Baylor University’s Truett Seminary Announces Angel Santiago-Vendrell, ThD, as Associate Professor of World Christianity and Witness

May 4, 2023
Welcome Angel Santiago-Vendrell

WACO, Texas (May 4, 2023) – Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary announced today that Angel Santiago-Vendrell, ThD, will join the seminary as associate professor of World Christianity and Witness this coming fall. Santiago-Vendrell will teach a variety of courses, including the History of the Expansion of Christianity, World Christianity, and Evangelism.

“I am thrilled that Dr. Santiago-Vendrell will be joining the Truett faculty,” said Michael W. Stroope, PhD, professor of Christian Missions, holder of the M.C. Shook Chair of Missions, and chair of the search committee. “Dr. Santiago-Vendrell is a respected scholar in the area of World Christianity and brings a unique perspective on the global Church. Having served in the academy and the church, our students will benefit greatly from his expertise and experience. We are fortunate to have Dr. Santiago-Vendrell as part of the Truett family.”

Santiago-Vendrell holds a BA from Lee University, a MDiv from Pentecostal Theological Seminary, a ThM from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a ThD from Boston University. In addition to his academic achievements, Santiago-Vendrell has been actively engaged in ministry. As a teenager in Puerto Rico, Santiago-Vendrell began pastoring a small Pentecostal church. He continued his work in churches during his time in seminary by developing Spanish curricula for Sunday School classes and by founding an after-school program for underprivileged children.  Latterly, he was called to serve as senior pastor of Iglesia Metodista Unida San Andres.

“I am honored and thrilled to join the thriving Christian community of students, professors, staff, and administrators at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary,” said Santiago-Vendrell. “I am eager and looking forward to participating in the seminary’s mission to equip women and men for ministry in and alongside the Church by the power of the Holy Spirit and its vision to transform the world by training thoughtful, faithful Christians. As a historian and theologian of World Christianity, I strive to instill in my students a passion for learning by showing them the learning process through my own life as a researcher and teacher. My commitment is to help students discover the rich history and diversity of Christian experiences and theologies in the Global South and how they can inform and transform Christian practices and theologies in North America by forming students to value contextualization as intrinsically connected to being a witness to Christ in the world.”

Currently, Santiago-Vendrell is an associate professor of World Christianity and holds the E. Stanley Jones Chair of Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. He previously taught at Memphis Theological Seminary, Columbia Theological Seminary, and Christian Brothers University. His ongoing research focuses on the intersection of theology, history, religion, race, and social transformation in the Global South, with an emphasis on Latin America and Latino/a/x in the United States. He is the author of Rios de Agua Viva: Teológias de la Misión Pentecostal Latino Americana and has published numerous articles, essays, and books for both academic and ecclesial audiences.


“The vision of Baylor’s Truett Seminary is to train intentionally and effectively thoughtful, faithful ministers for a twenty-first century Church and world,” noted Dean Todd D. Still, PhD. “Dr. Angel Santiago-Vendrell, a native Spanish-speaker from Puerto Rico, will add appreciably to our faculty, not least in helping our community to understand and to appreciate more fully how the LORD is at work in and through the Church in the Global South. An erudite scholar, experienced teacher, active researcher, serious Christ-follower, and delightful individual, Dr. Santiago-Vendrell will join long-tenured and much-beloved Truett faculty member Dr. Michael W. Stroope in offering courses and conducting research in World Christianity and Witness. Together, I anticipate that they will attract an increasing number of students to Truett Seminary, as we strive increasingly to become a destination location for those who are seeking to engage in the study and practice of ministry and mission.”   

 

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.

ABOUT GEORGE W. TRUETT THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary is an orthodox, evangelical, multidenominational school in the historic Baptist tradition that equips God-called people for gospel ministry in and alongside Christ’s Church by the power of the Holy Spirit. Accredited by the Association of Theological Schools, Truett Seminary provides theological education leading to the Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Christian Ministry, Master of Arts in Contextual Witness and Innovation, Master of Arts in Theology, Ecology and Food Justice, Master of Arts in Theology and Sports Studies (online), Master of Theological Studies, Doctor of Ministry, and Ph.D. in Preaching. Truett Seminary also offers joint degrees through Baylor University school/college partnerships in social work, business, law, music, and education. In addition to the flagship Baugh-Reynolds Campus in Waco, the Seminary also has additional instructional sites in Houston and San Antonio. Visit the Truett Seminary website to learn more.