Short-term missions (STM) especially from the United States and Europe have grown exponentially in the last decades. Most research in STM in the past has focused on the perspectives of the short-termers. Dr. Robert Priest and others recognized the need to research the effect of STM upon the local church and host countries. The Conference in Lima, Peru was held following a survey in summer 2006 of 544 evangelical pastors in Lima, 58 percent of whom had hosted a STM visiting group from many denominations and countries. The overwhelming response of these pastors was positive. The purpose of the Conference was to explore the scope and impact of STM upon the changing Latin American evangelical church.
Dr. Priest reported the beneficial effects of STM for the Peruvian evangelical church of linking social capital, resource-sharing, and opening doors within their own community and government. The Conference led a special edition in 2006 of Missiology: An International Review, Short-term Mission (vol. XXXIV number 4. Ed. Robert J. Priest and William A. Burrows); a Short-term Missions Conference at The Maria House, Techny, Illinois in March 2007; a Special Issue on Short-Term Missions in Latin America in the Journal of Latin American Theology English edition to be published early 2008; and an upcoming Conference on Short-term Missions at TEDS Summer 2009.
Conference Schedule August 1, 2006
Dr. Samuel Escobar – Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary
August 2, 2006
Dr. Robert J. Priest – Director, PhD Program in Intercultural Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Dr. Francisco Cerron – Seminario Biblico Alianza del Peru
Dr. Hartwig Eitzen – Institutio Biblico Asuncion, Paraguay
Dr. Tite Tienou – Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Joaquin Alegre Villon
Dr. Kurt Ver Beek – Calvin College
Dr. Laura M. Montgomery – Westmont College
Panel Discussion
Dr. Ulrike Sallandt – Instituto Biblico de Lima
August 3, 2006
Dr. Rodrigo F. Maslucan – Iglesia Evangelica Peruana Misionera Luz y Vida
Dr. Marcos B. Arroyo – [title]
Dr. Charles Cook – Canadian Theological Seminary
Roger Marquez Bardales
- Short-term Missions to Native Communities
Panel Discussion
Mg. Eliseo Vilchez-Blancas – Instituto Biblico de Lima
Dr. Miguel Angel Palomino – Facultad Teologica Latinoamericana Alianza Mision Misioneros y Campo de Mision
Dr. Tito Paredez – Facultad Evangelica Orlando E. Costas
Dr. Samuel Escobar – Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary
- Personal Reflections
