AETE Announces the 2026 Dr. Beth Seversen Dissertation Award Recipient
The Association of Evangelism Theological Educators (AETE) is pleased to announce that Dr. Misael Cornelio (Fuller Theological Seminary) has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Dr. Beth Seversen Dissertation Award for his dissertation, Sent by the Spirit: A Pneumatological Framework for Latino Pentecostal Praxis.
“Sent by the Spirit: A Pneumatological Framework for Latino Pentecostal Praxis” examines how charismatic experience shapes evangelistic engagement in Latino Pentecostal congregations. Drawing on mixed-methods research with 1,089 bilingual participants across forty Latina/o congregations in Southern California, the study finds that such empowerment generates missional agency rather than merely accompanying it, reframing evangelism as participation in the Spirit’s sending rather than a program the church executes.
Dr. Cornelio’s dissertation makes an outstanding contribution to contemporary evangelism scholarship. Based on mixed-methods research with 1,089 members of the Assemblies of God Southern Pacific District, his work develops a pneumatological framework that understands Spirit empowerment, evangelistic witness, social transformation, and cultural hybridity as deeply interconnected. Grounded in Latino Pentecostal theology and Acts 13:2–4, the dissertation combines rigorous empirical research with rich theological reflection while challenging mission paradigms that separate evangelism from justice.
AETE extends its heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Cornelio on this well-deserved recognition and celebrates his important contribution to the study and practice of evangelism.
Bio: Misael Cornelio-Arias is Professor of Intercultural Studies and Ministry Leadership and University Registrar at Global University in Springfield, Missouri. He holds a Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with over fifteen years of cross-cultural ministry experience across Asia, Latin America, and North America. His research centers on Latino Pentecostal pneumatology and missiology, with particular attention to pneumatological formation for mission. His forthcoming book, The Algorithm and the Spirit (Eerdmans, 2026), extends that inquiry to how algorithmically mediated environments shape attention, trust, and formation, the question his current empirical research takes into congregational life.
ABOUT THE BETH SEVERSEN DISSERTATION AWARD
Named in honor of Beth Seversen, the first woman President of the Academy for Evangelism in Theological Education, this award is given to the best dissertation in evangelism.
Qualifications:
- The dissertation must deal explicitly with the topic of evangelism. However, the dissertation may address the topic of evangelism using any field of study (e.g., history, theology, cultural studies, ethics, etc.).
- The dissertation must have been successfully defended during the two years prior to the year in which the award is given (e.g., for the award given in 2025, dissertations that were successfully defended in calendar years 2023 and 2024 would be eligible).
- The dissertation may be for any doctoral degree (e.g., PhD, DMin, EdD).
Application Process:
To apply, submit a) a brief cover letter introducing the student, the institution where the student defended the dissertation, the date of the successful defense, the names of the dissertation committee, and a brief explanation of how evangelism is treated in the dissertation; b) an electronic copy of the dissertation; and c) proof of successful defense (e.g., a letter from the advisor, a signature page from the defense, a diploma).
- All application material should be sent to Mark Teasdale. (Please Note, include subject line: Seversen Dissertation Award Application)
- Applications must be submitted by March 30, 2025 of the year when the award will be given.
- Dissertations not chosen during one may be resubmitted the following year.
Review Process:
AETE will constitute a review committee. At least two members of the committee will review each dissertation to determine which will receive the awards.
Awards: $ 500 – First Place.
Awardee will be invited to submit a precis of their dissertation for publication in Witness. The recepient will also be invited to present at the AETE annual meeting in which they are given the award.
Previous Recipients:
Congratulations to our 2024 Beth Seversen Dissertation Award Winners!
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