Revd Professor Eddie Gibbs
Associate Faculty
Eddie Gibbs, Professor of Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, is a well known writer and teacher on mission and church growth. He came to Trinity twice in 2009 and his lively teaching was was very well received. He is an Associate Faculty member of Trinity College.
After his ordination training at Oak Hill Theological College and a curacy in Wandsworth, South London, he and his wife spent five years in Chile with a church-planting ministry, supported by the South American Missionary Society (SAMS). When they returned to to Britain Eddie worked for another five years with SAMS as Home Secretary. In that time he was often asked to speak about his experiences of church growth in South America, particularly in the shanty towns. That led to his first publications, World Upside Down: revolution and the Church in Latin America (1976). and Urban Church Growth: clues from South America (1977)
For the next seven years he worked for the Bible Society, with responibility for their home staff and for their Bible study aids. At the same time he went round the country speaking about the Bible as the basis for the renewal, viality and growth of the church. In 1981 he was part of a group who encouraged Billy Graham to return to England to lead an evangelistic campaign, and for two years he was seconded to work with him as part of the Mission England team. He was sent to Fuller to do some training, which led to his taking Fuller's DMin course. His next book, I Believe in Church Growth (London: Hodder, 1981) also served as his dissertation for the DMin course. Fuller then invited him to join the faculty and he has been there ever since. His family are all US citizens and he and his wife have recently followed their lead.
Recent publications
ChurchMorph: how megatrends are reshaping Christian communities (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009)
Emerging Churches: creating Christian communities in postmodern cultures (with Ryan Bolger) (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005)
Leadership Next: changing leadership in a changing culture (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2005)
Church Next: quantum changes in Christian mission (with Ian Coffey) (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2001)