June 19-21, 2026
St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
As we advance further into the 21st century, the global landscape of Christianity is undergoing a profound transformation. While Christianity was historically concentrated in the West—with over 80% of believers residing in Europe and North America in 1900—today, over two-thirds of all Christians live in the Global South. Despite this demographic shift, disparities in resources, representation, and theological influence persist. Funding, institutional authority, and publishing power continue to reside predominantly in the North, reinforcing implicit hierarchies and constraining the mutual exchange that should define the global Body of Christ.
This imbalance calls us to reimagine Christian witness in light of the Spirit-formed reality described in Ephesians 2:19–22:
“You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
This passage offers a powerful theological vision for the church as a single household of God, where there are no outsiders, no secondary members—only fellow citizens being built together into a Spirit-filled dwelling. This reality stands in stark contrast to the enduring colonial frameworks that continue to shape global Christianity through power asymmetries in mission, theology, and ecclesial life.
Inspired by this vision—and by Roland Allen’s critique of Western self-sufficiency in mission—we ask: What does it mean for the "rest" to shape the "West"? Not as a reversal of dominance, but as an act of ecclesial wholeness. The unity of God’s people, as described in Ephesians, requires mutual recognition, shared leadership, and theological interdependence across cultures and contexts.
Contemporary decolonial thinkers such as Vandana Shiva, who critiques “Monocultures of the Mind,” and Boaventura de Sousa Santos, who advocates for an “Ecology of Knowledges,” help illuminate how epistemological justice is essential to this unity. The Spirit has gifted diverse cultures with ways of knowing and being that must be received—not merely tolerated—by the wider church. The possibility of contributing to global justice as the Body of Christ is predicated on our ability to undo power hierarchies, de-center traditional hegemonies, and embody the mutuality envisioned in the gospel.
Call for Papers
Papers are invited on a broad array of topics, employing the insights of mission leaders, practitioners, and academics as well as the interdisciplinary contributions drawn from biblical studies, history, theology, ecumenics, anthropology, economics, political science, liturgical studies, and other areas of expertise.
Contributors might examine such topics as:
ASM 2026 Types of Proposals
For ASM 2026, we will accept organized panels and individual papers, with preference given to organized panels on the conference theme. We will also host our round table session for doctoral students and our Korean-Language track for speakers of Korean.
Organized Panels – here is the link for panel submissions
Teams of three to five presenters collaborate and submit proposals for panels focused on a theme or topic. Panel sessions can take a wide variety of formats, including formal paper presentations, discussions, and digital media, book, or film discussions. Formal paper presentations can be accompanied by respondents or panel discussion. If a panel includes formal paper presentations, panel organizers are responsible for gathering and submitting paper titles and abstracts from individual presenters. We especially encourage panels that bring scholars and practitioners into conversation. Most panel sessions will last 90 minutes.
Panel organizers should strive, if possible, for diverse (race/ethnicity/nationality, gender, rank, linguistic, scholarly location, etc.) representation in the composition of presenters and perspectives.
Individual Paper Presentations – here is the link for individual paper submissions
We give preference to organized panels, but will accept individual papers that will be complete by the annual meeting on a selective basis. Individual papers will be grouped with papers of similar topics to form a thematic session. We will prioritize papers associated with the proposed meeting theme, and as space permits, we will also accept non-related papers and place them in panel groups. Presenters submit a title and abstract and should prepare to present a finished paper for the conference.
Round Table Session – here is the link for round table submissions
The Round Table Initiative will utilize a workshop-based approach to provide a platform for doctoral students to present their ongoing research projects to a panel of ecumenical and diverse scholars. Round Table proposals need not focus on the conference theme but on individual research projects. Each presentation will be 7-8 minutes, followed by 10-12 minutes of feedback from panelists.
Korean-Language Paper Track – here is the link for K-Track submissions
2026년 6월 19–21일, 미국 인디애나 St. Mary’s College에서 열리는 American Society of Missiology (ASM) 학회에서 한국어 트랙 논문 발표가 진행됩니다. 본 학회는 글로벌 선교학의 최신 동향을 파악하고, 다양한 연구자 간의 네트워킹을 위한 자리입니다. 많은 관심과 참여를 부탁드립니다.
힌국어 논문 발표 – 온라인 및 현장 발표 모두 가능
미국선교학회 한국어 트랙 위원회 올림
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026
*****(Preference is given to those who turn in a proposal by January 12, 2026)*****
YOU MUST BE AN ASM MEMBER TO PRESENT AT THE ANNUAL MEETING
You can become an ASM member by clicking on this link to join.
The American Society of Missiology announces its 9th Annual Graduate Student Paper Competition to recognize the best student paper presented at the society’s Annual Conference. The award is $500 and an opportunity to publish a revised version of the paper in Missiology: An International Review.
The competition is open to any graduate student ASM member who presents a paper at the 2026 Annual Conference and who is enrolled at an institution of higher learning at the time the paper proposal is accepted. The paper should be in English, approximately 5,000 words in length (including abstract and footnotes), and can engage with any subject in the field of missiology. The paper must follow Missiology style guidelines.
The deadline for submission is September 1, 2026. Submitted papers should be sent to [email protected] and participants should expect an email reply confirming their submission. The prize will be awarded at the 2027 Annual Conference, and it is anticipated that the recipient will be present to receive the award at that time.
Please direct all questions regarding the Annual Conference to the
ASM Conference Coordinator at [email protected].
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