Distinguished Alumni 2015
Asbury Theological Seminary is pleased to announce that Dr. David Persons has been selected as the Seminary’s Outstanding Alumnus for 2015.
The son of missionaries, David was born in Nashville, TN and raised in the former Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). While a student at Asbury College (now University), David felt the call of God to follow in his father’s footsteps as a missionary. He graduated from Asbury College with a BA in French, history, and secondary education and from Asbury Seminary with the MA in Biblical Studies. Both institutions are in Wilmore, KY. David also holds the MDiv, the ThM in Missiology, and the PhD in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. He is an ordained member of the California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
David served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War and as an inner-city minister at Christ Center in Lexington, KY. He was also the associate pastor for three years at First United Methodist Church in Canon City, Colorado.
David and his wife, Lori, who also grew up in the Belgian Congo, served as United Methodist missionaries in the Congo beginning in 1979. In 2013, he officially retired from serving as Dean and Professor of Biblical Studies and Missions at what is now the School of Theology of Katanga Methodist University in Mulungwishi, Katanga. David and Lori officially retired in 2013, and since then, they have been returning to Congo 6 months out of the year as United Methodist Volunteers in Mission, continuing their work in training pastors and their wives for ministry.
We pray that your ministry will continue to produce Disciples of Jesus. Hope we can see you face to face . Love Jim
May God bless Parker’s family ministry. Prayers and blessings from the Island of Java, Indonesia.
Congratulations, Percy!
I have fond memories of working with you one summer at Christ Center. I was pleased to see you off to Viet Nam from Ft. Lewis, and so pleased to know you made it back and had such profitable ministry for our Lord.
What fun, and how appropriate, to see David receive this honor! We met David and Lori in the 1990’s when we served in Zambia, and our kids attended school together. We have fond memories of the Persons family, and their service for our Lord.
Barb and Pat Bennett