May 16, 2016
Dr. Ed Stetzer has been appointed to a newly created chair, The Billy Graham Distinguished Endowed Chair for Church, Mission, and Evangelism. In this role, he has been named Executive Director of the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism at Wheaton College (BGCE).
Stetzer will serve as chair of the Evangelism & Leadership Program in the Wheaton College Graduate School and as publisher of Evangelical Missions Quarterly. He will also provide vision-casting and leadership to existing BGCE initiatives, and will spearhead new initiatives that include the creation of a National Evangelism Leaders Fellowship.
“Ed Stetzer is a dynamic communicator and brilliant researcher who brings a genuine knowledge of the gospel and a deep understanding of contemporary culture to his new place of service,” says Wheaton College President Philip Ryken. “His work at Wheaton College will help raise up a new generation of passionate, generous-hearted evangelists who make a difference in the world for Jesus Christ. It will also help Wheaton build stronger networks with churches across America and around the world.”
Stetzer served most recently as Executive Director of LifeWay Research and Executive Editor of The Gospel Project and Facts & Trends Magazine. He is a prolific author and well-known conference and seminar leader. Stetzer has planted, revitalized, and pastored churches; trained pastors and church planters on six continents; and held visiting professorships at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. During the 2015-2016 academic year, he was an Adjunct Professor of Evangelism for Wheaton College Graduate School and Senior Fellow of the BGCE.
Stetzer has also been serving as Teaching Pastor of Grace Church in Hendersonville, Tennessee, a church he founded in 2011.
He is a contributing editor for Christianity Today magazine, a columnist for Outreach magazine, and is frequently cited or interviewed in news outlets such as USA Today and CNN. In 2015, he became a co-host of the BreakPoint This Week radio program.
Stetzer holds a Ph.D. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from Beeson Divinity School.
“It is a distinct privilege to be part of the Wheaton team,” Stetzer says. “This newly created Billy Graham Chair, combined with the convening power of the Billy Graham Center, will provide us a unique opportunity to serve the Church, helping Christians know and engage their culture in the name of Christ. I look forward to being part of this family and serving the Church together.”
Stetzer’s appointment begins July 1.
The Billy Graham Center for Evangelism at Wheaton College exists to lead the conversation on evangelism by training, resourcing, and mobilizing followers of Jesus to share their faith; networking leaders; researching best practices; engaging thought leaders; and launching strategic ministry initiatives. More information about the BGCE is available at wheaton.edu/bgc.
Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.) is a coeducational Christian liberal arts college noted for its rigorous academics, integration of faith and learning, and consistent ranking among the top liberal arts colleges in the country. For more information, visit wheaton.edu.