The Nagel Institute is an educational research institute within Calvin University, focused on ways in which the study of World Christianity can change perspectives, foster knowledge, and reinvigorate Christian thought and practice.
Calvin University offers many options for learners and students of all ages and contexts.
Through a network of communal learning, we are able to anticipate current and future trends in their greatest areas of impact, engaging in regions where the greatest opportunity for learning exists, like Brazil, China, and Africa.
By listening to Christian voices from around the world, we can uncover new insights and expand our knowledge to a more global view of the Christian faith.
We believe sharing our learnings is critical. The free dissemination of our insights benefit society by accelerating the pace of discovery, reducing information-sharing gaps, encouraging innovation, and promoting reproducibility.
Dr. Parsitau has over 25 years of experience in teaching, research, and leadership in different universities and research and policy institutions in Africa and beyond. She has conducted numerous research projects and published over 70 book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles with two forthcoming monographs. Her research and teaching interests include World/African Christianity, Evangelical, and Pentecostal Christianity, and its intersections with women’s leadership, gender and women’s bodies, politics, and civil engagements among other interests. Damaris is also a thought leader in Girls’ Education policy and has published over 20 opinion pieces, policy blogs, and briefs in both print and digital media, all dedicated to strengthening education actors and promoting the use of evidence-based research for effective policy action and practice. She is a leadership coach, mentor, social justice educator, and gender equality advocate.
Nellie Kooistra has coordinated successful international scholarly projects in China, India, and across Sub-Saharan Africa. For the past 15 years, she has worked with complex international budgeting, project and event management, sub-granting operations, and inter-institutional cooperation. She has overseen the operations of the Calvin University Institute which focuses on academic research related to theology and social sciences. She has honed her skills as an administrator and brings a wealth of experience in grant making. Nellie is the first female graduate of Calvin University’s MBA program in 2023.
The original Nagel logo was based on the akoma ntoaso symbol, which originated from Ghana and portraying the linking of hearts. The founding director of the Nagel Institute, Joel Carpenter came to a decision on this symbol for the logo in conversation with the influential Ghanaian theologian, Kwame Bediako. It also incorporated an important motto for Nagel, which is ‘linking scholars worldwide’.
The sentiments captured within that logo very much remain at the core of the mission of the Nagel Institute. However, in conversation with Grey Matter Group (GMG), who designed our website, we became aware of the fact that akoma ntoaso has become widely used as a logo by different institutions. In the interest of keeping our branding as unique as possible, we agreed on a new, uniquely designed logo by GMG. We are thrilled to present this new logo as part of our new website, particularly since the linking of hearts symbolism remains central to this new design as well. With this design the spirit of the old logo remains very much alive within the new.
The Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture is a fully-accredited, postgraduate research and training institute. ACI works to promotte African innovation and excellence and is dedicated to the study and documentation of Christian history, thought, and life in Ghana and in Africa as a whole. As a university, they seek to strengthen Christian witness in modern Africa and world context through Christian scholarship.
The Nagel Institute has funded their four-year research project, Primal Religions as the Substructure of Christianity. The project began in 2006 and tasked fifteen scholars from around the world to study the relationship between primal and Christian worldviews. Two dedicated issues of the Journal of African Christian Thought have been published and a major book is underway.
The Akrofi-Christaller Institute has created a YouTube Channel to reach out to the entire world and contains short video clips of relevant issues relating to theology, mission, and culture.
The Center for Global Christianity and Mission was founded by Dr. Dana Robert and Dr. Marthinus Daneel in 2001 to research, teach about, and respond to Christianity’s “shift southward. ” In 2010, more than 60% of the world’s Christians lived in Africa, Asia, or Latin America. The founding priorities of the Center were to train western and non-western church leaders in World Christianity and mission, to do research and produce publications on western and non-western mission history, to undertake empirical research on new Christian movements, and to provide theological education among indigenous churches in southern Africa.