Association of Professors of Mission





APM

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.

 

Association of Professors of Mission–Academy for Evangelism in Theological Education
2024 Annual Meeting

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.

  • How do we discern the missio Dei today as we recognize the reality of trauma?
  • How is God calling us to become prophetic witnesses to trauma within and outside the church?
  • How do we theologize and teach practices of trauma-informed evangelism and mission?
  • How can we speak honestly of church-related trauma for a more trauma-informed witness?
  • What is the role of lamentation or other similar practices in evangelism and mission?
  • How do we authentically share the joy of the Gospel while recognizing trauma in our cultures?
  • How might a trauma-informed, pneumatologically empowered spiritual theology inform our witness to the Gospel as professors and practitioners, formators and scholars?
  • What sorts of multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, or intradisciplinary lenses might add to our theologizing of Christian practice for our various publics of the academy, church, and the larger society, especially as related to trauma-informed witness that transforms lives?
  • What does it mean to live into our vocations as professors of mission and/or evangelism today?

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.

 


Bryan Froehle, APM President

Palm Beach Atlantic University

[email protected]