Alumni
Daewon Moon Appointed Appointed Successor Pastor at Daegu Dongshin Church, South Korea
Dr. Daewon Moon, CGCM alumnus ('18), was recently appointed successor pastor at Daegu Dongshin Church, a congregation of 8,000 members which has been devoted to world mission since 1974. Today, the congregation supports 65 missionaries (full-time) and 72 missionaries (part-time) who are working in 41 countries in the world.
Dr. Moon also plans to serve as a part of the Korean Lausanne Committee, which will be working to prepare for the next Lausanne Congress, taking place in South Korea in 2024.
You can read Moon's recent article on African pentecostalism published in the January issue of Lausanne Global Analysis here.
Casely Essamuah Interviewed in Latest Issue of JACB
The Rev. Dr. Casely Essamuah, executive officer of the Global Christian Forum, was recently interviewed in the January issue of the Journal of African Christian Biography. Entitled "Accidental Missionary: Called to a Life of Building Bridges for Christ and His Kingdom," the interview describes the challenges and obstacles Essamuah faced in becoming who he is today and outlines the hopes, dreams, and challenges he sees for the African church going forward. He also tells of growing up as the child of a Methodist bishop in Ghana, his early work with the Ghana Student Christian Movement, his studies at the Boston University School of Theology, his leadership of churches in Boston and Baltimore, and his current work as the leader of the Global Christian Forum.
Anneke Stasson (’13) Co-Authors “Women in the Mission of the Church”
Dr. Anneke Stasson ('13) has recently co-authored Women in the Mission of the Church: Their Opportunities and Obstacles throughout Christian History with Dr. Leanne Dzubinski. Their historical survey extends from the early church of the 1st century all the way through the mission movements of the 20th century.
Dr. Stasson is associate professor of humanities and history at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana.
Congratulations to Drs. Stasson and Dzubinski for their latest scholarly work!
Work of Dr. Sung-Deuk Oak (’02) Receives 3 Book Prizes
CGCM alumnus Dr. Sung-Deuk Oak ('02) has received three prizes for the revised and expanded Korean edition of The Making of Korean Christianity. The Korea Christian Publishers Association recently announced it as "Book of the Year," which is a highly prestigious prize in the country. The book also received the prize for the best book in theology by the Kungmin Daily News. Finally, the book was named a King Sejong academic book (one of twenty) by the Korean government.
Dr. Oak is also the author of History of the Korean Bible Society III, 1945-2002, which is his first book dealing with the postliberation period in Korea and which represents the fruit of his thirty years of study on Korean Bible translation. He also plans to publish at least four books in the coming year.
BU Alum’s Editorial Work Highlights Christian Growth in Nepal
Dr. George Harper (GRS '92), editor of the Journal of Asian Evangelical Theology (JAET), has recently co-edited a joint issue of JAET and the Journal of Asian Mission (JAM), which is edited by his wife, Dr. Anne Harper. The joint issue documents the history of Catholic and Protestant Christianity in Nepal and describes current initiatives in mission. As Anne Harper notes in her introduction to the issue, this country is experiencing tremendous Christian growth at this time. The journal can be accessed through the ATLA Religion Database, EBSCOhost, and ProQuest.
George and Anne Harper have spent their lives serving as missionary academics. George has spent the majority of his teaching career in the Philippines, where he taught at first at Alliance Biblical Seminary and subsequently at the Asia Graduate School of Theology, where he continues in his faculty position to this day. You can read Dr. Harper's full greetings to the CGCM community, as well as the details of his and Anne's work, in this letter.
New Books on Methodist Mission from Dr. David W. Scott
CGCM alumnus David W. Scott has just co-authored Methodist Mission at 200: Serving Faithfully amid the Tensions (Abingdon Press, 2021) with Thomas Kemper. Dr. Scott is the Director of Mission Theology for the Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church. He is also the co-author of a forthcoming book entitled The Practice of Mission in Global Methodism: Emerging Trends from Everywhere to Everywhere, with Darryl W. Stephens. Congratulations to Dr. Scott for his work on these exciting new volumes!
Alumnus Appointed Executive Coordinator of Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission
Dr. Bruce Yoder ('16) has recently been appointed one of the two Executive Coordinators of Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission (AIMM), alongside John Fumana of the Mennonite Bretheren Church of the Congo. Presently a member of Listowel Mennonite Church in Ontario, Yoder has spent 26 years in mission work in West Africa and Latin America, most recently serving as a missiologist in seminaries in Burkina Faso and Benin. He will begin to take up this new work for AIMM in January 2021.
In response to his appointment, Yoder says, “With over a century of missionary engagement, AIMM’s work has been instrumental in the development of multiple African Mennonite/Anabaptist churches; intercultural relationships between African, North American, and European partners; and transnational Anabaptist networks. Time and again I am amazed and inspired by the vitality and resilience of the African Church and am pleased for the opportunity to engage partners on the continent and around the world to advance their collaborative mission initiatives. I’m humbled and honored to be able to contribute to this tradition of mission engagement in Africa and beyond."
Read the full report from Twila Albrecht, AIMM Search Committee Secretary, here.
New Book: Making Christ Present in China
Congratulations to Dr. Michel Chambon, who has just published Making Christ Present in China: Actor Network Theory and the Anthropology of Christianity with Palgrave Macmillan. The work focuses on material culture and uses actor-network theory to investigate the development of Christianity in Nanping, China. Dr. Chambon, who graduated with a PhD in anthropology, was an affiliate of the CGCM while studying at BU.
Alumnae Receive Grant to Study “The Christian Home” in Global Protestant Thought
Alumna Dr. Ruth Padilla DeBorst to Speak at Mission Conference
During October 15-17, Missão ALEF will be holding a virtual conference entitled "Igreja e Cidade: Vocação e Missão." One of the featured speakers is Dr. Ruth Padilla DeBorst ('16), CGCM alumna, presenting alongside other featured speakers--Mac Pier, Ed Stetzer, Samuel Escobar, and Viv Grigg.
See the conference promotional video below, and click here to register!