Rev Dr Kevin Hovey
Senior Lecturer in Cross-Cultural Ministry; Fellow of ACKevin Hovey is Senior Lecturer in Cross-Cultural Ministry, and a Fellow of Alphacrucis University College. He has been an ordained minister of the Australian Christian Churches for more than 50 years (since 1973).
Starting with 31 years as a missionary in Papua New Guinea, Kev's ministry was focused on developing and training local leaders. This ranged from church planting and informal mentoring of leaders in remote villages to developing Bible college structures and curriculum. He also developed the internationally recognised World Harvest Institute “missionary finishing program”. For his service as consultant to the National Executive Council of the Assemblies of God of Papua New Guinea, Kev was recognised by the Papua New Guinea government with the Member of Logohu award, presented "for service to the community and the Assemblies of God Church." Since returning to Australia from Post Papua New Guinea, he has remained engaged in missionary leadership, missionary strategy and missionary training, with a particular focus on seeing mission outworked through local churches and through trained field personnel.
Kev completed a Master of Arts in Missiology at Fuller Theological Seminary and a PhD at Alphacrucis. His publications include the 2019 book, Guiding Light: Contributions of Alan R. Tippett Toward the Development and Dissemination of Twentieth Century Missiology. He also serves as the Oceania representative on the Pentecostal World Fellowship’s World Missions Commission, with member denominations representing approximately 100 million Pentecostal Christians.
In 2023 he was named a Fellow of Alphacrucis University College in recognition of his distinguished contribution to AC's vision and mission.
Kevin is a member of the Interculturality, Interfaith and Mission research cluster.
Qualifications
PhD (Alphacrucis College)
Dissertation Title Guiding Light: Contributions of Alan R. Tippett Toward the Development and Dissemination of Twentieth Century Missiology
2017
Master of Arts in Missiology (School of World Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary)
Dissertation Title A Manual for Cross Cultural Christians
1983
Diploma in Biblical Studies (Southern Cross College) 1997
Research Interests
Missions, missiology, missionary training, contextualization, Pentecostal ministry in global contexts
Books
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2019
- Hovey, K G (2019). Guiding Light: Contributions of Alan R. Tippett Toward the Development and Dissemination of Twentieth Century Missiology. Pickwick Publications. | AC Link
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1995
- Hovey, Kevin G (1995). Before All Else Fails Read the Instructions: A Manual for Cross Cultural Christians (2nd Edition). Harvest Publications. | External link
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1992
- Hovey, Kevin G (1992). Tok Welkam long Holi Spirit (Saying Welcome to the Holy Spirit). Assemblies Publications.
Book Chapters
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2015
- Tippett, A. R., Priest, D (2015). The Integrating Gospel and The Christian: Fiji 1835-67 In Foreword, The Integrating Gospel, (pp. ix-x). William Carey Library. | External link
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2012
- Hamalainen, A, McClung, G, (et al) (2012). Together in One Mission: Pentecostal Cooperation in World Evangelization In , (pp. ). .
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1991
- Hovey, Kevin G (1991). A Living Tapestry In , Invading Paradise: Inspiring Stories of the AOG Missionaries in Papua New Guinea (pp. Pages 53 - 56). AOG World Missions.
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1987
- Havea, Sione 'Amanaki, Et Al. (1987). South Pacific Theology: Papers from the Consultation on Pacific Theology, Papua New Guinea, January 1986 In Hovey, Kevin G, Christian living in Papua New Guinea : some problems and solutions (pp. ). Regnum.
Journal Articles
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2024
- Winchester, R., Hovey, K., & Luetz, J.M.(2024). A Future Agenda for Research on In-Service Theological Training in Thailand and Beyond.. International Review of Mission, 113(1) 92-114.
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2014
- Hovey, Kevin George (2014). Alan Tippett: Australian Missiologist. Australian Journal of Missions Studies, Volume 8 Number 2 pages 30 - 33.
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1983
- Hovey, Kevin G (1983). Towards Effective Ministry in Cargo Endemic Areas. Point, No 2: Religious Movements in Melanesia Today Pages 115 - 129.
Presentations
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2021
- A Christian response to The Sydney Statement (2021), Australian Association of Mission Studies NSW, Sydney, Australia, 26 Mar 2021
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2015
- SWM-SIS Innovations in Light of the Legacy of Alan Tippett (2015), Fuller School of Intercultural Studies 50th Anniversary Celebration and Missiology Lectures, Los Angeles, USA, 23 Oct 2015
- Cross Cultural Training Seminar (2015), Training Weekend, Life Church Parramatta, 14 Mar 2015
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2014
- Orality in Pentecostal Churches (2014), Bookends Conference - ”Bookends – learning and sharing faith in a YouTube world”, SMBC Sydney, 31 May 2014
Engagement Publications
Journal Articles
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1990
- Hovey, Kevin G (1990). Pentecostal Churches in Papua New Guinea. Catalyst: Social Pastoral Magazine for Melanesia, 20 (1) 63-71.
Professional Memberships
American Sociaty of Missiology (since 2017)
American Society of Missiology (since 1979)
Associate Field Team, Australian Christian Churches International (since 2011)
Australian Association of Mission Studies (since 2004)
International Association of Mission Studies (since 2019)
Current Supervision
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Current
- Coenradi, R, A Study of an Islamic Boarding School (Pesantren) Network in Indonesia : Patterns of Belief, Religious Practice and Identity. (PhD thesis)
- Sue, W, Ancestral practices and their implications for the Christian church (PhD thesis)
- Onyait, S, Mission as Transformation: An Analysis of the Role of Pentecostal Churches in Engendering Holistic transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa with Reference to Kenya and Uganda from 1980 to 2019 (PhD thesis)
- Elsayed, Y, Mystical Connections and Constructive Interreligious Dialogue: A Comparative Study of Mystical Experiences and Practices in Sufism and Pentecostalism. (PhD thesis)
- Winchester, R, Developing Transformational Pentecostal Leaders in Chiang Mai Province, Northern Thailand: A Model for In-Service Leadership Training (PhD thesis)
- Klar, M, A study of missiology and missionary work in Thailand (DMin thesis)
Completed Supervision
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2024
- Odion, O, The Pentecostal Phenomenon: An Examination of Factors Contributing to the Growth, Expansion, and Influence of Pentecostal Churches in Nigeria from 1998 to 2018 (DMin thesis)
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2023
- Seetahal, K, An Exploration Of The Influence Which Governmental And Multilateral Donor Organizations Have On The Poverty Alleviation Methods Of Christian Faith-Based Organizations (PhD thesis)
- Matthew Tinker, Relationship Dynamics Between Missionaries, Mission Agencies and Supporting Churches in Fulfilling the Great Commission (Masters Project/Thesis)
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2022
- TambyRajah, A, Examining the impact of the initial conversion experience of a person professing their faith in Christ on the conversion-discipleship-continuum, with an application to the ACC movement. (Masters Project/Thesis)
- Gallagher, L, Discipleship models for the (post-)Islamic Church in Indonesia (Masters Project/Thesis)
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2020
- Yasmin Elsayed, Model strategies to overcome the communication barriers between the Pentecostal church and the first-generation Muslims in Australia. (Masters Project/Thesis)
- Daniel Ofori, Transitioning Monoethnic Churches: Movement of Monoethnic Migrant Pentecostal Churches to Multiethnic Congregations in Western Sydney (Masters Project/Thesis)
- Jason Kelaart, Millennials and Baby Bombers in Urban Australia: Uniquely Effective Spiritual Formation Strategies (Masters Project/Thesis)
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2019
- Ives, J., What approaches could overcome identified common obstacles faced by church planters within Australian capital cities in the early 21st Century? (Masters Project/Thesis)
- Gary Barnier, The Church and the Disabled Community: A Missiological Approach (Masters Project/Thesis)
- Brian Siawarta, Making the Modern Contemporary Church (CC) Model Suitable in Outreach to the Millenial Muslims (MM) of Jakarta, Indonesia (Masters Project/Thesis)
- Wolfgang Sue, Ancestral Rites and its Implications for the Christian Faith (Masters Project/Thesis)
- Kavish Seetahal, A Path to End Poverty: The Christian Response (Masters Project/Thesis)
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2018
- Wirawan, C., Creating an evangelistic culture in a local church (Masters Project/Thesis)
- Addisalem, T., Effective Church Model for Australian Ethnic Churches from non-English Speaking Backgrounds (Masters Project/Thesis)
- Zheng, C.T., Ministry Approaches in Chinese Collectivism (Masters Project/Thesis)
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2017
- Catherine Fuertes, : What are some current challenges young family households face in their discipleship and what discipleship approaches exist to equip these families and address those challenges? (Masters Project/Thesis)
- Jacinda Wing, What is the most effective way to engage and support an individual to achieve & maintain the required change to fulfil their goal/s? (Masters Project/Thesis)
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2016
- Botta, R., Are the key elements of Discipleship effectively described by the following four elements, Character; Spiritual Life; Skills and Theology? (Masters Project/Thesis)
- Lee, S., Reflection on a twenty-five year journey as an ethnic service pastor (Masters Project/Thesis)
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2015
- Kollie, V., Leadership & Community Change (Masters Project/Thesis)
- Patterson, P., How to Successfully Plant New Churches in Rural Sri Lanka (Masters Project/Thesis)
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2014
- Esera, I., Is it possible that the same cultural and historical elements that aided the spread of Christianity and church growth in and through Samoa, could subsequently become barriers to the influence of Christianity in and through Samoan churches planted outside (Masters Project/Thesis)
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2010
- Gerrard, D., Discuss why church planting in urban centres is relevant today and how missionary church planting approaches should be part of that process. In particular, that will cover a way a missionary analyses the local culture, and then plants churches that engage (Masters Project/Thesis)