We would like to welcome Dr. Gideon Petersen and his wife, Pamela, to AIIAS. Dr. Petersen joins the Department of Applied Theology at the Seminary.
Thirty years ago, Dr. Petersen and Pamela left Cape Town to work as pioneer missionaries to plant a church among the OvaHimba in North-Western Namibia. The challenges Dr. Petersen faced working amongst a nomadic, oral society ignited a life long journey of research and strategizing for missions among resistant, unreached people groups. His passion is frontline mission practice amongst hard to reach peoples. He enjoys investing in people and helping new groups develop and grow spiritually. Having wrestled with the difficult challenges of reaching nomadic peoples, secular people, and oral societies, Dr. Petersen brings the practical experience of asking the difficult questions to help make Christianity relevant to disinterested, resistant people. People who have rejected biblical Christianity.
While in Namibia, Dr. Petersen completed his PhD in Missiology with the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa (in 2011). Dr. Petersen worked with Adventist Frontier Missions as a consultant, assisting missionaries in the field develop strategy for missions. He worked at Universite Adventiste Zurcher in Madagascar as Academic Dean (2013-2015) and President (2015-2019). Most recently, he was a district pastor, strategizing to reignite the church in Northern Ireland amongst the indigenous people (2020-2024). Since 2018, Dr. Petersen taught as an adjunct professor at the Adventist University of Africa, Nairobi, Kenya.
Pamela worked with Dr. Petersen while in Namibia, developing material and managing community projects. At Adventist Frontier Missions, she worked as a consultant in the Missionary training department. At Universite Adventiste Zurcher, she was Dean of the Communications Department and taught a variety of subjects. In Northern Ireland, she managed Home-Start Causeway, a charity helping families with children under 5 years. She will be working in the Public Relations office at AIIAS.
Dr. Petersen’s hobbies are reading, listening to TED talks and playing volleyball, pickleball and squash. Pamela’s hobbies are gardening and crafts.
Serving people and helping them reach their full potential, is a core value for Dr. Petersen. We know that AIIAS will be blessed as they serve at AIIAS.
