Read Letters from Dan and Carol Chou Adams
Summer 2010
October 30, 2009
June 11, 2009
Spring 2009
For older letters, contact Mission Connections
Daniel J. and Carol Chou Adams
Carol and Dan retired from service in 2012. They are available to speak as their schedule permits. Email them to invite them to visit you congregation or organization.
Dan and Carol Chou Adams are mission co-workers who have served with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) since 1974. Following five years of service at Taiwan Theological College in Taipei, Taiwan, Dan and Carol moved to Korea, where they have taught at Hanil University and Presbyterian Theological Seminary since 1983. Dan is a professor of theology and Carol is a professor of Christian education. Both have responsibilities for teaching Korean undergraduates and graduate students. In addition, they also teach courses on theology, mission and Asian studies in the Asia Pacific Graduate School of Theological Studies, a program that prepares Asians and Africans in theology and mission.
Hanil University was founded in 1961 as a women’s Bible school. It then became a coeducational college and finally a fully accredited university. Hanil’s goal has always been “to provide a biblically based education that will prepare Christian leaders for service in the Korean church and society.” Today Hanil offers 32 undergraduate majors as well as graduate degrees in theology and social welfare. The university is located in Jeonju, the capital of North Cholla Province. This city of 700,000 is located in an agricultural region comprised of numerous small towns and villages surrounded by mountains and a broad plain that stretches to the Yellow Sea.
Dan and Carol are a team in several ways. In addition to their teaching, they also write theological textbooks and serve as co-pastors of the Jeonju English Church, a century-old congregation whose membership numbers about 40, 70 percent of whom are Korean teachers, doctors and students. The other 30 percent represent eight different nationalities.
Dan and Carol also work closely with the international students at Hanil University. This ethnic and ecclesiastical mix has brought to the campus a new focus on globalization and mission. According to Dan and Carol, “The Korean students and local pastors are becoming informed in a new way about the possibilities for mission as they interact with church leaders from around the world.”
Carol Chou Adams is a native of Miao-li, Taiwan. She earned her B.A. degree in Christian education from Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Illinois, and her M.Div. degree from the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. She also received a master's degree in Christian education from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia. Carol earned her doctorate in Christian education from the Southeast Asia Graduate School of Theology, a consortium of schools extending from Taiwan to Indonesia. She completed courses at Columbia Theological Seminary, Emory University and the Interdenominational Theological Center while in Atlanta, Georgia, and later undertook residence programs at Tainan Theological College in Taiwan and the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong. Carol’s work experience is varied. She directed a kindergarten in Taiwan, served as a pastor in Starks, Maine, and taught theology in Hsinchu, Taiwan, prior to beginning mission service in 1974. In 1996, Carol received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, Elmhurst College. As part of its 125th anniversary celebration Elmhurst wanted to honor a graduate who had faithfully served the church with distinction through the years. Carol was chosen for this honor.
Dan Adams was born in Bothell, Washington. He earned his B.A. degree in sociology from Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington, and his M.Div. degree from the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. He also received a master's degree in Chinese studies from Soochow University in Taiwan and his doctorate in theology from the Aquinas Institute of Theology in Dubuque. Prior to entering mission work in 1974, Dan served as a student pastor at two churches in Iowa, worked as a caseworker for the Department of Social Services in New York City, served as a pastor in Ryan, Iowa, and Potosi, Wisconsin, and was a theological educator at Clarke College in Dubuque.
Carol and Dan are both clergy members of John Knox Presbytery.
Birthdays:
Dan - April 15
Carol - July 4
