Message from the president.
Missio Seminary is known as the missional seminary and I am rather protective of this reputation. It seems that everyone is now missional. An ever increasing number of seminaries, church-planting organizations, missionary agencies, and churches have now appropriated the term. Led largely by younger leaders, evangelicals have moved from suspicion to celebration of the missional turn. We are gratified that others have embraced the missional imperative, but we must not allow it to become a mere buzz-word or the latest Christian fad.
It is important to understand that missional is not a static proposition; rather it is a dynamic way of living the gospel in a culturally complex world. Missional requires a humble recognition of our own finitude and fallenness; it is a quiet confidence in the redemptive power of the mission-Giver; and it is always authentic and generous as it engages this muddled world. The missional mindset changes everything.
At Missio Seminary, our faculty and staff understand that missional impacts every aspect of our institution. Our innovative curriculum is geared specifically to prepare women and men to engage our postmodern culture. To be missional means that we love the Bible and are committed to reading it with a penetrating honesty and with an ear to what it teaches about urban ministry, poverty, social justice, sex-trafficking, child abuse, sexuality, and violence against women. For us, the missional outlook extends to every quarter of the globe and requires greater sensitivity to the resident cultural complexities and a commitment to work within such complexities.
To be missional takes courage. We invite you to join us on the missional journey as we Follow Jesus into the World.
Semper Reformanda (always reforming),
Frank A. James III, DPhil, PhD
Missio Seminary's Vision:
To be the first choice for training missional leaders for the church of the 21st century.
“Missio is an evangelical seminary that encourages open dialogue around God’s Word and the theological matters surrounding it. I didn’t have to worry about holding the party line; rather, at Missio, I was simultaneously challenged by my professors and peers to think differently while always being treated as a valued member of the discussion.”
– Evan Curry MDiv ’10
Mission Statement and Core Values
Our Mission Statement
To incarnate and communicate the story of Jesus with…
- Humility and authenticity
- Fidelity to Scripture
- Appreciation of the Christian tradition
- Sensitivity to the needs and aspirations of postmodern culture
Our Core Values
The following core values guide the operation of Missio Seminary:
- Charity
- Humility
- Integrity
- Mutual Respect
- Excellence
Philippians 2:1-11 embodies our Core Values
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”