2024 Scholars

Rev. Ayobami A. Ayanyinka, Ph.D., is a lecturer in the Department of Composition, Musicology, and Worship at the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. She achieved the remarkable feat of being the first person to earn a Ph.D. in Christian Worship from NBTS, specializing in Christian Worship, with minors in Systematic Theology and Piano Performance. Additionally, she holds an ICETE Academy Fellow (IAF). Her contributions to theological education extend to her roles as an author and editor at both local and international levels, with a particular passion for hymn interpretation and worship-related research. She has also co-authored with Rev. Prof. 'Femi Adedeji (OAU, Nigeria), Prof. Monique Ingalls (Baylor University, Texas, USA), Rev. Dr Gracious Okoronkwo (New Estate Baptist Church, Abuja, Nigeria), Pastor Maouma Emmanuela Tala (NBTS, Nigeria).

(Jackson Scholar for Latin American Studies)

Stephen Di Trolio is a PhD Candidate in the Department of History and Ecumenics at Princeton Theological Seminary, specializing in "Religion in the Americas." He was born in Costa Rica and grew up in Argentina, where he returned after graduating from university in the United States. He is researching Latin American political history, religious-social movements, and Pentecostalism in Argentina. He is the recipient of the Doctoral Louisville Fellowship. He is an active translator, having translated various books, essays, and chapters in edited volumes. He holds a BA in Theological Studies from the University of Valley Forge and an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary. He has also completed coursework in the Sociology of Culture program at the Instituto de Altos Estudios Sociales at the Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Argentina.

Edward English received his M.A. in Composition and Rhetoric from The University of Oklahoma and his Ph.D. in Composition and Rhetoric from The University of Louisville. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of at Oklahoma Baptist University where he teaches courses in Professional Writing, Classical Literature, Romantic Literature, and Native American Literature. He also enjoys his role as the faculty sponsor of the OBU Chess Club and feels privileged to have taught in OBU’s Prison Divinity Program at their Lexington Campus. His writings have appeared in Studies in American Indian Literature, International Studies in Sociology of Education, and The Journal of College Reading and Learning. When not working on things teaching or research-related, he enjoys spending time with his wife Morgan and their dog Lilly, as well as, fishing, collecting Ancient Greek and Roman coins, and being in the great outdoors.

Atola Longkumer, a member of the Nagaland Baptist Church, currently teaching at United Theological College, Bangalore, India. Theologically educated in India and USA, with area of interests in Christian missions and Indigenous peoples, and women, and theological education. Some select publication include: “Baptists in Asia” in Oxford Handbook of Baptist Studies, edited by David Bebbington et at. (Oxford University Press, forthcoming). “Christianity: Between the Great Commission and the Great Commandment” in Comparative Missions of World Religions, edited by. Aaron Ghilani (Peter Lang, 2021). “Christian Mission and Religious Studies: The Case of Indigenous Religions” in Oxford Handbook of Mission Studies, edited by Kirsteen Kim et al. (Oxford, 2022). “Sources of Light for Asian Theology” in Sources of Light: Resources for Baptist Churches Practicing Theology, edited by Amy L. Chilton and Steven R. Harmon, (Mercer University Press, 2020). “Faith and Culture” in Edinburgh Companions to Global Christianity: 37 38 Christianity in South and Central Asia, edited by Kenneth R. Ross et at (Edinburgh University, 2019). "Mission, Evangelism, Translation: From West to Elsewhere for Twentieth Century" in History of Protestant Dissenting Traditions: Themes in a Global Context, vol. V. edited by Mark Hutchinson (Oxford University Press, 2018).

Originally from Recife, Brazil, Maria Monteiro serves as Lecturer in Church Music at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and as Music Director at Primera Iglesia Bautista Mexicana (First Mexican Baptist Church), in San Antonio. Before joining the Baylor faculty in 2020, she taught for seventeen years at Baptist University of the Américas, also in San Antonio. She holds a Master of Music (1991) and a Bachelor of Music (1987) degrees in Music History and Literature from Baylor University, a Certificate of Graduate Studies in Musicology (1998) from Duke University, and a Ph.D. in Church Music (2021) from Baylor (dissertation: “Perceiving Parallax: Human Agency in the Changing Nature, History, and Influence of the Brazilian Baptist Hymnal Cantor Cristão”).

Álvaro Ramon Ramos Oliveira is youth pastor at the First Baptist Church of Rio de Janeiro (PIBRJ) and serves as professor at South Brazil Baptist Theological Seminary (STBSB). Currently, he is working on his Ph.D. in History at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ) and participates in the research group LABEP (Laboratory for the Study of Brazilian Protestantism). Furthermore, he received his undergraduate degree in theology from South Brazil Theological Seminary and his master degree in history from Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-RIO). His dissertation was entitled "The city goes to worship: a social history of the Baptist of Rio de Janeiro (1900-1930)" and in this work he investigated the tensions present in the missions of the Southern Baptist Convention in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Finally, he grew up in Baixada Fluminense and is married with Emily Oliveira.

Susangeline Patrick earned her PhD in Intercultural Studies (Historical and Theological Studies concentration) from Asbury Theological Seminary in 2020. She is Associate Professor of World Christianity at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO. She is a Visiting Researcher at Boston University School of Theology. She also serves as 39 a faculty member at NAIITS, an Indigenous Learning Community. She is the author of two books: Christians in the City of Shanghai: A History Resurrected above the Sea (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2023) and Art as a Pathway to God: A Historical-Theological Study of the Jesuit Mission to China, 1552–1773 (Leiden: Brill, 2023).

Chakali Chandra Sekhar is a distinguished faculty member in the Department of English at SRR & CVR Government Degree College in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India. Holding a Ph.D. from EFL University, his doctoral research made significant contributions to understanding Dalit conversions to Christianity in Colonial Rayalaseema from 1850 to 1930. His academic journey includes noteworthy achievements such as the UK-Visiting-Charles Wallace India Trust Award, an AHRC Fellowship in 2016 at SOAS, London, and a DAAD Visiting Ph.D. Fellow in Germany in 2017. His research interests are deeply rooted in areas like Dalits and Religion, Archives, Gender, Print History, and Social History. He has made substantial contributions to the field through his peer-reviewed journal articles, including insightful works on Christian Women’s Journals and Vernacular Christianity, the intersection of Famine and Caste Differences in Colonial India, and the role of Dalit Women in Colonial Christianity. 

Jieun Yoo, an assistant professor in Christian Education at Anyang University's College of Theology in Korea, holds a B.S. in Biotechnology from Yonsei University and earned M.A.C.E., Th.M., and Ph.D. degrees in Christian Education from NOBTS. In 2014, she was honored with the Southern Baptist Research Fellowship Researcher of the Year award for her dissertation. Her research explores spiritual well-being, subjective well-being, multicultural issues, and gender/ethnic disparities in Christian education. Recognized for her work, she secured NRF (National Research Foundation of Korea) research funding in 2019 and 2020. Selected recent publications in English include: "The Influence of Spiritual Well Being on Depression among Protestant College Seminarians in Korea With a Focus on the Mediating Effect of Self Esteem." Journal of Psychology and Theology 51 (2023), 122-137. "Gender role attitude, communication quality, and marital satisfaction among Korean adults." Journal of Family Studies 28, no.3 (2022), 1108-1125.