OMSC Audio Library

Friday, April 16, 2010
Dr. Philomena Njeri Mwaura

Christian Identity and Ethnicity in Africa: Reflections
on the Gospel of Reconciliation
Listen (34:23)

In this lecture Dr. Philomena Njeri Mwaura explores the issue of ethnocentrism. Despite the church’s tremendous growth in Africa during the past century, this problem challenges Christian identity and the authenticity of the church in Africa. Tracing the New Testament markers of Christian identity as transformation in Christ, love, unity, and embrace of the other, Dr. Mwaura argues that only a people who are secure in their Christian identity are able to be authentic witnesses to the Gospel. Paul’s teaching on the ministry of reconciliation is an imperative in diverse contexts where ethnic, national, and religious identities are in conflict and competition. The church must be equipped for this ministry by being prophetic, vigilant, intentionally present and active, and in solidarity with the marginalized.

An OMSC senior mission scholar for the spring 2010 semester, Dr. Mwaura is senior lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya. She teaches courses in the areas of African Christian history, new religious movements, African-instituted churches, world Christianity, and gender. She has also been a consultant on gender mainstreaming in education, theology, and HIV/AIDS vaccine clinical trials. She serves on the editorial board of the Journal of World Christianity and is a contributing editor of Mission Studies.

Friday, November 13, 2009
Professor Andrew F. Walls
Listen (1:04)

When World Christianity Fell Apart: The Missionary Significance of the Sixth Century

Professor Andrew F. Walls, founder and former director of the Centre for the Study of Christianity in the Non-Western World, is senior research professor at the Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission, and Culture, Akropong, Ghana. He is honorary professor at the University of Edinburgh, and professor of the history of mission at Liverpool Hope University. He served as a missionary in Sierra Leone and Nigeria. His writings include The Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission of Faith (1996), The Crosscultural Process in Christian History (2002), and The Cultural History of Christian Conversion (forthcoming).

His lecture is the conclusion of a weeklong Distinguished Mission Lectureship at OMSC on “The Church on Six Continents: Many Strands in One Tapestry.”

May 12, 2009
OMSC Service of Worship and Certificate Ceremony

"Joy in Serving Jesus,” Lecture by Jonathan J. Bonk, Executive Director

Listen (36:42)
Read: Acts 20:17–37

April 24, 12:30 p.m., Public Lecture

Dr. William R. Burrows,
Trajectories in World Catholicism.
Former managing editor of Orbis Books missionaries.

Listen (1:01.59)

Dr. Christopher J. H. Wright, International Director,
Langham Partnership International

Bible Studies at the
OMSC Mission Leadership Forum

Missions: A New Song for All Nations and All Creation
December 6, 2008 / Listen (53.2MB)

Mission: The Throne, the Lamb, and the Horsemen of History
December 7, 2008 / Listen (63.5MB)

Professor Andrew F. Walls
November 7, 2008

World War II and the Transformation of the Church: The Importance of the First Post-War Generation

Listen (60 MB) / Details

October 8, 2008, Mission Seminar and
Luncheon for Pastors

Dr. Ajith Fernando, national director of
Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka since 1976

Listen (41 MB) / PowerPoint notes

Global Church Partnerships in Light of
Unique Challenges Facing the
Two-thirds World Church

Overseas Ministries Study Center,
490 Prospect Street, New Haven
(203) 624-6672
(C) Overseas Ministries Study Center