Joanne Pepper, PhD

Associate Professor of Intercultural Religious Studies; Coordinator, Intercultural Religious Studies

Dr. Joanne Pepper was raised in the Kootenay region of British Columbia but has lived and worked in numerous cross-cultural contexts including Latin America, Southeast Asia and the former Soviet Union. Together with her husband, she currently serves in a Spanish-speaking church for Latino migrant workers. Joanne loves travel, nature, photography, swimming, and running. She is also a long-suffering fan of the Vancouver Canucks!

  • PhD, Social History (University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom)
  • Nivel Inicial, Diploma de Espanol como Lengua Estranjera (Ministerio de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte; University of Salamanca, Spain)
  • Certificate, Portuguese Language Proficiency II (Universidade de Lisboa. Lisbon, Portugal)
  • Master of Arts, Cross-Cultural Studies (Fuller Theological Seminary. Pasadena, California, USA)
  • Certificate, Teaching English as a Second Language (William Carey International University. Pasadena, California, USA)
  • Bachelor of Arts, Social Sciences (Southern California College. Costa Mesa, California, USA)
  • Diploma, Bible and Theology (Western Pentecostal Bible College. Abbotsford, B.C., Canada)

Expertise

Biblical book studies; Cross-cultural communication; Contextualization and culture change; Global theologies; Mission issues in Eastern Europe; Mission issues in Latin America; New religious movements; Teaching English as a second language (TESL), Women and the Bible/Theology; Women in the developing world; World Religions and Christianity.

Awards & Honours

  • Word Guild Award: Canadian Christian Writing, Non-Fiction Books, Culture (Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2019), chapter “God and the City” in The Untold Story: The Church in Surrey & White Rock (SWR Publishing, 2018).
  • Rooted & Reaching Faculty Award (Trinity Western University, Langley, B.C., Canada, 2016) - Contribution to the life of the university and, equally committed service to ministries and agencies in the wider non-university community.
  • Davis Distinguished Teaching Award (Trinity Western University. Langley, B.C., Canada, 2003)
  • Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada Small Grants - “Canadian Indigenous Communities and the Formation of Local Theologies”
  • Rotary International Foundation Fellowship: On-site research about women of poverty in the Brazilian states of Pernambuco, Paraiba and Ceará.

Recent Publications

Selected Research & Publications:

  • “Do Missionaries Destroy Culture?”
    in Narry F. Santos and Mark Naylor, eds., Mission and Evangelism in a Secularizing World, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2019
  • “God and the City”
    in John Redekopp & Lloyd Mackey, eds., The Untold Story: The Church in Surrey & White Rock, SWR Publishing, 2018.
  • “Contrastive Means of Theologizing in Western and Majority World Contexts”
    in Engaging Theological Education, Evangelical Missiological Society, Dallas, Texas, 2017.
  • “Power, Honour & Forgiveness: Global Perspectives on Salvation”, MFI, Vancouver, B.C. 2016
  • “A Christian Perspective on Cultural Anthropology”.
    in Deane Downey, “Cross”ing the Academy: Christian World View Thinking and the Academic Disciplines”, McMaster Press, 2009.
  • “Send the Fire: Social and Spiritual constructs among Canadian Pentecostal Youth”
    In Northern Light: Youth Culture in Canada & Around the World , Wilfred Laurier University Press, 2003.
  • “Women: A Catalyst for Pentecostal Church Growth in Northeastern Brazil”,
    in To The Ends of the Earth, SPS, Wheaton, Illinois, 1993.
  • Practice in English Phonetics for Students of Economics.
    Ministry of Education of Ukraine. Dnepropetrovsk, 1998.
  • Methodic Directions and Exercises for Texts in Area Studies concerning Canada: For
    Undergraduate and Graduate Students.
    Ministry of Education of Ukraine. Dnepropetrovsk: 1998.
  • Innovative Approaches to Teaching the English Language.
    Ministry of Education of Ukraine. Dnepropetrovsk: National Mining Academy of Ukraine, 1998.
  • “Music and Language Acquisition in the Adult ESL Classroom”, TESL Canada Journal, 1998.
  • “Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?”, Trinity Western, Vol. 9, No. 1. Spring 2004.
  • “Just One Word” The Missions Fest Standard, (Vol 3: No 1), February 2003.
  • “The 10/40 Window: Challenges and Opportunities”
    in B.C. Christian News, January 2000, p. 10.
  • “Reflections on Reality, East and West”,
    in The Gospel in Culture: People Groups, Values and the Kingdom of God , MFI, Vancouver, B.C., 1997.
  • “World Christian or Worldly Christian?”, in Resource: The National Leadership
    Magazine (Vol. 10: No. 5), May-June 1996.

Affiliations & Memberships

  • Association of B.C. Teachers of English as an Additional Language (TEAL)
  • Evangelical Missiological Society
    Interaction (Association for International Educators). Vancouver, B.C., Canada
  • Society for Pentecostal Studies

Undergraduate Courses:

  • ANTH 101 Introduction to Anthropology
  • COMM 302 Cross-Cultural Communication
  • EDUC 368 Introduction to Teaching English as a Second Language
  • LDRS 240 The Gospel of Luke
  • LDRS 375 Culture and Christianity
  • LING 319 Issues in TESOL and Missions
  • RELS 110 Introduction to Christianity
  • RELS 250 New Testament Book Study
  • RELS 271 Western World Religions
  • RELS 272 Eastern World Religions
  • RELS 380 Cross-cultural Practicum
  • RELS 384 Religion, Contextualization & Culture Change
  • RELS 386 Global Theologies
  • RELS 460 Issues and Trends in Missions
  • RELS 475 Christianity and Culture
  • RELS 488 Special topics in Missiology
  • SOCI 252 Contemporary Social Issues

Graduate Courses:

  • BIE 500 Introduction to the Bible
  • CCM 660 Dynamics of Cross-Cultural Ministry
  • CCM 661 The Church and World Mission
  • CCM 662 Issues in Mission History and Theology
  • CCM 665 Missiological Perspectives on Globalization
  • CCM 667 Intercultural and Interpersonal Adjustments
  • CCM 669 Urban Mission
  • CCM 691 The Gospel of John in Global Contexts
  • CCM 695 Integration and Practicum
  • CCM 810 Graduating Essay
  • HIS 690 History of Pentecostalism
  • THS 614 Global Theologies
  • THS 680 Christianity and Culture
  • THS 743 World Faiths & the Gospel