Deadline: February 15, 2026

2026 Joint Meeting of the Academy for Evangelism in Theological Education (AETE) and the Association of Professors of Mission (APM), June 18-19, 2026, at St. Mary’s College, South Bend, IN.

Theme: Reckoning and Renewal: Engaging the Past and Envisioning the Future of Mission and Evangelism

This year’s theme invites proposals that critically and creatively engage the teaching and practice of mission and evangelism amid historical, cultural, generational, and technological tensions. We welcome papers that explore how the tradition can be faithfully received and innovatively rearticulated in ways that foster healing, deepen trust, and renew Christian witness across a range of contexts. We seek contributions that explore how Christian witness can be strengthened through practices of repentance, healing, and solidarity; how Majority World perspectives can reframe inherited models of mission; how teaching can address rising skepticism and disillusionment among younger generations; and how emerging technologies such as AI and digital media are reshaping theological, ethical, and pedagogical understandings of faith and student formation.

In this joint meeting of AETE and APM, we envision facilitating conversations along several potential tracks:

Key Areas of Interest

• Practices of repentance, healing, and solidarity: How can mission and evangelism reform practices shaped by repentance, healing, and solidarity in witness across cultural and historical divides.

• Pedagogical innovation in an age of skepticism: How can mission and evangelism be taught in ways that resonate with rising generations, many of whom are disillusioned with institutional religion or wary of inherited paradigms.

• Engaging technology and digital disruption: What theological, ethical, and pedagogical questions emerge as AI, social media, and other digital technologies reshape how we communicate faith and form students?

• Constructive models for a shared future: How might Majority World perspectives help reframe inherited models and offer paths towards repentance, healing, and solidarity?

Call for Papers

The 2026 annual joint meeting of AETE and APM invites proposals for presentations from practitioners and scholars with experience or interest related to this year’s theme.

• Creative or constructive proposals for mission that prioritize dialogue, community-based practices, and missional imagination
• Reflections on how Majority World theologies and practices are reshaping inherited Western paradigms of mission and evangelism
• Reassessments of historical entanglements between Christian mission, colonialism, and empire, with attention to their continuing impact today
• Explorations of how global economic and sociopolitical forces shape or challenge faithful evangelistic practice
• Pedagogical approaches for addressing student skepticism, indifference, or resistance to evangelism and mission in theological education
• Proposals exploring new or recovered models of mission and evangelism that are dialogical, participatory, and embodied, drawing on storytelling, art, hospitality, etc.
• Critical or constructive engagement with digital and AI technologies as they relate to missional formation and witness
• Articulation and conceptualization of the role of missiology in the academy, the church, and beyond the walls of the church

Presentation proposals should include the following:

• Working title
• Presentation type: solo presenter, multiple co-presenters
• Potential track (if applicable)
• Name and a brief bio of each presenter
• Abstract that provides the thesis, context, and general overview of the presentation (500-word maximum)

Proposals should be formatted as Word documents and emailed as attachments to Kyle Faircloth (kyle_faircloth@pba.edu) and Jay Moon (jay.moon@asburyseminary.edu) with the subject line with the subject “AETE/APM Proposal.”

• The deadline for proposals is February 15, 2026.
• Decisions will be made by March 15, 2026.