2024 SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL CONFERENCE
New Frontiers in Missiology
in person at Dallas Theological Seminary
The conference will also be livestreamed for remote access as well.
Housing is not provided. If you stay at the Element next to the DTS campus, you can use the DTS discount. There is also a Home2Suites nearby.
About the Theme
Missiology, by its very nature, is a dynamic discipline responsive to changes. Often such changes are mandated by the socio-cultural changes in the context of service/ministry; at other times it is in response to changes in the world at large. Sometimes such changes are so significant that they push the boundaries of what has been standard mission practice. Such cutting-edge changes result in “new frontiers in missiology.”
What are the new frontiers confronting missiology in the second quarter of the 21st century? In other words, what are the many rapid changes taking place in the world today and how are they pushing the boundaries of missiology? Rapid advances in globalization, urbanization, technology, education, medicine and health care, and more, will all impact missiology in ways that are still unknown. Key questions come to the forefront such as: What are the rapid advances that will most impact missiology and what should be our response as evangelical missiologists to these new frontiers? The vast diversity of answers is expressed by the differing perspectives within missions—from the academy, the church, and the practitioner. The 2024 national conference of EMS aims to address these new frontiers in missiology from all of these perspectives.
Given the multiple intersections of global change with mission, the Evangelical Missiological Society invites you to consider how your particular strengths and interests might stimulate deeper discussion, thoughtful consideration and innovative measures, surrounding the annual theme and to frame a proposal to present a paper.
Possible topics include but are not limited to:
- The continuing unprecedented large scale moving of peoples crossing borders and/or towards urban centers and the challenges and opportunities.
- New understandings of what constitutes the “church” in light of future epidemics similar to Covid.
- The possibilities of artificial intelligence like ChatGPT for language learning, Bible translation, ministry in oral cultures, and educational institutions.
- The use of technology through extended reality that will create more immersive digital experiences with missiological implications for evangelism and church planting.
- The redefining of health through new approaches to medicine and well-being worldwide and their impact on missiology.
- The redefining of gender and family and the impacts on the church and mission.
- The decline of globalization, the rise of nationalism, and other major geo-political shifts that impact mission.
Submitting a Presentation Proposal
To propose a presentation, send a topic title and 200-300 word abstract about your presentation to Brian Bain at missions@dts.edu by the deadline of January 31st. If your presentation has been selected, you will be notified via email. A paper is not required in order to present at the regional conference, but is a requirement for consideration at the annual conference.
Submitting a Paper
If you would like to submit a paper, follow the instructions above to submit a presentation proposal and then submit your paper to Brian Bain at missions@dts.edu by the deadline of April 5th. Some papers presented at the EMS regional meetings will be invited to present at the annual EMS conference to be held at Dallas Theological Seminary on October 4th-5th, 2024, leading to the possibility of being published as a chapter in the EMS Annual Compendium for 2025. If you would like your paper to be considered for the annual conference, final papers are to be 4500-7000 words and use Chicago Turabian author-date citation format. For those living in the USA or Canada, presenters are invited first to present in our regional conferences Spring 2024.
Students
Students are encouraged to submit presentation proposals and papers in addition to participating in the conference. This is a great opportunity for students to discuss any innovative ideas or challenges in their ministries or field experience.
Brian Bain
The South Central Region covers the following states:
Arkansas
Louisiana
Mississippi
New Mexico
Oklahoma
Texas
Past Conferences
2021
The topic of this year’s conference was “Communication(s) and Mission.”
2020
This year’s regional turned into a Zoom conference, due to COVID-10 restrictions. By God’s grace, it ended up being our largest regional yet! We had 110 registrants from 7 states in the US and one person Zoomed in from Poland. These attendees represented over 40 organizations. The two plenaries were co-presented by Dr. William (Bill) Taylor and Dr. Michael A. Ortiz. In addition, the conference schedule featured 25 papers presented in 5 concurrent sessions, averaging 60+ people in attendance. Break times and lunch featured topic-focused discussion and prayer in each of the five Zoom rooms. We offered Zoom training for attendees, presenters, and the ten Zoom room monitors who facilitated the meeting. Those Zoom training documents are available at this Google folder. Only a few of the 28 presenters had connection difficulties, and they were still able to present their material, just with limited PPT capability. We experienced a great deal of joy as we saw the blessing of God on this conference.
2019
The 2019 regional conference for South Central EMS was held on March 2nd. There were 19 papers presented plus a plenary session by Dr. Werner Mischke on “An Honor-Bearing Gospel for Shame-Fueled Crises” and a closing panel on “In Contexts of Crisis, Does the Gospel of the Kingdom Better Address the Question of Identity?” Conference attendees numbered approximately 75 people, from 8 states and 25 organizations/schools. Thank you to our volunteers and campus hosts who helped us make this event possible. (Submitted by Robin Harris, PhD, South Central VP)
2018
The 2018 regional conference for South Central EMS was held on April 7, our second “stand alone” conference for this region. The conference featured 17 papers plus a plenary session by Dr. Raphael Anzenberger on “Engaging the Secular Mind: An Urgent Call to the American Church” and a closing panel on “The Impact of Honor -Shame Issues on Mission and Evangelism.” Conference attendees numbered approximately 70 people, from 4 states and 15 organizations/schools. Once again, strong participation from volunteers and the EMS Logistics Coordinator, Bill Harris, made the conference run smoothly. (Submitted by Robin Harris, PhD, South Central VP)
2017
The 2017 South Central EMS regional conference in Dallas took place on March 4 and was the first “stand alone” conference for this region of EMS. We were delighted at the outstanding level of participation! The conference featured 21 papers and 2 plenary sessions, plus vibrant multi-cultural worship and opportunities for networking. There were 85 registrants from 8 states, 7 schools, and 35 agencies, organizations, and/or churches. I’m grateful for the support of Dr. Robert Priest, EMS president, who agreed to come as a plenary speaker, for the large number of volunteers that helped things run smoothly, and for the logistics coordination provided by EMS Logistics Coordinator Bill Harris. (Submitted by Robin Harris, PhD, South Central VP)
2016
The EMS South Central Regional meeting was held in conjunction with ETS and EPS Regional Meetings at Dallas Semianry on April 1-2. Overall there were about 300 people in attendance for all three societies. EMS members had about 70 people participate in our sessions where we had fourteen papers presented on the theme of “Missions and the Local Church.” Several papers were recommended to the national committee for the selection process for the annual EMS meeting in October and for possible selection for our national publications.
2015
The South Central Region held its regional annual meeting in conjunction with the ETS Regional Meeting at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary April 10-11, 2015. We had two EMS tracks at our regional meeting – one being the national theme of “Controversies in Missions;” the other was “General Important Topics in Missions.” We had about 55 members in attendance and nine excellent papers presented, with six chosen as possible for presentation at the national meeting in September.
2014
The EMS South Central Region held its regional meeting together with the Evangelical Theological Society Southwest Region meeting at Southwestern Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX on March 7-8,. Several papers were presented on the national theme for 2014 – Diaspora Missiology. There were about 90 in attendance for this joint conference.