Skip to main content Skip to content
Jason Coker

Jason
Coker

PhD Student, Intercultural Studies

Faculty Mentor

About Jason

Jason is the Co-Lead Minister at The Oceanside Sanctuary in Oceanside, California, where he has served since 2015. He earned his M.A. from Fuller Theological Seminary and is currently a third-year Ph.D. student in the School of Mission and Theology. Jason has been a member of the Human Development faculty at Cal State University San Marcos since 2013, where he teaches human services leadership, social policy and social programs, and human development theories. He is ordained in both The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the Vineyard Community of Churches. Jason is married to Jenell Coker, with whom he co-leads The Oceanside Sanctuary. They have partnered in ministry for over twenty years, serving small and large congregations in Utah, Ohio, and California. Together, they have three adult daughters and one grandson.

Education

Fuller Theological Seminary

Master of Arts in Global Leadership

Research Interests

Decolonizing Mission, Intercultural Theology, Anthropology of Christianity, and religious disaffiliation in the United States.

Publications

Coker, Jason A. “Otherwise the Same: Toward Decolonial Missiologies of the American Global North,” International Review of Mission 113 (2024), 143-158.

The growth of religious disaffiliation in the United States over the past three decades is historically unprecedented. This article argues that disaffiliation is a form of moral protest against lingering coloniality in American global North Christianities and appeals for missiologists to adopt a decolonial lens to more effectively critique harmful religious systems and investigate exterior forms of Christianities otherwise in the North American context. The article explores existing sociological and empirical data on disaffiliation, deconversion, and religious harms to expose the moral protest of disaffiliation. Decoloniality is distinguished from postcolonialism to reveal its relevance for the subject matter and identify its method. Using examples of North American missiologies, the article demonstrates how latent forms of coloniality are preserved despite decolonizing efforts in the field and how a decolonial lens can bring new works of the spirit into focus. Finally, it briefly explores implications for future research.

Fuller Seminary hosts these profiles as a courtesy to our doctoral students. Their views are their own and do not necessary reflect the views of the seminary.