Research
The research agenda of the Center for Global Christianity is driven by the interests of the people who are part of its community. Reports about their ongoing work will be posted from time to time.
Korea Research Institute for Mission
Daewon Moon, Doctoral Fellow at the CGCM, was recently appointed as a visiting researcher at the Korea Research Institute for Mission (KRIM). He is involved in a project to develop training materials for Korean missionary candidates under the leadership of the renowned Korean missiologist Dr. Steve Moon, who is contributing editor of the International Bulletin of Missionary Research. Daewon is also supporting KRIM’s annual missiological forum and seminar. Following a year and a half of mission work at International Leadership University in Burundi, he and his family have temporarily relocated to Korea due to political instability in Burundi.
Reassessing Chinese Christianity through John Sung
At the 75th annual meeting of the Association for Asian Studies, CGCM Associate Director, Daryl Ireland participated in a panel on "Chinese Christianity Revisited: The John Sung Papers and Chinese Evangelistic Materials." The panel was organized by the Council on East Asian Libraries, and highlighted Yale Divinity School's recent acquisition of the journals of John Sung, the preeminent Chinese evangelist of the 20th century. Three librarians spoke about what it means to have access to rare primary materials, particularly from a figure like John Sung. These are the necessary building blocks for scholars to piece together the dramatic story of Chinese... More
Missions and the Local Church
On April 2, Laura Chevalier, Doctoral Fellow at the CGCM, presented a paper at the Northeast meeting of the Evangelical Missiological Society (EMS) in Flushing, NY. In her paper entitled "Midwives and Mamas of the Local Church: Historical Case Studies of Women in Mission," Chevalier looked at the life writing of two twentieth century evangelical missionaries: Lillian Trasher and Dr. Helen Roseveare. She drew out five themes regarding the local church and mission in their writings and concluded by discussing what these women's lives and writings bring to bear on evangelical mission today. The conference brought together a broad spectrum... More
Mission and Friendship
On March 30th, Dana Robert delivered the annual Donald A. Yerxa Lecture in History at Eastern Nazarene College. She probed the role of "Cross-Cultural Christian Friendships in the Age of Nationalist Revolution, 1950s-1970s," asserting that these close connections were costly in the midst of shifting political arrangements, but that they were important reminders that Christianity was a multi-ethnic, global religion. Christian friendships that did not collapse under the extraordinary pressure and violence of nationalism underscored the reality of world Christianity. The lecture also pointed to another type of enduring friendship. Dana Robert has been the reader for four dissertations written by Nazarene scholars. All four... More
Dana Robert named Luce Fellow
Dana L. Robert, Director of the Center for Global Christianity & Mission, was selected a Luce Fellow for 2016-2017 by the Association of Theological Schools and the Henry Luce Foundation. Selected on the basis of the strength of her proposal to conduct creative and innovative theological research, Professor Robert will conduct yearlong research on “Transnational Friendships and Fellowship in the Making of World Christianity.” At the conclusion of her research, she will meet with the other Fellows to present her work, before moving it to publication.