Turner Named Director of Global Mobilization

Dr. Joy Turner has been named director of global mobilization at OBU. She returned to her alma mater to join the university's campus ministry staff in August.

In her role on Bison Hill, Turner will provide leadership, training and management of short- and long-term outreach efforts, both local and global, by OBU students, faculty and staff. Each year, OBU sponsors mission endeavors enabling students to engage a diverse world.

Turner earned a bachelor's degree in religion from OBU in 1987. She earned a master's degree with a concentration in missions and evangelism from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. She also earned her doctorate in missions and evangelism from Southwestern Seminary. Her doctoral project researched the response of different cultures to the communication of the Gospel. It was titled "One Size Doesn't Fit All: Discerning the Effects of Culture on the Evangelization of International Students at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu."

"Joy Turner is an award-winning North American Mission Board missionary with 19 years of experience," said Dale Griffin, dean of spiritual life for OBU. "She brings a fresh passion for mobilizing students to go to the nations. Her clear and well-trained eye envisions OBU students engaging the nations at home and abroad. I am thrilled to work with such a valuable team member. Dr. Turner's years of experience working with large numbers of international students has uniquely prepared her for the task at hand."

Since 1992, Turner has served as a NAMB missionary in the role of director of international ministries for the Oahu Baptist Network in Hawaii. She developed relationships with state Baptist convention personnel, network personnel, the Baptist churches on Oahu, state university personnel and other Christian groups ministering to international students at the University of Hawaii Manoa. She recruited volunteers from Baptist churches to teach conversational English to 40 students each week and to prepare and serve meals to 180-240 students each week. She also mentored one to four short-term/semester missionaries each year. The most time-consuming aspect of Turner's missionary service included the day-to-day ministry to international students and their families.

Turner's specialized education includes Continuing Witness Training; Developing and Managing People Training; PLACE Training; English as a Second Language/Conversational English; Critical Incident Stress Management Training; and Coach Training. She has served as a member of the Continuing Education Conference Planning Committee and as prayer coordinator for the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention and the Honolulu-Windward Baptist Association. She has served as a missions volunteer to Chicago, Los Angeles, Trinidad-Tobago and Czechoslovakia.

Turner is a member of the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors. In 2010, she received the Pono Award for Excellence in Ministry, presented by the Hawaii Baptist Foundation for 18 years of work in Hawaii. In 2001, she received the M.E. and Myrtle Williamson Memorial Award, presented by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for the doctor of ministry student who submits the most outstanding prospectus for the year.

Born in London, England, Turner holds British citizenship while maintaining permanent residency in the United States. In 1980, she served as captain of the Great Britain's Women's Olympic Basketball Team.