World Council of Churches' Evangelism Webinars

These North American events are organized by the World Council of Churches, in cooperation with the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, and in consultation with the Canadian Council of Churches.

These six webinars seek to inspire discussion and reflection on key aspects of mission and evangelism in contemporary settings in the U.S. and Canadian contexts. Each webinar features panelists from different Christian faith perspectives, traditions, and experience in ecumenical cooperation as they answer questions from the live audience. These webinars will set the scene for a major conference of mission professionals, academics, and church leaders on "Reclaiming Evangelism: Celebrating Change and Collaboration" planned to take place before the end of 2015 - part of a series of events worldwide on the same item.

Webinar #1: Reclaiming Evangelism
In this recorded webinar, we introduce the overall topic of “Reclaiming Evangelism: Celebrating Change and Collaboration” and seek to do some reclaiming of the term “evangelism” given some negative connotations that have recently come to be associated with the term.

Webinar #2: Evangelizing Each Other
In this recorded webinar, we discuss ways to improve evangelizing both inside and outside the church in a practical and thought-provoking manner.

Webinar #3: Evangelism in a Multifaith Context
Panelists: Father Darren Dias, Professor of Theology, St. Michael's College University (Toronto, Canada) and Bishop Dr. Tony Richie, of the Church of God (Knoxville, USA).

Webinar #4: Evangelism and Migrant-Immigrant Churches
Panelists: Dr. Girma Bekele , Rev. Irene Ty, Rev. Jonathan Schmidt

All three of the panelists are connected with the work of the Canadian Churches Forum. The Forum is Canada’s second oldest ecumenical agency established in 1921. They share their experiences of the faith through their global lenses: Dr. Girma Bekele was born in Ethiopia, he became a Christian through an underground high school Christian fellowship in 1982; Rev. Irene Ty is of Chinese ancestry and was born in the Philippines. She studied in France for one year and taught English in China for 2 years; Rev. Jonathan Schmidt, he grew up in Edmonton, Vancouver and Toronto, and has lived in Canada and The USA. His ancestors were Lutheran Missionaries to the USA in the 1800’s.

Webinar #5: Evangelism And The Context of the Poor and the Marginalized

Presenters: Bishop Mark MacDonald, Dr. Elaine Heath, Rev. Jim Winkler

Join Bishop Mark MacDonald from the Anglican Church of Canada and Rev. Dr. Elaine Heath from Southern Methodist University and co-founder of The Missional Wisdom Foundation as they lead a discussion and invite audience questions on the topic of Evangelism and the context of the poor and the marginalized and indigenous peoples.

Webinar #6: Evangelism And The Context Of Small Congregations

Presenter: Rev. Dr. Andrew Irvine, Rev. Dr. Heather Heinzman Lear, Dr. Tony Kireopoulos

Please join Rev. Dr. Andrew Irvine, Professor of Pastoral Theology at Knox College, Toronto School of Theology, Rev. Dr. Heather Heinzman Lear, Director of Evangelism Ministries, The United Methodist Church, and Dr. Tony Kireopoulos, Associate General Secretary, National Council of Churches, USA, moderator as we continue the series on multiple dimensions of evangelism.