Overview
The Association of Professors of Mission was formed in 1952 and was the founding organization for the American Society of Missiology in 1972. Among the many resources you will find on their website are a library of mission course syllabi, a listing of mission programs in North America, and research resources. The APM and ASM maintain their historical ties as they meet conjointly every year.
June 13-14, 2024 Joint Conference Call for Papers
Trauma-Informed Witness: Transformation of the World in Light of the Gospel
The Association of Professors of Mission (APM) and the Academy for Evangelism in Theological Education (AETE) will jointly gather under the theme of “Trauma-Informed Witness: Transformation of the World in Light of the Gospel” at St. Mary’s College, South Bend, Indiana Thursday, June 13-Friday, June 14, 2024. We will explore the implications of a trauma-informed lens and ways we might participate in practices that more fully co-operate with God’s transformative agenda for our trauma-filled world.
The two thousand years since Pentecost—both outside the church and within—have featured extraordinary, continuing trauma, emphatically including trauma caused by Christians, even Christians acting in the name of the church. Sexual abuse and misogyny, the acceptance of attacks and domination of racialized bodies, violence, and oppression outside the church and within, polarization and the pain of disunity, cannot be denied. What are the missiological implications of this trauma, including the trauma of denial? Failures of truth-telling at a collective level are failures of prophetic Gospel witness.
At a personal level, trauma-informed ministry emphasizes safety, trust, peer support, collaboration, empowerment, and cultural awareness. Professors of mission and evangelism are called to participate in the transformation of the world in light of the Gospel. How can each of us, and the churches we serve, better practice trauma-informed witness?
We encourage professors and practitioners to propose papers that engage questions such as the following.
This joint AETE and APM conference represents an opportunity for re-orientation. We do not propose to shed identities or learnings of past generations but rather to synthesize and learn together. AETE encourages papers and presentations covering evangelism as a constitutive aspect of theological education. APM encourages papers and presentations covering the field of mission and missiology, under its various forms, with a particular focus on the professoriate. We envision a joint panel conversation to explore insights springing from our distinctive configurations, and important points of connection, as our Associations together to investigate trauma-informed witness that leads to transformation.
Those interested in presenting in this combined APM/AETE meeting should submit a proposal title with a 150-200 word abstract and 30 word biography to Bryan Froehle, APM president, [email protected] and to Marilyn Draper, [email protected], AETE President, by March 1, 2024. Expect a decision within approximately two weeks of this deadline.