The Henry Center funds annual conferences and workshops, led by teams of scholars and ministry leaders based on Trinity Evangelical Divinity School’s campus, for the sake of promoting biblical and theological wisdom beyond the walls of the academy.

UPCOMING EVENTS

In what ways are teaching and learning in classrooms at Trinity affected by the presence of international students? What challenges does their presence present to their professors, to their American students and to the internationals themselves? What benefits accrue, as a result, to all parties involved? How can all parties maximize the benefits of learning in multinational classrooms? What resources would help faculty, not only at Trinity but in theological schools around the world, to more effectively teach and manage such learning environments? Are there practices that would stimulate a more culturally sensitive way of teaching and learning theology, thus helping to advance the interests of the Gospel and of the Kingdom of God in today’s globalized world?

These are some of the questions that motivate the present project. Through a series of workshops involving faculty, students, and administrators, both at Trinity and in other like-minded theological institutions, a multi-ethnic research team composed of a professor and three doctoral students from Trinity seek to explore the development of pedagogical implementations that can enable a biblical, evangelical, and contextual approach for teaching and learning in multicultural and international learning environments.

2012 | The Scripture Project – Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

The Scripture Project is the title of a two-volume set of advanced essays on the doctrine of Scripture. A group of thirty-eight scholars have agreed to contribute, writing in the heritage of informed confessionalism on a wide range of topics designed to address contemporary discussion on the nature of the Bible. The first draft of the essays is expected to be ready in June 2010, when the Henry Center will convene a private conference for these contributors during which they will work over one another’s papers. Suitably revised, these papers will then be published by Eerdmans. The target date for publication is 2012. The editor is D. A. Carson.

PAST EVENTS

In the summer of 2009, building on the momentum of the Henry Center’s Lima, Peru, conference in 2006 (henrycenter.org/international), Dr. Robert Priest (TEDS) led a conference on Trinity’s campus on the topic of short-term mission. The conference brought together scholars, pastors, missiologists, anthropologists, youth pastors, missionaries, students and laity to think biblically and practically about short-term missions.

Miriam Adeney — Associate Professor of Global and Urban Ministries, Seattle Pacific University
“What We Can Learn From China: Short-Term Missions in the Dragon Kingdom | Audio | Video

Hunter Farrell — Director of World Mission — Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) “From STM to Global Discipleship: A Peruvian Case Study” | Audio | Video

Eric Iverson — Multicultural Integrity Director, Youthworks
“One Cross at a Time: The Mission Agency’s Role in Building the Missional Church” | Audio | Video

Oscar Muriu — Pastor, Nairobi Chapel, Nairobi, Kenya
“Short-Term Missions from a Kenyan Pastor’s Perspective” | Audio | Video

Kara Powell — Executive Director, Fuller Youth Institute; Assistant Professor of Youth and Family Ministry, Fuller Theological Seminary
“Deep Justice Journeys and STM for Youth” | Audio | Video

Robert J. Priest — Director, PhD Progam in Intercultural Studies, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; Professor of Mission and Intercultural Studies, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
“Megachurches and Short-Term Missions: New Priorities and Paradigms of Mission” | Audio | Video

Kurt Ver Beek — Assistant Professor of Sociology, Calvin College
“Different Soils and Different Seeds: Review of Research on STM and Study Abroad” | Audio | Video

Robert Wuthnow — Director, Center for the Study of Religion, Princeton University; Chair and Professor, Department of Sociology, Princeton University
“Short-Term Missions and the Global Reach of American Christianity” | Audio | Video

Panel Discussion | Audio | Video

May 18-20, 2009 | The Catalyst Leadership Center – Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Since 1991, the Catalyst Leadership Center has aimed to serve the Asian North American Christian community by focusing on the task of training, resourcing and supporting its leaders. In May 2009 the Catalyst Leadership Center and the Carl F. H. Henry Center jointly sponsored the Asian North American Theology and Ministry Consultation. The major aim of this gathering was to create an intentional space in which Asian North American theologians and pastors could gather and reflect upon the shared task of the ministry of the Gospel in today’s Asian North American context. In the course of this consultation, ANA theologians and ministry practitioners were encouraged to collaborate with one another for the ministry of the Gospel.

May 22-24, 2007 | The Gospel Coalition - Trinity Evangelical Divinity School 

Led by Dr. D.A. Carson (TEDS) and Pastor Tim Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York), this ministry was created out of the conviction that Christian ministry must begin with Scripture and go out from there. The Gospel Coalition is a fellowship of evangelical churches deeply committed to renewing faith in the gospel of Christ and to reforming ministry practices to conform fully with the Scriptures. The Henry Center is providing startup financial support to this new ministry. www.thegospelcoalition.org

March 16-18, 2007 | Short-term Missions Conference – The Maria House, Techny, IL

Led by Dr. Robert Priest (TEDS), this conference focused on the impact of short-term mission on hosting countries. There were over 200 people in attendance and the speaking lineup included several anthropologists (Marla Frederick, Harvard; Brian Howell, Wheaton; Laura Montgomery, Westmont), sociologists (Kurt Ver Beek, Calvin College; Kersten Priest, Wheaton) and international mission experts (Val Ogden, England; Hartwig Eitzen, Paraguay; Frank Fox, India).

February 3, 2007 | Missiology Conference – Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

This conference centered around the themes of Short-term Mission and  Mission in the Hispanic and Latin American World. With at least 1.6 million US church members traveling abroad on short-term mission trips each year, there remains a pressing need to think through how best to carry out “short-term missions.” And with 43 million Hispanics within the US (more than the total population of Canada), and millions more in neighboring countries, it is essential that the North American Church reflect carefully on “Mission in the Hispanic and Latin American World. This conference included an impressive roster of outstanding presentations and panel discussions, including over 200 youth pastors, mission pastors, Hispanic pastors, professors, students, and missionaries.

April 28-29, 2006 | John D. Woodbridge Conference – Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School invited alumni and friends to “The Great Commission: Evangelicals and the History of World Mission,” a conference in honor of TEDS professor John D. Woodbridge. The speakers addressed historical aspects of evangelical mission from both Western and Majority World perspectives.

May 24-27, 2004 | Scripture and the Disciplines Conference – Wheaton College

The HCTU co-sponsored the Scripture and the Disciplines Conference at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois. This conference provided a venue for Christian scholars in the humanities and social sciences together with their colleagues in biblical and theological studies to explore new avenues for scholarship deeply rooted in Scripture. This conference, titled, “Setting a New Agenda: The Bible in Dialogue with the Academy,” included several TEDS faculty members.