Dr. Glenn Smith, a leader in urban ministry and theological education, holds degrees in Patristics and contextual theology. He directed Christian Direction in Montreal and now teaches at Institut de théologie pour la francophonie while leading the Masters in Theological Studies in Practical Theology at Presbyterian College, Montreal. He's authored books on urban mission and Protestant education in Quebec.
Dr. Glenn Smith is married to Sandra and together they have three daughters, Jenna (1981), Julia (1983) and Christa (1986). Glenn did his graduate studies in Patristics at the University of Ottawa and his doctoral thesis in contextual theology at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Chicago. He has received an honorary doctorate from the Union des universités privées d’Haïti for his contribution to urban theological praxis in that country.
Glenn was the Executive Director of Christian Direction in Montreal from 1983 - 2018 – a multi-faceted ministry committed to seeing God transform urban communities by the concerted actions of committed Christians in the cities of the Francophone world. As younger leadership took over the direction of the ministry he transitioned to a role in practical theological formation and mentoring younger leaders. He was a professor of urban theology and missiology at Institut de théologie pour la francophonie (Université Laval). Since 2019 he has directed the Masters in Theological Studies in Practical Theology at the Presbyterian College in Montréal.
While directing the ministry of Christian Direction, Glenn Smith was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities from 1986 to 1990 and its President from 1990-1992. He was a member of the Protestant Committee of le Conseil supérieur de l’éducation (Superior Council of Education) from 1986-1991 and its President during the two school years of 1992 and 1993. He became the President of the Protestant Partnership on Education in 1994. Moreover, from 1993-2006, he was a member of the Board of Directors of World Vision Canada. In 1994, he became the Chair of the Education Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. From 1999-2004, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism. From 2006-2022, he was a member of the Board of Directors of IVCF: Canada and of the executive committee of IFES (its international equivalent) from 2010-2018. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of Éco-quartier Peter-McGill located in Montréal. Presently he is the co-Chair of the Roman Catholic/Evangelical Dialogue in Canada.
Glenn is the co author of the book, Espoir pour la ville, Dieu dans la cité (Hope for the city, God in the city), the book, Éduquer les enfants : une vision protestante de l’école, and the book, Histoire du protestantisme au Québec depuis 1960. He is the co editor of L’Évangile et le monde urbanisé (The Gospel and Urbanisation), a 3,000 + page reader that is into its 7th edition in French and English on urban ministry. He is the author of the book Suivre Jésus: Dieu nous invite à une formation de disciples qui transforme that was published in English, in French and in Spanish. His forth-coming book entitled, Christians in the City of Montréal will be published by Bloomsbury Academic. He is the author of numerous articles on urban mission. He was a Senior Associate for Large Cities with the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization and was the director of the afternoon program for the 3rd Congress of Lausanne that took place in Cape Town in October 2010.
