Fuller Welcomes Church Historians Yucheng Bai and Tom Whittaker to School of Mission and Theology Faculty

Fuller Seminary is excited to welcome Drs. Yucheng Bai and Tom Whittaker to the faculty of the School of Mission and Theology. Drs. Bai and Whittaker bring exceptional expertise on church history and world Christianity to Fuller’s roster of accomplished scholars committed to training emerging Christian leaders to make a meaningful difference in the church and world.

Bai, a church history and world Christianity scholar, received his PhD in religion from Duke University after earning his MTS from Duke Divinity School. His research interests include Chinese church history, American church history, history of missions, church-state relations, and political theology. His current project, American City on a Chinese Hill, studies how a number of Chinese Christians flocked to American Christian Nationalism in recent years in search of a viable political theology. Bai is co-author (with Ren Xiaopeng) of 荣耀与重负：美国基督教历史简述 (Rongyao yu zhongfu: Meiguo jidujiao jianshi) [The Glory and the Burden: A Brief History of American Christianity], the first systematic introduction to American Christianity in the Chinese language.

Bai shared, “I am especially excited to join Fuller, where the evangelical faith is combined with cutting-edge intellectual work. I look forward to working with faculty and students from diverse backgrounds to grow together into missional-minded scholars and disciples.”

Whittaker is a scholar who locates his work at the intersection of church history, American religious history, and world Christianity. He is particularly interested in the history of evangelical Protestantism and the origins and development of the Protestant missionary movement. His first book, The Missionary Republic: American Protestants and the Culture of Missions, 1787–1837, is forthcoming from Oxford University Press, and he is coediting (with D. Bruce Hindmarsh) The Diaries and Autobiographical Accounts of George Whitefield, also with Oxford University Press. He received his BA and MA from the University of Chicago and his PhD from Harvard University. Before coming to Fuller, he taught for five years at LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas.

Whittaker said of joining Fuller’s faculty, “I am thrilled to be joining an intellectual community of Christian scholars from all over the world that continues to play a leading role in setting the agenda for theological and missiological reflection. I look forward to mentoring students who are committed disciples of Jesus, incisive thinkers, and kingdom-oriented visionaries.”

Dr. Jeffrey Keuss, dean of Fuller’s School of Mission and Theology, shared enthusiasm for the appointment of both Bai and Whittaker, who have begun preparing for the 2026–27 academic year. Keuss said, “Fuller is so grateful to be a place that continues to attract top evangelical scholars committed to theological excellence in the service of the gospel. Both Dr. Whittaker and Dr. Bai represent the next generation of church history scholars who will be shaping our understanding of the movement of the church for decades to come.”