EMS CANADA 2025 REGIONAL CONFERENCE
Theme: "Ecclesiology & Mission"
Date: Friday, April 11, 2025
Locations
In-Person:
- Alberta (AB): The King’s University, Edmonton
- British Columbia (BC): Trinity Western University (CanIL West), Langley
- Manitoba (MB): Steinbach Bible College, Steinbach
- Ontario (ON): Tyndale University (TIM Centre), Toronto
If you cannot attend in person, join us online for live sessions and discussions.
(Times and Event Registration Link to Come)
Call for Papers
Submissions Are Now Open!
The EMS Canada Regional Conference in April is your opportunity to contribute to critical missiological conversations rooted in Canadian contexts and geared toward global impact. Scholars, reflective practitioners, and learners alike are invited to explore this year’s theme “Ecclesiology & Mission,” focusing on the Church’s identity and role as a dynamic mission community.
Submissions should address how the Church engages dynamically across one or more of the Four As:
- Academy: Theological and Educational Sectors
- Assembly: Local Church Communities
- Agency: Missions Organizations and Networks
- Agora: Marketplace, Workplace and Public Spaces
The title and 200-300-word proposal deadline is January 17, 2025, and presentation papers of 2,000 words are due by March 28, 2025, for the April 11, 2025 Canada Regional Conference.
Selected presenters may later be invited to expand their paper into a full-length submission for the EMS Annual National Conference in October in Dallas, TX and online.
For detailed guidelines and submission instructions, read the full Call for Papers here.
This multi-provincial gathering offers opportunities for dialogue, collaboration, and learning. It provides a platform for participants to shape the Church’s engagement in an ever-changing world. Breakout sessions, led by preliminary paper authors, will delve into practical and academic insights, fostering meaningful discussions. Plenary keynote addresses and responses are by invitation and will be announced in early 2025.
Sign Up Now!
To avail of membership benefits (e.g., EMS Canada regional conference and EMS national conference discounts, ebook copy of the EMS annual compendium), join as EMS Canada member here (in US$):
For questions, or to volunteer in supporting the conference, please contact Dr. Narry Santos, EMS Regional Vice President for Canada Region: nsantos@tyndale.ca
2025 EMS Canada Plenary Keynote Speakers & Response
Grant LeMarquand (AB)
Paper: “We believe in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church’: The church and the mission of God”
Grant LeMarquand is a retired bishop and professor of biblical studies and mission, with teaching roles in Canada, Kenya, and the U.S., including at Wycliffe College and Trinity School for Ministry. A graduate of McGill University and Wycliffe College (Th.D.), he served as Area Bishop for The Horn of Africa (2012–2018), overseeing 150 churches, and later as Interim Bishop for the Diocese of the Great Lakes. He was awarded a D.D. by Wycliffe in 2014 and named Emeritus Professor at Trinity in 2015. Author of Why Haven’t You Left? Letters from the Sudan, he continues to support global mission while living in Innisfail, Alberta, with his wife Wendy, a retired medical doctor. They have two grown children and one grandchild. Grant will also be a plenary speaker at the EMS Annual National Conference in October, presenting on the same paper, expanded.
Response:
Ashoor Yousif (ON), Associate Professor of Christian History
Daria Nardozza (ON, from QC)
Paper: “Church Collaboration in Canadian Cities: Insights and Reflections from Research”
Daria Nardozza is a leader and researcher passionate about fostering church and community collaboration for flourishing cities across Canada. She co-founded City Leaders Collective in 2023 and previously built a national network of City Network Leaders and community organizations. Her earlier leadership includes serving as the Canadian National Leader of 24-7 Prayer, where she advanced community development and spiritual engagement initiatives. With academic credentials including a Bachelor’s in Counseling/Psychology, an MA in Global Urban Leadership, and ongoing doctoral studies in Transformational Leadership at Bakke Graduate University, Daria brings deep expertise in urban leadership and community transformation. Daria is married to Matt and a proud mom to their 9-year-old son.
Response:
Sarah Han (ON), Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry (Homiletics) & Director of Centre for Pastoral Imagination
Sherman Lau (BC)
Paper: “Evaluating “Missions Within Reach” 30 Years Later”
Sherman Lau serves as Lead Pastor of Killarney Park MB Church, an intentionally intercultural church in Vancouver, BC. He also teaches intercultural ministry courses at Pacific Life Bible College in Surrey, BC. He completed a Doctor of Intercultural Studies from Western Seminary in Oregon in 2022. His vocational objective is to advance the development and praxis of intercultural ministry in the Canadian multicultural context.
Response:
Dorothy Pang (ON), Director of the Tyndale Intercultural Ministries (TIM) Centre
Narry F. Santos, PhD
nsantos@tyndale.ca
Assistant Professor of Practical Theology and Intercultural Leadership at Tyndale University
The Canada Region covers all provinces and territories across Canada, with active participation from Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario for the 2025 regional conference.
The purpose of the Canada Region of the Evangelical Missiological Society is to provide a forum once a year for Canadian missiologists and practitioners to engage each other around relevant topics in missions. This is motivated by a felt need for “dialogue, fellowship, and cooperation among evangelicals devoted to researching, publishing and instructing in areas related to the mission of the Church.
Past EMS Canada Conferences
(Under Construction)
There were a total of 22 papers that were presented at the three EMS Canada venues in 2024. These papers explored different aspects of the theme in the Canadian context.