AIIAS welcomes Dr. Ermela “Maila” T. Dizon, who joined the Applied Theology department full-time as an assistant professor beginning August 1, 2023.
Maila Dizon comes from the Philippines. She graduated from Philippine Union College (now the Adventist University of the Philippines) with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and a Bachelor of Arts in History & Philosophy of Religion. She earned her Master of Arts in Ministry with an emphasis on Islamic Studies from AIIAS in 2014 under the “Big 4” program, which was designed to train front-liners or trainers of front-liners for cross-cultural ministry. She recently completed her Doctor of Missiology degree from Andrews University in Michigan, USA, in August 2023. Her dissertation was entitled “Understanding Secularized People of Metro Manila: A Case Study for a Contextualized Urban Ministry Strategy.” Dr. Dizon’s research interests include missions, urban ministry, church planting, and discipleship.
An experienced frontliner in mission work, Dizon has served with Philippine Frontier Missions (PFM), an Adventist supporting ministry. She served as the executive director from 2007-2013, as a consultant from 2014-2015, and again as the part-time executive director from 2016-2018.
Dizon is experienced in leadership, management, and administration. She was heavily involved in training for church planting and mentoring missionaries. Additionally, she worked as the editor of PFM’s publication from 2008-2018. In the field of academia, she taught as a contract instructor for the College of Theology at the Adventist University of the Philippines (AUP) from 2016-2018, and as an instructor for Applied Theology courses for AIIAS Online from 2017-2022. She also served as the administrative secretary for the AIIAS Seminary dean for a year.
Maila is married to Dr. Abner Dizon, DMiss, a former AIIAS Seminary faculty member who serves as the Director for Inter-Faith Services for Muslim, Secular and Postmodern Ministries at the Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD). Since 2015 the Dizons have co-authored numerous publications together on topics such as discipleship, evangelism, church planting, Bible studies for Muslims, and mission work.
The Dizons are blessed with two sons, both students at AUP. Jon Nevin (27) is finishing his Master of Public Health degree, and Abe Taylor (25) is a student in the university’s dentistry program.
— Sharnie Love Zamora, AIIAS Assistant for Institutional Writing
