FULLER NEXT is a comprehensive and radically new strategy to fulfill our mission, live out our identity, and become what we envision. This, of course, raises the question as to what exactly Fuller’s mission and vision (and associated values) are. Our FULLER NEXT strategy document speaks to these questions; space limitations preclude me from exploring those themes further here. But that is precisely one of the conundrums of detailed strategic plans: How can we communicate mission and vision in a way that those responsible for implementation can easily recall—and even recite—them while still doing justice to the complexity and nuance of that mission and vision?
As Fuller’s senior leaders wrestled with this, what emerged was the following summary of our mission and vision: “Fuller provides indispensable, formational education for diverse Christian leaders everywhere.” This pithy yet deeply informed statement is fleshed out in the following essays. These articles both describe the context in which Fuller will be operating over the coming years and invite us all, individually and collectively, to reflect on the opportunities and challenges we will be (and have already begun) facing.
For example, what’s next for Fuller as we ponder a church whose center of gravity continues to shift from the Global North to the Global South, as it also becomes increasingly diverse in multiple dimensions and interacts with followers in dramatically different ways? What’s next for Fuller as we try to connect to students and learners who demand more flexibility in how we reach them and what we offer? What’s next for Fuller as we make a greater shift toward forming our students not just academically but also spiritually, emotionally, and vocationally? And will students respond to what Fuller offers by proclaiming that Fuller is indeed providing them with a formational education that is indispensable to the vocation to which they are called? Likewise, will employers proclaim that Fuller graduates possess the skills and training they require and in a way that is uniquely Fuller?
It is my hope that you will find the following articles helpful as you ponder these questions and what’s next for you, the church, the world, and Fuller.
Ted Cosse is Chief Operating Officer, Dean of the School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy, and Executive Director of Fuller Psychological and Family Services
FULLER NEXT is a comprehensive and radically new strategy to fulfill our mission, live out our identity, and become what we envision. This, of course, raises the question as to what exactly Fuller’s mission and vision (and associated values) are. Our FULLER NEXT strategy document speaks to these questions; space limitations preclude me from exploring those themes further here. But that is precisely one of the conundrums of detailed strategic plans: How can we communicate mission and vision in a way that those responsible for implementation can easily recall—and even recite—them while still doing justice to the complexity and nuance of that mission and vision?
As Fuller’s senior leaders wrestled with this, what emerged was the following summary of our mission and vision: “Fuller provides indispensable, formational education for diverse Christian leaders everywhere.” This pithy yet deeply informed statement is fleshed out in the following essays. These articles both describe the context in which Fuller will be operating over the coming years and invite us all, individually and collectively, to reflect on the opportunities and challenges we will be (and have already begun) facing.
For example, what’s next for Fuller as we ponder a church whose center of gravity continues to shift from the Global North to the Global South, as it also becomes increasingly diverse in multiple dimensions and interacts with followers in dramatically different ways? What’s next for Fuller as we try to connect to students and learners who demand more flexibility in how we reach them and what we offer? What’s next for Fuller as we make a greater shift toward forming our students not just academically but also spiritually, emotionally, and vocationally? And will students respond to what Fuller offers by proclaiming that Fuller is indeed providing them with a formational education that is indispensable to the vocation to which they are called? Likewise, will employers proclaim that Fuller graduates possess the skills and training they require and in a way that is uniquely Fuller?
It is my hope that you will find the following articles helpful as you ponder these questions and what’s next for you, the church, the world, and Fuller.
Ted Cosse is Chief Operating Officer, Dean of the School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy, and Executive Director of Fuller Psychological and Family Services
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, professor of systematic theology, surveys the new landscape in which the global church finds itself, considering shifts in church movements and traditions as well as the realities of religious pluralism and secularism.
