Samuel Escobar

Samuel Escobar
Born
Juan Samuel Escobar Aguirre

(1934-11-28)November 28, 1934
Arequipa, Peru
DiedApril 29, 2025(2025-04-29) (aged 90)
Valencia, Spain
Education
Occupations
  • Theologian
  • missiologist
  • educator
  • author
Years active1959–2025
Known forFounding the Latin American Theological Fellowship; pioneer of integral mission; leader of the Lausanne Movement and IFES
Notable work
  • In Search of Christ in Latin America (2019)
  • The New Global Mission (2003)
  • Time for Mission (1999)
  • People in Mission (2021)
Spouses
Lily Artola
​
​
(m. 1958; died 2015)​
Children2
Awards
  • Honorary President, IFES
  • President, United Bible Societies (1996–2004)
  • President, American Society of Missiology (2002)

Juan Samuel Escobar Aguirre (28 November 1934 – 29 April 2025) was a Peruvian evangelical theologian, missiologist, educator, and author. He co-founded the Latin American Theological Fellowship and wrote extensively on mission, Latin American theology, and the relationship between evangelism and social responsibility.

Early life and education

Escobar was born on 28 November 1934 in Arequipa, Peru. He was raised in the Evangelical Church of Peru.

In 1951, he began his studies of Arts and Education at the National University of San Marcos in Lima. That year, he was baptized by M. David Oates, a Southern Baptist missionary from the United States. While there, he encountered Marxist and existentialist thought. He was also influenced by the theology and practice of evangelical revivalism. In 1957, Escobar graduated with a degree in pedagogy. Nine years later, Escobar moved to Spain and earned his doctorate cum laude at the Complutense University of Madrid.

Career

Escobar joined the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) in 1959, with which he worked in Peru, Argentina, Brazil, and Spain. From 1972 to 1975, he worked as General Director of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Canada. He returned to Latin America to continue his work with IFES and build indigenous theological networks.

In 1970, following the first Congreso Latinoamericano de Evangelización (CLADE I) in Bogotá, Escobar co-founded the Fraternidad Teológica Latinoamericana (FTL), serving as its president until 1984. The FTL brought together Latin American evangelical theologians and promoted theological work developed within the region.

From 1985 to 2005, Escobar was Thornley B. Wood Professor of Missiology at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now Palmer Theological Seminary) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. He was also adjunct professor at Eastern University and later a consultant on theological education for the American Baptist Churches USA.

Personal life and death

Escobar married Lily Artola in 1958, and they had two children together. He was widowered on 26 February 2015. He died in Valencia, Spain on 29 April 2025, at the age of 90.

International influence

Escobar participated in several international evangelical congresses, including:

At Lausanne 1974, Escobar criticized North American evangelicalism for prioritizing personal salvation over structural justice. He urged evangelicals to pursue "holistic mission" by addressing social, political, and economic realities.

Theological views

Escobar argued that Christian mission should include both evangelism and social responsibility. He criticized forms of missionary work that treated Latin American churches as dependent on North American or European leadership and advocated the development of theology and church leadership within Latin America.

Honors and later career

Escobar was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1979. He served as President of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students from 1995 to 2003 and President of the United Bible Societies from 1996 to 2004.

He was professor emeritus at Palmer Theological Seminary and a contributing editor to the International Bulletin of Mission Research.

In 2019 Escobar received the American Society of Missiology Lifetime Achievement Award.

Escobar's papers are housed and preserved at the Wheaton College Archives and Special Collections.

Selected works

Escobar authored more than twenty books, including:

See also

Notes

References

  1. ↑ Padilla, René (2010). "Samuel Escobar: Theological Mission in Context". International Bulletin of Missionary Research. 34 (4): 195–200.
  2. ↑ Escobar, Samuel (2003). The New Global Mission. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 9780830877836.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Swartz, David R. (2012). "Samuel Escobar and the Global Reflex". Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 113–134. doi:10.9783/9780812207682.113.
  4. ↑ Escobar, Samuel (2019). In Search of Christ in Latin America. IVP Academic. ISBN 9780830889914.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Iacomini, Franco (1 May 2025). "Died: Samuel Escobar, Who Saw Evangelism and Social Action as Inseparable". Christianity Today.
  6. ↑ González, Justo L. (2021). A History of Latin American Theology. Abingdon Press.
  7. 1 2 3 "Introducing the Samuel Escobar Papers". From the Vault – Wheaton Archives & Special Collections. 25 September 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "J. Samuel Escobar". Palmer Theological Seminary. Archived from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  9. ↑ Stott, John (1982). Issues Facing Christians Today. Zondervan.
  10. ↑ Salinas, Daniel (2009). Latin American Evangelical Theology in the 1970s: The Golden Decade. Brill. pp. 83–120.
  11. ↑ "Celebrating the life of Lily Artola de Escobar, wife of INFEMIT friend, Samuel Escobar". INFEMIT. 1 March 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  12. ↑ Cristiano, Diario (29 April 2025). "Samuel Escobar, Latin American theologian and missions leader, dies at 90". Christian Daily International.
  13. ↑ "Samuel Escobar" (in Spanish).
  14. ↑ Escobar, Samuel (1975). "Evangelism and Man's Search for Freedom, Justice, and Fulfillment". Lausanne Occasional Papers.
  15. 1 2 Kirkpatrick, David C. (2019). A Gospel for the Poor: Global Social Christianity and the Latin American Evangelical Left. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 15–32.
  16. ↑ Moreau, Scott (2000). Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions. Baker Academic.
  17. ↑ Padilla DeBorst, Ruth (2020). "ASM Lifetime Achievement Award 2019: Dr. J. Samuel Escobar Aguirre". Missiology: An International Review. 48 (1): 94–95. doi:10.1177/0091829619897426.