Mission

To encourage and enable Christian theological leaders from the Majority World for the Global Church.

Vision

To cultivate theological leaders from around the globe for lifetimes of impact in the Church and on societies.

Values

By fostering prophetic voices that speak with academic rigor, we serve the global Church in advancing the Kingdom of God. We believe that scholars who love God with all their minds and all their strength will move from the ivory tower to the streets. Because Christ summed up the Scriptures with the Great Commandment to love God and our neighbors, we equip theological leaders to engage well with other faiths and to respond to the most pressing issues of their societies. 

We are driven by a critical assessment of how our unique gifts and calling can provide the greatest service to our partners. Likewise, we work with our partners to deploy their particular talents for optimal impact in the Church and the world. When potential synergies emerge between our mission and theirs, we seek to generate innovative collaborations, the benefits of which transcend the walls of any single institution.  

The insights and needs of the leaders and institutions we serve set our agenda. We listen carefully to our partners’ wisdom, amplify their voices, respond to their invitations, and support their callings. By cultivating long-term relationships of presence, service, and mutual respect amid some of our partners’ greatest challenges, we develop contextually relevant collaborations that serve our partners’ needs and increase their impact.   

We conduct ourselves with integrity and communicate transparently, while honoring confidences and protecting the vulnerable. We are reliable colleagues and partners, who hold ourselves and others accountable to fulfill our commitments in a timely manner. When we damage trust or fall short of our goals, we are quick to apologize sincerely and to rectify our errors in order to rebuild trust and ultimately strengthen community. 

We give wholeheartedly of our resources, skills, and time to uplift one another without creating any senses of entitlement or obligation. We share praise, credit, and opportunities freely with one another and our partners, remembering that we collectively are advancing Christ’s Kingdom and not our own. We steward the bonds of our fellowship by being generous in our interpretations of one another, extending the benefit of the doubt, and seeking the best interests of the other. We respect our limits and those of our colleagues to ensure that we can sustain our mutual service. 

What is a theological leader?

A theological leader is a Christian scholar—typically pursuing or holding a doctoral degree—who trains the next generation of Christian leaders, guides a theological institution, speaks with a public, prophetic voice, or pilots new ministries. 

The work of the theological leader often begins in the classroom, where they train dozens of pastors every year, many of whom go on to disciple and evangelize thousands of other believers.

But we also look for scholars who have a passion and a talent for influencing the Church and society beyond the classroom. That may be through captaining a theological school, or creating innovative missional projects, or pursuing justice through public activism. We believe that global theologians whose life and ministry overflow from the classroom not only change students’ lives and the church but also society itself.

Scholar Leaders is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit ministry.

Scholar Leaders is the name taken in 2010 by Christian International Scholarship Foundation (CISF), founded 1983.