Ruth Padilla DeBorst (’16) joins Western Theological Seminary

Dr. Ruth Padilla DeBorst will be joining the faculty of Western Theological Seminary beginning in the 2022-2023 academic year to serve as the Richard C. Oudersluys Associate Professor of World Christianity. 

Dr. Padilla DeBorst is a renowned practitioner, teacher, and speaker with decades of experience in ministry throughout Latin America through organizations such as the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), and Latin American Theological Fellowship. She has served the worldwide church through World Vision International, Resonate Global Mission (of the Christian Reformed Church of North America), and the International Fellowship for Mission as Transformation (INFEMIT), among others.

She has served on boards and councils ranging from the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization Latin America, A Rocha International, and the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies to the International Justice Mission and the American Society of Missiology.  

Dr. Padilla DeBorst has also served as president of the Centro de Estudios Interdisciplinarios (CETI), dedicated to providing theological education to pastors and lay Christians throughout Latin America. In addition to her academic leadership, she has taught numerous courses through CETI as well as for theological schools throughout North America. 

She earned her Ph.D from the School of Theology with concentrations in missiology and social ethics.