Global Awareness and Engagement

Global Awareness and Engagement

Global Awareness and Engagement Initiative

The ATS Global Awareness and Engagement Initiative helps theological schools in North America respond to one of the most significant shifts in Christian history—the movement of Christian vitality to the Global South and the growing diversity of the global church. It reimagines theological education as a deeply collaborative and globally connected endeavor shaped by shared learning, mutual accountability, and real institutional transformation.

 Working alongside partners such as the Association for Theological Education in South East Asia (ATESEA), the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE), the Global Forum of Theological Educators (GFTE), and the Global Formation Project, the Initiative forms leaders, strengthens schools, and affirms theological education as a public good for the sake of the church and the world. At its heart, this work is not about North America reaching out to the world—it is about learning with the world to shape the future of theological education together.

Upcoming Events

View the ATS events calendar for upcoming global programming.

Current Work

The Global Awareness and Engagement Initiative advances this vision through sustained programs that cultivate shared learning, global partnerships, and leadership formation.

Globalizing Conversations: Mission, Formation, Partnerships

This webinar series convenes students, faculty, administrators, and ministry leaders in sustained dialogue around intercultural formation, global partnerships, and theological education. Through case studies, expert insight, and practical tools, the series equips participants for globally responsive and ethically grounded engagement, with resources developed for the wider public.

Recent Webinar

This 90-minute video is about the Global Formation Project, a 14-year partnership with ATS to help bridge spiritual formation and world Christianity.

From a global, multicultural, and ecumenical perspective, what embodied characteristics are associated with mature Christian spirituality, character, and virtue? Guest David C. Wang joined us for a thoughtful and interactive conversation on the mutual investment of the Global Formation Project and ATS around formation of character and mature spirituality.

Would you like to see more?

You can view the entire series in our Vimeo showcase.

Doing Theological Education Together: Building Bridges Not Walls  

A biannual international conference in collaboration with the Global Forum of Theological Educators that gathers theological educators from across the world for shared discernment, mutual learning, and the strengthening of global relationships 

The Global Contexts of Accreditation and Quality Assurance: Learning from Our Global Partners 

An annual hybrid event developed with the ATS Commission on Accrediting that explores international models of accreditation and educational quality, fostering mutual learning and collaborative practice across regions

One World, Many Worlds: The Global, Pluralism, Theological Education  

An in-person consultation that convenes ATS schools and global partners to share wisdom, identify best practices, and develop contextually grounded strategies for inclusive and globally attentive theological education

Collaborations 

The Global Awareness and Engagement Initiative is carried forward in sustained partnership with organizations whose work is shaping theological education across the world. These relationships are not ancillary to the Initiative—they are constitutive of its vision, programs, and shared learning.

International Council for Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE)

In response to the changing global landscape of theological education, ATS works with ICETE to strengthen leadership formation, advance quality assurance, and cultivate global conversations across the evangelical theological education community. Together, these efforts connect regional networks, support institutional capacity, and foster mutual learning that serves a diverse and rapidly growing global church.

Association for Theological Education in South East Asia (ATESEA)

In response to the changing global landscape of theological education, ATS collaborates with ATESEA in areas of accreditation, leadership development, and shared reflection on theological formation in context. This partnership deepens mutual recognition, promotes educational integrity, and strengthens theological schools serving the churches and societies of Southeast Asia and beyond.

Global Formation Project

In response to the changing global landscape of theological education, ATS participates in the Global Formation Project to advance holistic approaches to leadership formation that integrate spiritual, academic, and ministerial life. Through shared research, consultations, and communities of practice, this collaboration equips institutions to cultivate formation that is contextually grounded and globally informed.

Global Forum of Theological Educators (GFTE)

In response to the changing global landscape of theological education, ATS joins GFTE in convening worldwide consultations that bring theological educators into shared discernment across ecclesial, cultural, and regional boundaries. These gatherings generate common insight, strengthen relationships, and create a trusted space for collaborative engagement in service to the global church.

Research and Publications

In response to the changing global landscape of theological education, the Global Awareness and Engagement Initiative cultivates research projects and shared resources that support theological schools in their global engagement and institutional transformation. Through collaborative studies, published materials, digital platforms, and contributions to the joint ATS resources hub, this work strengthens the flow of knowledge across regions and makes globally grounded insight accessible to the wider public.

Current areas of engagement include the Spiritual Formation in Global Contexts collaboration and the development of resources emerging from the Initiative's consultations, webinars, and accreditation dialogues. Together, these efforts reimagine research as a shared and generative practice that equips theological educators, forms leaders, and enriches the mission of the church in an interconnected world. At its heart is a commitment to theological education in service to the church and the world.

Guiding Ethos: Welcoming a Wider Conversation in Theological Education

In response to the changing global landscape of theological education, the Global Awareness and Engagement Initiative welcomes ATS member schools and a widening circle of partners into a shared journey of learning shaped by the diverse realities of world Christianity. Rooted in the Association’s core values of diversity, quality and improvement, collegiality, and leadership, this work is carried forward as a relational and dialogical practice that listens for many voices, honors the wisdom of varied contexts and traditions, and cultivates collaboration that strengthens formation and leadership in ways that are locally grounded and globally attentive.

In response to the changing global landscape of theological education, the Initiative nurtures an invitational and networked community in which theological schools and the faith communities they serve learn with and from one another across cultural, theological, and geographic boundaries. Through shared practices rather than institutional isolation, these relationships generate new insight, deepen collective capacity, and form leaders who can navigate complexity, respond faithfully to change, and act with clarity of purpose within a diverse and rapidly evolving Christian landscape.

In response to the changing global landscape of theological education, the Initiative affirms theological education as a public good—essential to ethical discernment, spiritual formation, and the flourishing of civic life. By engaging global perspectives and fostering communities of mutual learning, theological schools are strengthened in their ability to articulate the public significance of their work and to serve the common good in an interconnected world. At its heart is a commitment to theological education in service to the church and the world.

Strategic Directions for Global Awareness and Engagement

Understanding Effective Partnerships

ATS convenes schools and partners in a shared work of identifying and strengthening the practices that make cross-border relationships life-giving and sustainable. Through mutual learning, careful analysis, and the development of common commitments, this work reimagines partnership as a collaborative and transformative endeavor marked by reciprocity and long-term benefit. 

Global Engagement within North America

ATS equips member schools to engage the global realities already present in their classrooms and communities. By working with immigrant-founded institutions, transnational networks, and interfaith contexts, this work forms leaders who can interpret their local settings as deeply interconnected with the wider world and reshapes schools for ministry in a global North American landscape. 

Cultivating Scholarly and Programmatic Pathways

ATS strengthens the shared exchange of scholarship, resources, and institutional expertise across continents. Through collaborative networks, expanded access to global theological learning, leadership formation, and consultative support, this work reimagines scholarship as a mutually enriching and globally shaped enterprise in which learning flows in every direction. 

Contributing to a Pan-Christian Conversation on Theological Education

ATS serves as a trusted convener for conversations that bring Evangelical, Historic Protestant, Pentecostal, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, African, and Chinese church voices into shared discernment. In partnership with major international networks, this work cultivates mutual understanding, deepens collaboration, and opens new possibilities for common witness across ecclesial traditions. 

Diversity, Globalization, and Quality Assurance in Theological Education

ATS advances collaborative approaches to accreditation and educational quality across borders. Working alongside regional accrediting bodies and global partners in areas such as international degree programs, distance learning, and research education, this work promotes shared standards, mutual recognition, and institutional integrity while honoring local leadership and context. 

History

The Global Awareness and Engagement Initiative grows out of the Association's long-standing commitment to global conversation, ecumenical partnership, and educational quality. For decades, ATS has cultivated relationships with theological schools, accrediting bodies, and networks beyond North America, recognizing that the vitality and future of theological education are inseparable from the life of the worldwide church.

Building on earlier globalization efforts, the Initiative brings these relationships into a more intentional and sustained framework shaped by shared leadership, mutual learning, and institutional transformation. What began as a series of conversations and collaborative ventures has become a coherent and ongoing commitment to accompany member schools as they engage the diverse realities of global Christianity.

In response to the changing global landscape of theological education, this history now unfolds as a forward-looking practice—one that deepens partnerships, forms leaders, and strengthens theological education as a public good for the sake of the church and the world.

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