IAMS Matters 2026 January

Message from the President

Dear IAMS Friends and Colleagues,

Warm greetings to you all as we welcome the New Year 2026.

This year is a very meaningful one for our Association. In July, we will gather in South Africa for the 16th IAMS Assembly — a moment we have been prayerfully preparing for and anticipating together. It is also the year in which I will complete my term as President. Looking back, my journey of leadership began when I was elected Vice-President during the 2016 Assembly in Seoul, followed by six years of service in that role, and since 2022, it has been my honor to serve as President. In many ways, these ten years have been a profound journey of learning, friendship, and shared mission with the IAMS community.

During these years, my own life has also passed through many personal seasons, and yet, IAMS has always remained a community of resonance, encouragement, and theological imagination for me. For this, I am deeply grateful.

Earlier this month, from 21–23 January, the South-to-South IAMS Conference took place in the Philippines, bringing together scholars from Asia, Africa, and Latin America for the first time in this way. This gathering was a meaningful space of exchange among Global South scholars and an important contribution toward our global Assembly in July. As a member of the Global South myself, I am deeply proud of this initiative and sincerely thank the three organizers who have led it—Prof. Thinandavha Derrick Mashau (IAMS Africa), Prof. Joaquim Andrade (IAMS Latin America), and Prof. Fides del Castillo (IAMS Asia)—for their vision, dedication, and collaborative spirit.

This South-to-South gathering embodies the very vision I hoped to nurture when I began my presidency in 2022. It reminded me once again of the values that have guided my leadership—values centered on accessibility. For me, this means three things in particular:

First, accessibility for emerging scholars.
I have long hoped that young and emerging voices would be heard more fully within IAMS. This desire is closely linked to financial accessibility. I hope that scholars from the Global South, as well as emerging scholars living in the Global North, will continue to receive support so that participation in IAMS gatherings becomes increasingly possible. With this in mind, I have worked diligently to raise scholarship funds during my term, and I am happy to share that applications for conference scholarships for paper presenters will open in March.

Second, accessibility across languages.
English has become our common academic language, yet for many of us it is not our mother tongue, and sometimes this creates feelings of marginality. Over the past year, the development of new AI translation tools has helped lower some of these barriers; I see this as a surprising and promising development. While I am well aware of the concerns surrounding the rapid advancement of AI, this is also a matter that calls for deeper theological reflection on how technology shapes our communication and understanding of mission. I hope that we will continue to explore ways for multilingual participation so that linguistic difference never becomes a barrier to scholarly contribution.

Third, accessibility through communication.
I dreamed that IAMS would deepen communication both internally and externally. I am therefore delighted that last year we launched a new IAMS website. I also hope that, in time, we will strengthen our communication through social media and other forms of digital engagement, helping our global fellowship stay more closely connected.

Now, as 2026 unfolds, I pray that this year may be one of renewed hope and fresh beginnings for each of you in your research, ministries, communities, and personal lives. May God’s gracious presence guide us as we continue walking together in mission.

I am deeply thankful for every colleague, friend, and companion in IAMS. Serving as your President has been a gift and a privilege. I look forward to meeting many of you in South Africa as together we participate in God’s mission with humility, courage, and joy.

With gratitude and warm New Year blessings,

Bokyoung Park

President, International Association for Mission Studies (IAMS)
Professor of Missiology, Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary, South Korea

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