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Ouachita participants attend global education conference

April 27, 2012 - Nicci Fillinger

Four Ouachita Baptist University faculty and staff members attended the University Educators for Global Engagement conference in Richmond, Va., April 12-15. Representatives from several Baptist colleges came together to discuss methods that are working toward fulfilling the Great Commission through global engagements both on their campuses and abroad.

The theme of the conference was “Holistic Discipleship: Preparing the whole campus to take the whole gospel to the whole world!” The goal of the conference was to “share concrete application of what it means to infuse academics with missions on a global level – in both national and international arenas,” explained Dr. DawnEllen Jacobs, president of the UEGE conference.

Dr. Rebekah Naylor, a Southern Baptist International Mission Board medical missionary at Bangalore Baptist Hospital in India, presented an overview on “International perspectives on living out holistic missions.”

J.D. Payne, a Southern Baptist North American Mission Board missionary and associate professor of church planting and evangelism at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, gave a presentation on “North American perspectives on global migration and Great Commission possibilities.”

Ouachita faculty and staff who attended the conference were Sharon Cosh, ESL coordinator; Dr. Ray Franklin, associate professor of Christian missions; James Taylor, director of campus ministries; and Dr. Jim Taylor, professor of biology.

Christian college representatives attending the conference “are trying to encourage all members of the university campus, faculty, staff and administrators alike, to be more intentional in fulfilling their institutional mission statements,” Cosh said. “Ouachita’s mission statement states that we are ‘preparing individuals for ongoing intellectual and spiritual growth, lives of meaningful work and reasoned engagement with the world.’

“We are making strategic plans to be more intentional in integrating our global community on campus,” Cosh added.

“I learned a lot about motivation,” Dr. Taylor noted. He emphasized the practical focus of the conference with its objective of encouraging missional living among both students and faculty.

By Nicci Fillinger

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