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George R. Hunsberger

Professor of Missiology and Director of Doctor of Ministry Program

B.A. Belhaven College

M.Div. Reformed Theological Seminary

Ph.D. Princeton Theological Seminary

"Recovering what it means to be a body of people sent on a mission is the hard and necessary challenge facing today's church. This requires leaders who know God, who teach with insight, who form genuine Christian community, and who can lead congregations into their missions."

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Treasure in Clay Jars: Patterns in Missional Faithfulness (contributor) (Eerdmans, 2004)

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Bearing the Witness of the Spirit: Lesslie Newbigin's Theology of Cultural Plurality (Eerdmans, 1998)

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Missional Church: A Theological Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (contributor) (Eerdmans, 1998)

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The Church Between Gospel and Culture: The Emerging Mission in North America (editor) (Eerdmans, 1997)

    • DM810 Doctor of Ministry Orientation Seminar
        Introduces major components of the program. During the seminar, students refine their program of study and work on designing learning units. Meets for two weeks in May; 4 cr
    • TF111 Missional Church
        An introduction to missiology, ecclesiology, ecumenics, and eschatology that provides biblical-theological vision for the life and witness of the church in the contemporary world. Emphasis is given to the way social and cultural factors form the church in any time and place, the missional challenges facing the churches of North America at the present moment, and the unity in mission to which all the churches of the world are called. Prerequisite: TF104.
    • TF576 Lesslie Newbigin’s Theology for the Church in a Pluralist Society
        Explores the resources in the thought of missionary theologian Lesslie Newbigin for the life and witness of the church in our contemporary, pluralist society. The course will develop a theology of cultural plurality necessary for the engagement of the gospel with human communities, a grasp of its relevance to the church's life today in North America, and practical strategies for cultivating the habits of witness to which the church is called in such a place.
    • TF583 Public Theologizing: The Way of the Church in the World
        This course fosters the pastoral vision and competence necessary for leading the church to be faithful followers of the Way in the midst of the world. It explores the arenas of social life where the churches public theologizing takes form, the posture with which the church stands and the voice with which it speaks in public action and discourse, and the churches calling to be both a contrast community and a humble companion in public life.

Background

George Hunsberger came to Western in 1989. He was the coordinator of the Gospel and Our Culture Network in North America from its beginning in 1987 through 2010, and has served as both secretary-treasurer and president of the American Society of Missiology.

Dr. Hunsberger is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), he has been a campus minister; a pastor; a missionary team leader in Nairobi, Kenya; and a teacher at Belhaven College. He has also contributed many articles and reviews to missiological, Reformed, and Presbyterian journals.

Preferred Areas of Research Supervision for Th.M. and D.Min. Degrees:

  • The Missional Theology of Lesslie Newbigin
  • Ecclesiology and the Gospel of the Reign of God
  • The Gospel and Human Cultures
  • Contextual and Liberative Theology
  • Public Theologizing in Missional Perspective
  • 20th Century Developments in Missiology
  • Wholistic Theories of Mission
  • Foundations for Church Planting
  • Case Studies in Contextualization Practice
  • Missional Hermeneutics in Biblical Interpretation
  • Evangelism in Secular Societies
  • Pastoral Practice for Cultivating Missional Communities

Adult Education Courses

Dr. Hunsberger makes presentations, leads seminars, and offers short courses on the following themes:
  • People of the Reign of God
  • Contrast and Companionship: the Way of the Church with the World
  • Discerning Missional Vocation
  • Biblical Engagement in Missional Communities
  • The Church Between Gospel and Culture
  • Evangelism in the 21st Century
  • Missional Theology and Church Planting: What's at Stake?
  • Features of the Missional Church
  • Public Theologizing as a Missional Practice of the Church
  • Theological Education in Missional Perspective