Wesley Seminary announces partnership with Missio Alliance

MARION, Ind., March 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of its mission to serve the church, Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University is announcing a new partnership with Missio Alliance.

"It has been my deep honor to be a part of watching Missio Alliance emerge over the last few years, from just the seed of an idea to then another idea, and to now having a world impact," said the Rev. Jo Anne Lyon, interim vice president for Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University. "I am delighted that Wesley Seminary is joining as an Alliance Partner with Missio Alliance."

Founded in 2012, Missio Alliance aims to bring together pastors, theologians, leaders and others from across North America to work toward the renewal of the Church in North America.

"At Wesley Seminary, our one mission is to serve the Church," said the Rev. David Smith, Ph.D., dean of Wesley Seminary and a professor of New Testament and Christian ministry. "We want to train people — head, heart and hands — to be prepared for the local Church. We want to train pastors so that we can release the resources of the scriptures and the teachings of the Church to those around the world."

The Alliance Partnership, Smith said, is about kingdom collaboration – tearing down institutional walls and collaborating and cooperating with other institutions and organizations across denominational boundaries.

"The benefit to Wesley Seminary and to its students will come about through faculty development," Smith said. "We'll be able to talk with others about church planting in the 21^st century and stay on top of cutting-edge curriculum development for the seminary. Our seminary students will learn from and benefit from that level of collaboration with other institutions."

The partnership is due in great part to the ability of Lyon, the former general superintendent of The Wesleyan Church, to build collaborative relationships to help build up the Church, he said.

"In a sense, we both started emerging at the same time and now we have come together and share in this ministry," Lyon said of Missio Alliance, which started in 2012 and the Seminary, which opened in 2009. "I'm looking forward to all God has in the future as Missio Alliance and Wesley Seminary partner for the glory of God in His kingdom."

About Indiana Wesleyan University
Indiana Wesleyan University is an evangelical Christian comprehensive university of The Wesleyan Church committed to global liberal arts and professional education. Nearly 3,000 students are enrolled in traditional programs on the main campus in Marion, Ind. More than 10,000 adult learners study online or at education centers in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. IWU has a sister institution in Sydney, Australia. More information is available at www.indwes.edu.

About Wesley Seminary
The Indiana Wesleyan University Board of Trustees formed Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University in April 2009 so that the university has a seminary with a practical and student-centered approach for busy, working ministers. The Wesley Seminary model allows ministers to stay in their current ministry setting while attending seminary. In addition to a Doctor of Ministry, the seminary also offers Master of Divinity, Master of Arts, and a Master of Practical Theology, as well as certificate programs in church revitalization; children, youth and family ministry; and church planting and multiplication. More information is available at www.indwes.edu/seminary.

About Missio Alliance
Created in 2012, the Missio Alliance seeks to provide a seeding ground for renewal of the Church in North America. Its goal is to bring pastors, practitioner-theologians, leaders and missiologists together from across the spectrum of the North American Church to work for a Kingdom-driven, gospel-centered, biblically grounded theology and ecclesial practice for God's Mission in North America. The organization seeks to cross cultural and denominational boundaries. For more information, visit www.missioalliance.org.

Indiana Wesleyan University Contact:  
Jerry Shepherd, Associate Vice President
Adult Enrollment Services
765-677-2285
[email protected]

PR Contact:
Michele Lemmon
GREENCREST
614-885-7921
[email protected]

SOURCE Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University

Related Links

http://www.indwes.edu/seminary