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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