Carla Dawn Sunberg ( Johnson; born July 1, 1961) is an American ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene, administrator, academic, author, speaker and former missionary and registered nurse, who is the 2nd woman elected as a General Superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene, and was the first woman and the 10th person elected as president of Nazarene Theological Seminary. At the time of her election on January 3, 2014, Sunberg was co-District Superintendent (with her husband Charles H. "Chuck" Sunberg) of the East Ohio District of the Church of the Nazarene,"Dr. Carla Sunberg Elected Tenth President of NTS" (January 3, 2014). having served in this role since November 1, 2011. Dr Sunberg was elected the 43rd General Superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene on the 11th ballot by the delegates of the 29th General Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene on June 27, 2017. Sunberg is the only daughter of Jerald Johnson, the 24th General Superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene.
For almost four years, Sunberg was the President of the Wesleyan-Holiness Women Clergy International organization from May 2009 to April 2013. Sunberg also served as the inaugural chairman of the USA/Canada Nazarene Women Clergy Council from February 2007 to June 2009.Sarah Coleson Derck, "Women Clergy Council Convened by Clergy Development", New Horizons: Resources for Nazarene Clergywomen (Spring 2007):2. From 1992 to 2005, Sunberg was a global missionary for the Church of the Nazarene in the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Early life and education Carla Dawn Johnson was born on July 1, 1961, in Bad Homburg, West Germany, as the fourth child and only daughter of Rev. Jerald DeWight Johnson (born in Curtis, Nebraska, in 1927) and his wife Alice Eva Schmidt (born August 10, 1923, in Beiseker, Alberta, Canada),Paul A. Williams, "A History of the Church of the Nazarene in Continental Europe", M.A. Thesis (History). (Emporia, KS; Emporia State University, 1982):108."Alumna of the Year: Carla (Johnson, '83) Sunberg", Accent magazine (Spring 2009):6. a Canadian of German parentage,J. Fred Parker, Mission to the World: A History of Missions in the Church of the Nazarene Through 1985 (Kansas City, MO: Nazarene, 1988):353. who had been pioneer missionaries for the Church of the Nazarene in West Germany from March 1958 to May 1969."West Germany Is Opening," Other Sheep 45 (October 1958):13.Floyd Cunningham, ed., Our Watchword & Song: The Centennial History of the Church of the Nazarene (Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2009):516. Sunberg is the younger sister of the late Jerald DeWight Johnson Jr. (born September 21, 1953, in Spokane, Washington; died March 10, 2009, in Idaho), who was adopted when five days old by Johnson and his wife;"G.S. emeritus family mourns loss of son, Jerry D. Johnson, Jr." , NCN News (March 13, 2009). Dennis Lane Johnson (born September 17, 1954, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho);"Centennial Medallion Recipients" . and Kurt Eugene Johnson (born October 20, 1959, in Frankfurt, West Germany)."Jerald D. Johnson" (August 2013).
By May 1969, the Johnson family left West Germany and relocated to the US. On May 18, 1969, Sunberg's father became the pastor of the Cambrian Park Church of the Nazarene in San Jose, California."R. F. Zanner Elected on Uiddle European District", Herald of Holiness 58:17 (April 23, 1969):17.Paul A. Williams, "A HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE IN CONTINENTAL EUROPE", M.A. Thesis (History). (Emporia, KS; Emporia State University, 1982):108. In 1970 the Johnson family relocated to Nampa, Idaho, where Jerald Johnson became pastor of College Church of the Nazarene. Upon Johnson's election as Director of the World Mission Division of the Church of the Nazarene in 1973,"Jerry Johnson Elected World Missions Secretary", Herald of Holiness 21 (October 1973):35. Sunberg and her family relocated to Overland Park, Kansas. Sunberg attended Shawnee Mission South High School, and graduated in 1979.
From 1979 Sunberg attended MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) cum laude degree in 1983.
Career
Registered nurse After graduation from MidAmerica Nazarene University in May 1983, Sunberg became a registered nurse and worked in Kansas, Missouri, and Texas.Carla Sunberg, "Following the Call in All Avenues of Ministry", New Horizons (Fall 2007):1."Missionaries to Russia to Speak at Nazarene Church", The Victoria Advocate (August 2, 1997):3D. For three years from 1983, Sunberg worked as a nurse in St Louis, Missouri, while her husband Chuck was associate pastor of the Southwest Church of the Nazarene."Sunbergs to leave Russia for Indiana", NCN News Global Weekly Summary 0504 (January 28, 2005), Accessed January 7, 2014.
In 1986 Chuck accepted a call to serve as the senior pastor of the First Church of the Nazarene in Austin, Texas, while Carla Sunberg continued nursing in the Austin area until 1992. While living in Austin, Sunberg became the mother of two daughters.
Church of the Nazarene
Missionary to Russia (1992–2005) From July 1992 to 2005,"Children & Youth News", NE District NMI Messenger 2:4 (February/March 2007):3. Sunberg and her husband Charles and their two daughters lived in Moscow, where they were pioneer missionaries for the Church of the Nazarene in the former Soviet Union,"Moscow milestone: Church celebrates 20 years" , NCN News (November 8, 2012).Cara Sunberg, , Engage: A Global Mission Magazine of the Church of the Nazarene (May 28, 2010). that resulted in the establishment of the Church of the Nazarene in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).Gina Grate Pottenger, , Engage: A Global Mission Magazine of the Church of the Nazarene (November 8, 2012). Their responsibilities involved giving leadership to more than 60 ministries, including leading Russian Nazarenes in starting churches, compassionate ministry centers, and clergy education centers. In this period, her husband was field director from 1993 to 2005,Gina Pottenger, "Moscow Milestone" , Where Worlds Meet: The Monthly Newsletter of the Church of the Nazarene in Eurasia 9:9 (November 2012):5. while Sunberg served initially as Director of Compassionate Ministries (1992–2002) and later as the Director of Theological Education (2002–2005) for the Church of the Nazarene on the CIS Field."A series of firsts on the CIS Field" , NCN News (May 6, 2005). When the Sunbergs left Russia in 2005, the CIS Field had 50 churches on four districts in 6 nations.
Director of NAZCOM (Compassionate Ministries) (1992–2002) In her capacity as Director of Nazarene Compassionate Ministries in the CIS Field, Sunberg used her training and experience as a registered nurse.Joyce Fitzpatrick, Cathleen Shultz, and Tonia Aiken, Giving Through Teaching: How Nurse Educators Are Changing the World (Springer Publishing Company, 2010):295. Under the auspices of NAZCOM, a Nazarene humanitarian aid organization working in Russia, by 1996 Sunberg and other nurses from American Nazarene colleges developed a four-module program for continuing education for medical personnel. Sunberg and these guest lecturers taught two-week nursing education modules in Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. NAZCOM also worked with Heart to Heart, a Kansas-based Christian organization founded by Nazarene doctor Gary Morsch, helping this group distribute millions of dollars' worth of medication throughout the former Soviet Union.Tanis Walmsley, "Moscow-Based Medical Ministries", East-West Church Ministry Report 4:3 (Summer 1996).
Sunberg also developed a preventive dental care program for children. She has arranged for visiting dentists to conduct training and demonstrations for Russian dentists on protective sealants for teeth. Sunberg also gave presentations in public schools on dental hygiene, and distributed toothbrushes, toothpaste, and dental floss, donated by children in America to the students. Additionally, Sunberg trained others in her church to conduct dental hygiene presentations in schools. With the aid of several other American nurses, Sunberg also helped the Nazarene Ministry Center to launch a stop-smoking program.
Director of Theological Education (2002–2005) In 2002 Sunberg was appointed as the director for theological education for the CIS field, and was responsible for establishing a system of ministerial education and training for 250 students in the former Soviet Union. By 2013 the CIS Nazarene Education Centers were offering the following academic programs: Certificate in Christian Service, Certificate in Spiritual Formation, Diploma in Bible and Theology, and Diploma in Bible and Mission, through its affiliation with European Nazarene College in Busingen, Germany. As Director of Theological Education for the CIS, Sunberg was also a member of the Eurasia Region of the Church of the Nazarene's regional course of study committee and the education council.
While still living in Moscow, in 1999 Sunberg enrolled part-time at Nazarene Theological Seminary), and travelled there twice a year with 7 Russian students to attend classes.Carla Sunberg, in Callie Radke, "Q & A With Spiritual Renewal Speaker Carla Sunberg, Ph.D." , PLNU News (February 5, 2013). In 2004 Sunberg graduated cum laude with a Master of Arts degree in theological studies.
Sunberg was ordained as an elder in the Church of the Nazarene in Moscow in 2004 on the Russia North District."NTS elects Carla Sunberg president" , NCN News (January 6, 2014).
Pastoral ministry (2005–2011) From June 2005 to October 2011, the Sunbergs co-pastored Grace Point Church of the Nazarene in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where Chuck served as senior pastor, and Carla as evangelism and discipleship pastor.
Educator By 2010, Sunberg had served as adjunct professor of church history for Northwest Nazarene University,"Guest Faculty & Staff" . and also as an adjunct faculty member for Nazarene Theological Seminary.
District Superintendency (2011–2014) In September 2011, the Sunbergs were appointed as co-District Superintendents of the East Ohio District of the Church of the Nazarene."A Nazarene “First”: Wife-husband team appointed co-district superintendents" , New Horizons: Resources for Nazarene Clergywomen 8:1 (November 2012):3 They assumed their responsibilities on November 1, 2011. While Sunberg was not the first woman appointed as a district superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene, this was the first time a husband and wife had been appointed co-district superintendents.Stan Ingersol, "Nazarene history: Clergy couples and district leadership" , NCN News (October 21, 2011).
After six years of research under the supervision of Dr. Thomas A. Noble, on October 19, 2012, Sunberg was awarded a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Nazarene Theological College, University of Manchester.Carla Sunberg, "A Day to Give God the Glory!", Reflecting the Image (October 19, 2012). Her successful dissertation was entitled, "The Cappadocian Mothers: Deification Exemplified in the Writings of Basil, Gregory and Gregory."
10th President, Nazarene Theological Seminary (2014 to 2017) On Friday, January 3, 2014, the Board of Trustees of Nazarene Theological Seminary elected Sunberg (Class of 2004) as the 10th President of Nazarene Theological Seminary on the first ballot. Sunberg accepted the election."Carla Sunberg elected NTS president" , NCN News (January 6, 2014).
Professional memberships, ecumenical and denominational activities
Wesleyan-Holiness Women Clergy (2006–current)