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World Mission Emphasis
To live out our Kingdom Perspective core value, Covenant Seminary's curriculum emphasizes training in world mission that encourages students to see themselves as participants in God’s mission to redeem the entire cosmos. Because communication of the gospel across cultures is an essential aspect of Christian world mission, we seek to help students cultivate an understanding of their own cultures, as well as those of others.
Opportunities for Exposure to and Experience in Cross-Cultural Ministry
Covenant Seminary provides students with many opportunities to increase their exposure to and gain practical experience in ministry in a variety of cross-cultural settings through:
- Unique internships under the direct guidance of Presbyterian Mission International (PMI), Mission to the World (MTW) and other local and international mission organizations.
- A World Mission concentration for students who desire to focus their studies on cross-cultural and multicultural ministry.
- The Master of Arts in Religion and Cultures (MARC) degree.
- On-campus student organizations, involvement in mission-minded activities, and short term mission-trips.
For more information contact the World Mission office.
World Mission Leadership, Partnerships, and Resources
Faculty Leadership in World Mission
Many faculty members have been or continue to be directly involved in international work. These involvements take many different forms, from teaching to research to encouraging Covenant Seminary graduates.
Dr. Nelson Jennings, professor of world mission, has brought a wealth of experience, resources, vision, and connections, to Covenant Seminary since he joined the faculty in 1999. Dr. Jennings served for 13 years with the Presbyterian Church in America's Mission to the World in Japan, where he was involved with both church planting and theological education. He currently serves as president of Presbyterian Mission International. His ongoing involvement in worldwide Christianity informs his courses on the global mission of the church and related activities, including the many cross-cultural trips that the World Mission office sponsors. His particular focus has been the embodiment of the Christian faith in relation to language, culture, and other religious traditions.
Also bringing valuable cross-cultural perspectives to the classroom are Professor Jerram Barrs and Dr. Richard Winter, both of whom were raised in Great Britain and spent many years working with L'Abri Fellowship in Greatham, England. Likewise, Dr. Hans Bayer, is a native of Germany where he formerly served as a church planter and seminary instructor. Others have shared God's grace together with those in the Bahamas, Uganda, the Netherlands, Ukraine, India, Korea, Australia, and other countries.
Partnerships and Collaborations
We Covenant Seminary's World Mission office cooperates with a wide range of evangelical mission agencies, academic societies, and churches to foster a greater awareness among our students of mission activities and mission training and internship opportunities. Partnering agencies include Mission to the World (MTW, a mission agency of the Presbyterian Church in America), Presbyterian Mission International (PMI), and other international partnerships and collaborations.
The World Mission office provides a number of resources to encourage students in gaining a broader Kingdom perspective.
- See a list of helpful print and electronic Resources for World Mission (pdf, 214.28KB)
- World Mission Feature Article: "Incarnation and Money" (pdf, 94KB) by student Julie Murphy, offers helpful insights on how to break down the socioeconomic barriers that can hamper our efforts at missionary evangelism.
- Featured World Mission Resource of the Month: Geiko Muller-Fahrenholz, America's Battle for God: A European Looks at Civil Religion (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007).
- Coming soon! See other World Mission resources and discussions on Dr. Jennings' faculty page.
NOTE: Dr. Nelson Jennings' recent book, God the Real Superpower (P&R, 2007), is available through the Seminary Bookstore. This insightful book navigates the potent undertow of our inherited assumptions about missions, pointing U.S. Christians toward constructive perspectives about God, ourselves, and others.