youth and Transformational Leadership Development programs, leadership and mentorship incubation programs that invest in women and youth. A thought leader in girls’ education in Kenya, she is also the founder of Let Maasai Girls Learn, an initiative that seeks to rally global, regional, and local action for girls’ education throughout Maasailand in Kenya. She has conducted numerous research projects and published over seventy book chapters and journal articles. Her research and teaching interests include World, African, Evangelical, and Pentecostal Christianity, and the intersections with women’s leadership, gender and women’s bodies, politics, and civil engagements.
Appointed. Rob (Haralambos) Spaliatsos, as missionary director of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center, St. Augustine, FL (OCMC, www.ocmc.org), as of February 1, 2023. An Orthodox priest, he is responsible for all aspects of the Center’s missionary program including recruiting, training, and supporting OCMC missionaries as they prepare for and work in mission fields worldwide. Before joining OCMC, Spaliatsos was parish priest at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, Missoula, MT and assistant priest at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Dallas, TX. A Jacksonville, FL native, he graduated from the University of Montana with a Master of Social Work and from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology with a Master of Divinity. OCMC is the mission agency of the pan-Orthodox Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America. Their career missionaries work “to bring people to Christ, establish the Church, and share Christ’s love” in thirty countries.
Appointed. Babatunde Aderemi Adedibu, professor and missiologist, as an extraordinary professor in the Department of Religion and Theology, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa, as of March 10, 2023. He was Provost of the Redeemed Christian Bible College, Mowe, Ogun State, Nigeria, and Professor of Church History and Missiology in the Department of Christian Religious Studies and Philosophy, Redeemer’s University in Ede, Nigeria. Earlier, he was Faculty Manager (2015) of the Redeemed Christian School of Mission and Head of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Mission and Ecumenical Department (2012–15) and its Policy and Research Department (2009–12), in Stevenage, UK. Previously, he was Associate Lecturer of Missiology at the University of Roehampton and an adjunct Senior Lecturer at Christ the Redeemer College, both in London. A member of the International Association for Mission Studies, Adedibu was also a research associate in the Department of New Testament at the University of Pretoria and a research fellow at the University of Stellenbosch, both in South Africa. He is assistant secretary of the Nigeria Academy of Church History and Missiological Studies and convenor of the International Conference on African Pentecostalism.
Appointed. Musu Kanu Taylor-Lewis, a community economic development and communications executive, as President and CEO of Food for the Hungry Canada, Abbotsford, BC, as of June 1, 2023. Previously, she was Director of Resources and Public Engagement for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Winnipeg, MB (2018–23), and director of communications at Tearfund Canada, Markham, ON. An Edmonton, AB, native, Taylor-Lewis spent her early years in Europe and West Africa before returning to Canada where she earned a bachelor’s degree in economics at Concordia University, Montreal, a graduate diploma in community economic development at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, and a master’s degree in theological studies from Regent College, Vancouver. Food for the Hungry Canada (www.fhcanada.org) serves vulnerable communities throughout the developing world and takes an integrated and holistic approach to development in agriculture, education, health, and gender equality.
Died. Paul Eshleman, 80, evangelism strategist, film director, and author, on May 24, 2023. Eshleman was the director emeritus of the Jesus Film Project, the 1979 film for Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru) in partnership with Warner Bros. (https://www.jesusfilm.org/watch/jesus.html/english.html). He oversaw its translation into more than 2,000 languages and arranged for the film to be shown worldwide in villages and movie theaters. According to Cru (https://www.cru.org/us/en/about/cru-press/news/jesus-film/jesus-film-paul-eshleman-death.html), nearly 500 million people have made faith commitments after seeing the 128-minute film. His life was said to be “driven by the desire for everyone everywhere to hear the message of Christ.” A graduate of Michigan State University with a master’s degree in business administration, marketing, and finance, Eshleman reportedly wanted to become the head of an oil company or an auto manufacturer. He joined a Campus Crusade fellowship group but, according to Christianity Today (https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2023/june/paul-eshleman-died-jesus-film-campus-crusade-finish-task.html), he “wasn’t particularly serious about his faith” until someone told him that he was just “fooling around with God.” Eshleman had a change of heart after a sleepless night; the next morning he called a Campus Crusade leader and asked, “I’m on your side now. What do you want me to do?” After that faith recommitment, he was determined to use his education to advance the gospel. In 1966, he joined Cru and attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he also organized evangelistic events. In his early years on Cru staff, Eshleman directed the EXPLO 72, a four-night rally at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, with evangelism training each day. Some 80,000 young people heard Billy Graham preach and Johnny Cash sing at the event that was billed as a Christian Woodstock music festival. Eshleman also led Cru’s “I Found It!” campaign, which shared the Christian message in more than 200 American cities. Beginning in 1979, he served twenty-six years as the Jesus Film director and then was appointed Cru’s Vice President of Networks and Partnerships. In later years, Eshleman gave direction to Finishing the Task (https://finishingthetask.com), a movement started in 2000 with the goal of synthesizing data towards tracking and engaging unreached people groups. He also chaired the Strategy Working Group for the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization (https://lausanneworldpulse.com/research-php/226/02-2006). Eschelman is author of The Explo Story: A Plan to Change the World (1972); I Just Saw Jesus: The JESUS Film: From Vision, to Reality, to the Unimaginable (2016); and The Touch of Jesus (2002).
Died. George Verwer, 84, evangelist, missions pioneer, and author, on April 14, 2023. Operation Mobilisation (OM, https://www.om.org), a Christian organization that Verwer founded, works to establish “vibrant communities of Jesus followers among the least reached.” Today, OM counts 3,300 adult workers from 134 countries working in 147 countries—and an estimated 300 other mission agencies were started as a result of contact with OM or launched by former OM staff, reported Christianity Today (https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2023/april/obit-george-verwer-operation-mobilisation-missions.html). The international mission began with a single act of evangelism when a neighbor gave a Wycoff, New Jersey, teenager a Gospel of John and put his name on her “Holy Ghost hit list.” After committing his life to Jesus Christ three years later at a Billy Graham meeting in New York City, Verwer attended Maryville College and then transferred to Moody Bible Institute. Verwer and two college friends met regularly to pray for the spiritual needs they saw in Mexico; they raised money and devoted summer vacations distributing Christian literature there. In 1960, he and his wife, Drena, sold some wedding gifts to fund a six-month outreach to Mexico City and then moved to Spain. While in Europe, he smuggled Bibles into Communist-controlled countries, but after being arrested and deported, he reflected on that approach and instead decided to recruit missionaries from many nations to reach those who had never heard the gospel. OM expanded across Europe and the Middle East and, in 1971, launched Logos Hope, the first OM Ships International vessel. Since then, more than 49 million people have visited the onboard book fairs and more than 70 million Scripture portions have been distributed in 151 countries. In 2020, OM counted “over 1,000 new fellowship groups of Jesus followers established in partnership with others.” After establishing the ministry in India, the couple settled in London, where he continued to emphasize “radical discipleship as the only legitimate option for people who believe in Jesus,” and focused on ministry sustainability. Verwer led OM until 2003 and then concentrated on special projects and speaking at gatherings worldwide (https://www.omusa.org/george/). Rarely seen without a world-map jacket or shirt, or with an inflatable globe, he spent his later years praying for the nations of the world and for current issues. Verwer reflected on his life and ministry in Messiology (Moody Publishers, 2016) and Confessions of a Toxic Perfectionist and God’s Antidote (Good Shepherd Books, 2020).
Died. Phillip Butler, 86, journalist, communications consultant, author, and missions networker, on April 2, 2023. Butler founded VisionSynergy (https://visionsynergy.net) in 2003 to help Christian mission organizations around the world catalyze multilateral, multinational networks that could make a significant impact on critical areas of world mission. In recent years, he was Senior Strategic Advisor for the ministry that is based in Seattle. VisionSynergy’s roots are traced to Interdev, which Butler launched in 1986 with one partnership of eight ministries. By 2002, the work had grown to 92 operating partnerships and 65 developing partnerships involving more than 3,000 organizations in 55 countries. Butler also started InterCristo, one of oldest Christian employment matching agencies, in the late 1960’s after he discussed the potential of connecting university students and mission opportunities with Paul E. Little, then an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship staff member, who was leading an Urbana student missions conference. Later known for its online service, InterCristo merged with Christianjobs.com. Butler’s part in the Lausanne Movement started in 1974 when he worked at the First International Congress on World Evangelization as the Associate Program Director for plenaries and workshops associated with the topic of communications. As Lausanne’s Senior Associate for International Partnerships, he worked on partnership-related program design and materials for the third international congress, Cape Town 2010. When Butler studied at Bob Jones University (BS, 1954) he also worked as a radio news reporter, which is said to have set the trajectory for his life. In 1959, a Los Angeles radio station hired Butler as its news director and three years later Biola College (now University) asked him to help with sales for a new radio station. In 1966 Butler and his family moved to Seattle when he was hired as Broadcast Division Director for King’s Garden (now CRISTA Ministries). Butler worked for fourteen years as an international correspondent for ABC Radio News. He is the author of Well Connected: Releasing Power, Restoring Hope Through Kingdom Partnerships (Authentic Media and World Vision, 2006), which is considered a global handbook on developing ministry partnerships and networks. Butler also wrote “Who’s In and Who’s Out? Reflections on Our Biblical Understanding of the Gospel,” [International Bulletin of Mission Research 44, no. 2 (April 2020): 183–91.]
Died. George Walter Harper Jr., 70, missionary, editor, and professor, on March 16, 2023. After completing high school in suburban Birmingham, AL, where he was born, Harper graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (SB,1979), Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (MDiv, 1983), and Boston University (PhD, 1992). In 1986 he was ordained a Presbyterian Church (USA) minister and, in 1993 with his wife, Anne, he joined Action International Ministries, a nondenominational faith mission, beginning as missionary academics the following year. Harper’s first faculty appointment, according to an online biography (https://brill.com/view/journals/mist/40/2/article-p207_2.xml), was at Alliance Biblical Seminary, Manila, Philippines, where he taught Christian History and Thought (1994–2001.) He then was appointed Professor of Christian History and Thought (2001–05) with the Asia Graduate School of Theology, Quezon City, Philippines, a consortium of evangelical seminaries affiliated with the Asia Theological Association. He helped to establish and lead the AGST’s ThM/PhD program in Theological Studies. For five years after that the couple served in Eastern Europe. He was Professor of Christian History and Theology at the Evangelical Theological Seminary, Osijek, Croatia, again helping to establish and lead the seminary’s PhD Theological Studies program. In 2010 they returned to the Philippines, where he served as Program Director of the AGST’s ThM/PhD programs in Theological Studies and Church History. In 2011 Harper was appointed editor of the Journal of Asian Evangelical Theology, a publication of the Asia Theological Association. In 2020 he resigned his position as Program Director, but he continued in his other positions until his death. Harper’s research focused especially on New England churches and the theology and history of church renewal. An edited version of his PhD dissertation was published in 2004 as A People So Favored of God: Boston’s Congregational Churches and Their Pastors, 1710–1760 (University Press of America, 2004; Wipf & Stock, second edition, 2007.)
Jooseop Keum, general secretary of the Council on World Mission and Fidon Mwombeki, general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, signed a Framework of Cooperation on February 28, 2023, in Nairobi, Kenya (https://www.cwmission.org/cwm-aacc/) that “will enable both organizations to address missional tasks in the African continent, focusing on economic and social justice, creation care and climate justice, formation in mission, ecumenism, diakonia and leadership,” according to Council on World Mission Moderator Lydia Neshangwe. In related news, Keum was appointed a Professor Extraordinarius at the University of South Africa in recognition of his outstanding contributions in the field of mission and ecumenism. The honorary position in the Department of Christian Spirituality, Church History, and Missiology, which commenced April 1, 2023, is given to scholars who have made exceptional contributions in their fields. Keum, who is also a Distinguished Professor of World Christianity at Yonsei University in South Korea, received the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa’s Justice and Peace Award.
An exhibition and database of Protestant missionary maps and atlases from the early 19th century onward, is now available online (www.bluebelts.nl/religion-and-globalization) for the benefit of missiologists, professors, cartophiles, and students of World Christianity. It was created by members of the Utrecht University History Department in cooperation with the university’s Library Special Collections staff. The databases contain links to the online resources. “Missionary maps informing an interested public emerged in the early nineteenth century, not long after the establishment of missionary societies, and were frequently used in publications that outlined missionary strategy worldwide. . . . [R]esearch into missionary maps could be highly enlightening for understanding the focus and aims of the modern missionary enterprise,” wrote David Onnekink, associate professor of international history at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, in “Kingdom Come: The Eschatology of Missionary Maps,” [International Bulletin of Mission Research, 45, no. 3 (July 2021): 248–56]. With assistance from Cuno Balfoort, Marco van Egmond, and Hannah de Korte, he published the resources in English and Dutch.
An evangelical discipleship network was launched to facilitate connections, cultivate trust, and develop avenues of collaboration “in every sector of society . . . for systemic change on a global scale.” The Galilean Movement (https://galileanmovement.org/) launched March 2, 2023, in the Philippines and describes itself as a global catalyst for raising one million Christlike disciple-making harvest workers annually [beginning in 2025] . . . that incarnate the mind, heart, and hands of Jesus.” Galilean leaders seek to accomplish these objectives by conducting consultations to mobilize teams that will lead disciple-making efforts. The central question being asked is: “What changes are needed to make the raising-up of disciple-makers both the core consciousness and the primary activity of your churches and institutions?” Bishop Efraim Tendero, a global ambassador and former Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance, was inaugurated as Galilean’s first Executive Director. Previously, he was National Director of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches and President of the Philippine Relief and Development Services. The Galilean Movement finds its purpose in Matthew 9:37–38.
Students and professors from across the Northeastern United States are invited to attend the 2023 Eastern Fellowship of Professors of Mission meeting October 20–21. “Mission Networks” will be the theme—what has been described as the emergence of networks of mission activist organizations, especially amid the democratization of world mission initiative beyond centralized denominational structures. The annual gathering will be held at the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement (https://www.atonementfriars.org), at Graymoor, an ecumenical retreat and conference center in Garrison, New York, some fifty miles North of New York City. For details about the meeting and registration, email Titus Presler, executive director of the Global Episcopal Mission Network, tituspresler@post.harvard.edu. Another American Society of Missiology affiliate, the Midwest Mission Studies Fellowship, will meet November 4, 2023, at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS), Deerfield, IL. The keynote speaker, Craig Ott, Professor of Mission and Intercultural Studies at TEDS, will speak on “Culture and Online Learning: A New Imperialism or the Democratization of Education.” For details, email mmsfconference@gmail.com.
