About Us – Global Diaspora Network

Our Philosophy

GDN seeks to mobilize followers of Jesus to fulfill God’s missional purposes among the people on the move. We operate under the Lausanne Movement and embrace its philosophy of ministry: “Together we seek to bear witness to Jesus Christ and all his teachings, in every part of the world—not only geographically, but in every sphere of society and in the realm of ideas”.

Our Vision

Our vision is to see the global Church empowered and responding effectively to the missional opportunities presented by global migration and diaspora communities. Further, we envision leading seminaries and learning institutions across the globe providing focused training in diaspora missiology that will produce leaders who are equipped for Spirit-filled engagement in mission to, through and beyond the people on the move.

Our Goal

Following the Seoul Declaration on Diaspora Missiology in 2009 and the Cape Town Commitment’s call to action regarding people on the move in 2010, GDN organized the Global Diaspora Forum, an international gathering of diaspora specialists, experts, agency and organizational leaders, and missions practitioners in March 2015 in Manila, Philippines. The Forum helped to produce Scattered and Gathered: A Global Compendium of Diaspora Missiology as a landmark resource for training for missional engagement in today’s borderless world. In light of the release of this comprehensive text, GDN is now focused on equipping a new generation of diaspora leaders, workers and missiological researchers for mission among diasporas in the 21st century. GDN has crafted The Singapore Resolution to help guide our way forward in this next phase.

Our Mandate

The People On The Move have serious implications for world evangelization; therefore GDN focuses its mandate on the following:

1. Accelerate the development of diaspora missiology (i.e., a missiological framework for understanding and participating in God’s redemptive mission among people living outside their place of origin) in leading seminaries, universities, and learning institutions in order to produce scholars, organizational and government leaders and practitioners who are better equipped for mission in the 21st century.

2. Because “People On The Move” are not only subjects of evangelism and mission, but have also become powerful agents of gospel proclamation, GDN aims to catalyze the global Church to demonstrate and proclaim the whole gospel to, through and beyond diasporas scattered everywhere.

3. GDN fosters theological thinking in various dialogues and consultations with other reflective practitioners and scholars in diaspora in order to develop interdisciplinary curriculum, courses, programs, research projects and publications, resource books, and textbooks for mission and ministry education at all levels.

4. Network with fellow academics, mission agencies, NGOs, and local churches as much as possible and encourage the development of similar networks, think tanks, associations, organizations and movements.

International Board Of Reference

Michael Oh, Executive Chair/CEO, Lausanne Movement?
Daniel Bourdanne, General Secretary, International Fellowship of Evangelical Students
Samuel Escobar, renowned Latin American theologian and missiologist
Patrick Fung, General Director, OMF International

Peter Kuzmic, Eva B. and Paul E. Toms distinguished professor of world missions and European studies, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary?
See-Young Lee, former Ambassador to the United Nations, Republic of Korea?
Bishop Efraim Tendero, CEO/Secretary General, World Evangelical Alliance

International Advisory Board

Henri Aoun, President, Life Agape International?
Jack Klemke, Chair, The Klemke Foundation
Elias Medeiros, Professor of Missiology, Reformed Theological Seminary
Doug Nichols, Founder, Action International Ministries
Mike Adegbile, Executive Secretary, National Evangelical Missions Association
Lisa Espineli-Chinn, Ministry Coach/Mentor, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship
Barnabas Moon, Executive Director, Withee Mission International
Eldon Porter, Global Connections Consultant, Missio Nexus

Director of Communications

Cody Lorance, President and CEO, Borderless

Director of Prayer Mobilization

Katherine Lorance, Prayer Mobilization Director, Borderless

GDN Diaspora Missiology Educators Task Force

Sadiri Joy Tira, Lausanne Catalyst for Diaspora

Executive Committee

TV Thomas

Chairman

Soon Geun Lee

Vice Chairman

Sadiri Joy Tira

Lausanne Catalyst for Diaspora

Tetsunao Yamamori

Senior Advisor

Paul Sydnor

Member

Art Medina

Secretary/Treasurer

The GDN Compendium Project on Diaspora Missiology

Senior Editors

Sadiri Joy Tira

Senior Editor

Tetsunao Yamamori

Senior Editor

Part I: Phenomenological Realities and Trends of Global Diaspora

Amador Remigio

Section Editor

Darrell Jackson

Section Editor

Part II: Biblical and Theological Foundations for Diaspora Missiology

Thomas Alan Harvey

Section Editor

Miyon Chung

Section Editor

Part III: Toward Strategic Directions

TV Thomas

Section Editor

Elias Dos Santos Medeiros

Section Editor

Part IV: The Mission of the Church in Global Diaspora

Grant McClung

Section Editor

Cody Lorance

Section Editor

Part V: Regional and National Case Studies in Diaspora Mission

Miriam Adeney

Section Editor

Tuvya Zaresky

Section Editor

Part VI: Diaspora Issues Case Studies

Paul Sydnor

Section Editor

Larry Caldwell

Section Editor

Global Diaspora Forum 2015 Contributors

Regional Diaspora Educators

Tereso Casiño (North America Chair), Professor of Missiology, Gardner-Webb University
Miyon Chung (Asia Chair), Professor of Systematic Theology, Morling College, Sydney, Australia
Tom Harvey (Europe Chair), Dean, Oxford Centre for Mission Studies
Atul Aghamkar (South Asia, Chair), Professor and Head, Department of Missiology, South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies, Bangalore, India
Glicerio Manzano (Far East Asia, Chair), Professor of Intercultural and Urban Studies, Asian Theological Seminary, Quezon City, Philippines
Ivan Rusyn (Eurasia and Central Asia, Chair), President, Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary
Masanori Kurasawa (North East Asia),
Professor of Missiology, Tokyo Christian University
Thomas Harvey (Western Europe, Chair), Dean, Oxford Centre for Mission Studies

Diaspora Catalysts

John Baxter, Director of Diaspora Ministries, Converge
Cody Lorance, President and CEO, Borderless
Barnabas C. S. Moon, Head Pastor of Living Hope Community Church, CEO of CONA International, Coordinator of Nagaland, Executive Director of Withee Mission International, Seoul South Korea.

Subject Matter Experts

Sam George, Executive Director, PARIVAR International
J.D. Payne, Pastor for Church Multiplication, The Church at Brook Hills
Tuvya Zaretsky, International Coordinating Committee President, Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism (LCJE)