OMSC Study Program Seminars
Seminars for International Church Leaders, Missionaries, Mission Executives,
Pastors, Educators, Students, and Lay Leaders
ALL SEMINARS ARE SIXTEEN HOURS IN FOUR OR FIVE DAYS FOR $175 UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.
Click to download the annual brochure:
Study program brochure: September 2012 to May 2013 [PDF] [new]
Study program brochure: September 2011 to May 2012 [PDF]
"Strengthening the Christian World Mission"
Spring 2012
April 23–27
Music and Mission.
Dr. James Krabill, Mennonite Mission Network, builds upon insights from musicology and two decades of missionary experience in West Africa to unfold the dynamic role of music in mission. Cosponsored by United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries.
April 30–May 4
Transformational Leadership: An Entrepreneurial Approach.
Rev. George Kovoor, Trinity College, Bristol, United Kingdom, brings wide ecclesiastical and international experience to evaluation of differing models of leadership for mission. Cosponsored by Christian Reformed World Missions.
May 7–11
Spiritual Renewal in the Missionary Community.
Rev. Stanley W. Green, Mennonite Mission Network, and Dr. Christine Sine, Mustard Seed Associates, blend classroom instruction and one-on-one sessions to offer counsel and spiritual direction for Christian workers. Cosponsored by Mennonite Mission Network.
The 2012–2013 OMSC Study Program
Seminars for International Church Leaders, Missionaries, Mission Executives,
Pastors, Educators, Students, and Lay Leaders
ALL SEMINARS ARE SIXTEEN HOURS IN FOUR OR FIVE DAYS FOR $175 UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.
Fall 2012
September 5, 2012
A public reception to welcome the 2012–2013 OMSC international community of residents will be held Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. All are invited.
September 6–7
U.S. Churches Today.
Rev. Geoffrey A. Little, All Nations Christian Church (New Haven), provides an overview with a guided tour of New Haven and area churches. $95.
September 17–20
How to Develop Mission and Church Archives.
Ms. Martha Lund Smalley, Yale Divinity School Library, helps missionaries and church leaders identify, organize, and preserve essential records.
September 24–27
Doing Oral History: Helping Christians Tell Their Own Story.
Dr. Jean-Paul Wiest, Jesuit Beijing Center, Beijing, China, and Ms. Michèle Sigg, Dictionary of African Christian Biography, share skills and techniques for documenting mission and church history.
October 1–5
The Internet and Mission: Getting Started.
Mr. Wilson Thomas, Wilson Thomas Systems, Bedford, New Hampshire, and Dr. Dwight P. Baker, Overseas Ministries Study Center, in a hands-on workshop show how to get the most out of the World Wide Web for mission research. Cosponsored by Africa Inland Mission.
October 8–11
Nurturing and Educating Transcultural Kids.
Ms. Janet Blomberg, Interaction International, and Ms. Elizabeth Stephens, of Libby Stephens: Humanizing the Transition Experience, help you help your children meet the challenges they face as third culture persons.
October 16
Mission in Acts 16.
Ms. Barbara Hüfner-Kemper, psychotherapist and United Methodist missionary, White Plains, New York, creatively studies the mission encounters recorded in Acts 16 to help participants consider their own understandings of Christian mission in this special one-day seminar. Cosponsored by United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries. $50.
October 22–25
Themes in Worldwide Christianity: Bible, Theology, Renewal, and Other Religions.
Dr. Michael McClymond, Saint Louis University and an OMSC senior mission scholar, explores concrete examples of how Bible commentaries, theologies, renewal movements, and interreligious relations take shape on a worldwide scale. Cosponsored by Evangelical Covenant Church World Mission Department and Park Street Church (Boston, Massachusetts).
October 29–November 1
A Biblical Theology of Mission and Practical Lessons in Church Planting.
Dr. Timothy Kiho Park, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, draws on Scripture and years of experience to teach cross-cultural church planting. Cosponsored by Missio Nexus.
November 5–9
Critical Developments in African and Asian Christianity, 1800–1950.
Dr. Andrew F. Walls, honorary professor, University of Edinburgh, and former director of the Centre for the Study of Christianity in the Non-Western World, starting from a Methodist focus, explores developments common to the missions of the period—OMSC’s seventh Distinguished Mission Lectureship series—five lectures with discussions. Cosponsored by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
November 12–15
Church and Mission in Europe—East and West.
Dr. Peter Kuzmič, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Boston, Massachusetts, and Evangelical Theological Seminary, Osijek, Croatia, examines the new context and new roles for churches and missions in a changed Europe, both East and West. Cosponsored by Christian Reformed World Missions.
November 26–29
Iranian Shi’ite Muslims and Christianity.
Dr. Sasan Tavassoli, Evangelical Church of Iran, introduces Shi’ite Islam and some of the ways that contemporary Iranians interact with the Christian faith. Cosponsored by Greenfield Hill Congregational Church (Fairfield, Connecticut) and Trinity Baptist Church (New Haven).
December 3–6
The Gospel of Peace in Dynamic Engagement with the Peace of Islam.
Dr. David W. Shenk, Eastern Mennonite Missions, explores the church’s calling to bear witness to the Gospel of peace in its engagement with Muslims, whether in contexts of militancy or in settings of moderation. Cosponsored by Mennonite Central Committee.
December 10–13
Leadership, Fund-Raising, and Donor Development for Missions.
Mr. Rob Martin, First Fruit Institute, Newport Beach, California, outlines steps for building the support base, including foundation funding, for mission. Cosponsored by Latin America Mission.
Friday Mornings, September–December
Special Friday “Hot Topics” Series.
On select Friday mornings, OMSC residents and other interested participants will attend and later review open panel discussions led by Yale World Fellows, mid-career leaders in various fields from all over the world. On other select Friday mornings, OMSC residents will lead seminars on topics about which they have special concern, experience, and expertise.
January 2013 Student Seminars on World Mission
January 7–11, 2013
Missionaries in the Movies.
Dr. Dwight P. Baker, Overseas Ministries Study Center, utilizes both video clips and full-length feature films to examine the way missionaries have been represented in the movies over the past century. Cosponsored by Evangelical Covenant Church (Lafayette, Indiana).
January 14–18
The Drama of God’s Mission.
Dr. Gregory R. Perry, Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, considers two primary questions to identify coordinates by which God’s people can evaluate their roles in God’s mission: (1) Are our improvisations faithful to the story of Scripture? (2) Are our improvisations fitting to the stage on which they are played out?
January 21–25
Culture, Values, and Worldview: Anthropology for Mission Practice.
Dr. Darrell Whiteman, The Mission Society, shows how one’s worldview and theology of culture affect cross-cultural mission. Cosponsored by Christian Reformed World Missions and The Mission Society.
January 28–February 1
The City in Mission.
Dr. Dale T. Irvin, New York Theological Seminary, considers the city in the mission of God. The seminar includes a day trip in New York City.
Spring 2013
February 26–28
Common Missionary Challenges: Stress, Conflict, and Counseling.
Ms. Barbara Hüfner-Kemper, psychotherapist and United Methodist missionary, White Plains, New York, utilizes her expertise and personal experience in walking with participants through the common experiences of stress, interpersonal conflict, and counseling ministry during this three-day seminar. Cosponsored by Cosponsored by Latin America Mission and The Mission Society. $140.
March 4–8
Music and Mission.
Dr. James Krabill, Mennonite Mission Network, builds upon insights from musicology and two decades of missionary experience in West Africa to unfold the dynamic role of music in mission. Cosponsored by Mennonite Mission Network and United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries.
March 11–15
Christianity in America.
Dr. Edith L. Blumhofer, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, introduces participants to the formative role Christianity has played throughout U.S. history.
March 18–22
Spirituality for Pastoral Life: Imitation of the Character of Christ.
Dr. Won Sang Lee, SEED International and Korean Central Presbyterian Church, Centreville, Virginia, points participants toward spiritually fervent, Christ-like service of God and others. Cosponsored by Western Connecticut Baptist Association.
April 1–5
Servant Mission in a Troubled World.
Dr. Jonathan J. Bonk, OMSC’s executive director, examines theological, ethical, and missiological implications of political violence, human dislocation, economic inequity, and religious ideology as contexts for Christian life and witness. Cosponsored by First Presbyterian Church (New Haven, Connecticut) and Franciscan Missionaries of Mary.
April 8–12
Ethnicity as Gift and Barrier: Human Identity and Christian Mission.
Dr. Tite Tiénou, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois, and an OMSC senior mission scholar, works from first-hand experience in Africa to identify the “tribal” issues faced by the global church in mission. Cosponsored by Bay Area Community Church (Annapolis, Maryland) and SIM USA.
April 22–26
Transformational Leadership: An Entrepreneurial Approach.
Rev. George Kovoor, Trinity College, Bristol, United Kingdom, brings wide ecclesiastical and international experience to evaluation of differing models of leadership for mission.
April 29–May 3
Gospel, Culture, and the Environment.
Dr. Allison M. Howell, Akrofi-Christaller Institute for Theology, Mission, and Culture, Akropong-Akuapem, Ghana, engages— theologically, historically, culturally, and environmentally—with the increasing problems in the environment, helping Christians to understand their implications for the conduct of Christian mission.
May 6–10
Spiritual Renewal in the Missionary Community.
Rev. Stanley W. Green, Mennonite Mission Network, and Dr. Christine Sine, Mustard Seed Associates, blend classroom instruction and one-on-one sessions to offer counsel and spiritual direction for Christian workers. Cosponsored by Mennonite Mission Network and Moravian Board of World Mission.
ALL SEMINARS ARE SIXTEEN HOURS IN FOUR OR FIVE DAYS FOR $175 UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.
If you are designated as a representative of a seminar cosponsor (click here for the list), the seminar registration fee is waived. To register as a representative of a seminar cosponsor, register below and list the cosponsor in the comment box.
OMSC is committed to a policy of non-discrimination with regard to race and sex for admission to all OMSC programs.
Request for INFORMATION ABOUT LONG-TERM
RESIDENCE and SEMINAR REGISTRATION
LONG-TERM RESIDENCE: Send an e-mail to residence@OMSC.org if you wish to apply for residence of one month to one year, including registration for four or more consecutive seminars. Information with an APPLICATION FOR STUDY AND RESIDENCE will be mailed to you.
SEMINAR REGISTRATION: Fill out the SEMINAR REGISTRATION form (Click the REGISTER FOR THIS SEMINAR links above) if you wish to apply for individual seminars (up to three).
Due to the labor involved in obtaining visas, applicants from a number of countries are encouraged not to apply for study periods shorter than six months.
