A Gathering of Wesleyan-Tradition Theology Scholars at Duke Divinity School
The Christmas Conference of 1784 at Lovely Lane Chapel marked the beginning of Methodism as a denomination in America. For A Foundation for Theological Education (AFTE), their annual Christmas Conference (held in January to allow clergy to attend) serves as a reminder of this Methodist genesis and is a time of revitalization for the John Wesley and Harry Denman Fellows.
The 2025 Christmas Conference gathered these clergy scholars for inspirational speaking centered on the celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed with the theme “Celebrating the Ancient-Future Faith.” Fellows gathered at Duke Divinity School, marking the first time in roughly fifteen years that the group had convened there. The gathering brought together scholars, ministry leaders, and current fellows committed to strengthening the church through academic excellence and faithful Christian witness.
Rev. Dr. Jack Jackson, president of The Foundation for Evangelism and a Harry Denman Fellow himself, attended the conference, underscoring the long-standing partnership between the Foundation and AFTE. Both organizations invest in developing leaders who see their academic work as inseparable from the life and mission of the church. AFTE provides funds and manages The John Wesley Fellowships, while the Foundation for Evangelism funds and selects candidates for the Harry Denman Fellowships. Both fellowship programs work together to encourage future academics who see their work as rooted in the church and who want to help the Church thrive. Both groups of fellows are people who want to train future gospel leaders who will serve the church and Jesus Christ faithfully and humbly.
Jack reflected that, “While the John Wesley Fellowships fund people across the spectrum of disciplines, The Foundation for Evangelism offers the Denman Fellowships to scholars who specifically want to teach evangelism.”
Harry Denman Fellows have gone on to teach in seminaries and schools of theology around the U.S. as well as provide evangelistic leadership for Wesleyan-tradition churches and organizations. Among those who attended the Christmas Conference were Creighton Alexander (Houston Christian University, University UMC), Brian Yeich (World Methodist Evangelism), Wendy Mohler-Seib (Friends University), Alma Tinoco-Ruiz (Duke Divinity School), Rob Haynes (Christ Wesleyan Church), Kim Reisman (World Methodist Evangelism), and Jack Jackson.
Dr. Alma Tinoco-Ruiz was part of the leadership of the conference and provided a morning devotional. She later shared,
“I am deeply grateful for the community the Christmas Conference provides. The time we share together continues to shape and influence my work with students and ministry in my community. This year, I had the joy of reconnecting with old friends and building new relationships. It was especially meaningful to leave the conference with emerging collaborations among fellow John Wesley Fellows. These partnerships are centered on creating opportunities for my students to continue learning ways to proclaim the gospel grounded in love, integrity, cultural humility, and genuine relationships in both ministry and daily life. I am sincerely thankful to the Foundation for supporting my fellowship, and it is a gift to know that other Denman Fellows are working toward this same shared purpose.”
Evangelism and academia may seem worlds apart, but the Harry Denman Fellows teaching in seminaries, schools of theology, and beyond, bridge the divide to train gospel leaders who will be a Christian witness to the world.
A Foundation for Theological Education (AFTE)’s Christmas Conference carries out its mission is to create, support and nurture a fellowship of transformational scholars committed to renewal in the Church and the advancement of the Kingdom of God. They carry out this mission through the John Wesley Fellowship scholar-leader program. Candidates for these fellowships embody leadership skills as thoughtful scholar-teach-leaders to provide the Church with First-rate scholars trained in the classical Wesleyan tradition to fill faculty and leadership positions in higher education, the church and related institutions. To learn more about AFTE go to https://johnwesleyfellows.org/.
