Sarah Sumner
Sarah Sumner, Ph.D., MBA is President of Right On Mission, a moral courage ministry of mission-minded educators whose vision is to see all Christians faithfully live “on mission” instead of veering “off mission.” Right On Mission specializes in writing customized mission statements for individual believers as well as Christians organizations. As an educational entity, we believe God's people can learn to think so Christianly that they find the moral courage to act with integrity as Christ followers, even in the face of opposition.
Prior to her presidency, Dr. Sumner served as dean of A.W. Tozer Theological Seminary at Simpson University in Redding, California. Her vision for Tozer Seminary led the school to grow so fast that the team she assembled broke three all-time high records for best enrollment and financial success than it had throughout its 34 year history. Prior to that, Sarah Sumner was chair of the graduate ministry department at Azusa Pacific University. Prior to that, she was an evangelist on staff at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. Before that, she was the National Sales Representative for InterVarsity Press where she exceeded quota on every sales trip she took, and she traveled 2/3 of the time.
Sarah Sumner is most known for her articles and books, her theological teaching, inspirational speaking, and turnaround leadership. Whether as board chair, professor, or church staff member, she has a consistent track record of standing up for the stated values of Christian institutions that claim to put God first or claim to uphold the supremacy of Christ. Her article on the Seven Levels of Lying created a firestorm among readers of Christianity Today.
Her four published books include Men and Women in the Church: Building Consensus on Christian Leadership (IVP, 2003; now in its 12th printing), Leadership Above the Line (Tyndale, 2006), Just How Married Do You Want To Be? (IVP, 2008) and Angry Like Jesus: Using His Example To Spark Your Moral Courage (Fortress, 2015).
Dr. Sumner’s education includes a Bachelor of Education from Baylor University, a Master of Theology from Wheaton College, and a Master of Business Administration from Azusa Pacific University. She is the first woman to graduate from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School with a PhD in systematic theology.[7] She was trained as Global Change Agent at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Trinity International University placed her on its list of top twenty alumni. She was Trinity's Commencement Speaker for the Class of 2011.
Specialty Topics:
Moral Courage
Moral Leadership
Integrity in the Workplace
The Seven Levels of Godly Anger
Men and Women in the Church
General Topics:
The Grace of God
Anything about God
Anything in Scripture
Any Theological Topic
Living the Christian Life
Topics Sarah speaks on:
Sarah
Listen to Sarah speak >
She has spoken nationally and internationally in venues such as Sunday morning church services, Christian conferences, Graduation Commencements, Chapel services, the Pentagon, the White House, Radio and TV spots including CBS, PAX-TV and TBN.