Assistant Professor of Evangelism and Holistic Ministry

Ph.D. (Missiology): Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California
M.A. (Church Leadership Studies): Vanguard University of Southern California, Costa Mesa, CA
B.A.: Vanguard University of Southern California

Evangelism, church renewal, compassion, justice, and mission-subjects I teach-may sound 'old school' to postmodern ears. Still, to work with students to understand both the intellectual and the practical impact of the old, old Story upon a desperately needy world is what gets me up in the morning.

A native of the Philippines, Dr. Al Tizon is a licensed minister in the Evangelical Covenant Church who from 2001 till 2006 served as lead pastor at Berkeley Covenant Church in Berkeley, CA. He is the author of Transformation after Lausanne: Radical Evangelical Mission in Global-Local Perspective (Regnum 2008) and co-author of the upcoming book, Linking Arms, Linking Lives: How Urban-Suburban Partnerships Can Transform Communities (Baker Books 2008).

Al has extensive experience as a missionary and community organizer, primarily in the Philippines with Action International Ministries from 1989 to 1998. From 1993-98, he served as the founding director of LIGHT Ministries, a Filipino community development organization committed to helping churches engage in holistic ministry among the poor.

In addition to teaching, Al serves as the Director of Word and Deed Network, a ministry of Evangelicals for Social Action/Sider Center that derives its name from Matthew 9:35 and is dedicated (as with LIGHT in the Philippines] to equipping and empowering local congregations to do holistic ministry in their communities. Al is a member of the American Society of Missiology; the Academy of Evangelism in Theological Education; and the Institute for the Studies in Asian Church and Culture.