David J. Hesselgrave, PhD

David J. Hesselgrave is professor emeritus of mission at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He began teaching at Trinity in 1965 and retired in 1991. Though retired, he continues an active schedule of speaking and writing.

Dr. Hesselgrave spent five years in pastoral ministry before going as a missionary with the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) to Japan for twelve years. When he returned from the mission field, he taught for three years at the University of Minnesota before coming to Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. While at Trinity, he served for fourteen years as the chairman of the Mission and Evangelism Department. He has also taught at Evangelical Theological College in Hong Kong and Asian Theological Seminary in Manilla.

Dr. Hesselgrave earned the Doctor of Philosophy in rhetoric and public address with an emphasis in cross-cultural communication from the University of Minnesota; the Master of Arts in speech and the Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from the University of Minnesota; and the diploma from Trinity Theological Seminary.

Dr. Hesselgrave's areas of expertise include cross-cultural communication, world religions, cross-cultural counseling, church planting, and the theology of mission. He is a member of the EFCA Ministerial Association, the American Society of Missiology, and the Evangelical Missiological Society; he served as executive director of the Evangelical Missiological Society from 1991-1994. He has lectured and led seminars in more than forty countries in the world.

Dr. Hesselgrave's publications include many articles, books, and multi-media presentations. Among his book titles are Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally (Zondervan 1978), Contextualization - Meanings, Methods, and Models (with Edward Rommen) (Baker 1989), Counseling Cross-Culturally: An Introduction to Theory and Practice (Baker 1984), and Planting Churches Cross-Culturally (Baker 1980). His most recent book, Scripture and Strategy (William Carey Library 1994), is the first in a series of volumes in association with the Evangelical Missiological Society.

Dr. Hesselgrave and his wife, Gertrude, reside in Rockford, Illinois. They have three grown children. In his spare time, Dr. Hesselgrave enjoys music and photography.