F. Lionel Young III, Ph.D.

Dr. F. Lionel Young III serves as Chief Advancement Officer at William Carey International University. He brings extensive experience in pastoral ministry, global philanthropy, institutional fundraising, and visionary leadership.

He earned his PhD from the University of Stirling (Scotland) where he studied under the mentorship of the distinguished British historian David W. Bebbington. He also holds a Master of Theology in the History of Christian Thought from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and an Master of Divinity in Pastoral Theology from Grace Theological Seminary.

The son and great-grandson of Protestant ministers, he spent more than two decades in pastoral ministry before moving increasingly into global ministry, executive leadership, and institutional fundraising. He has traveled and worked extensively throughout the Global South, and his life and ministry have been deeply shaped by friendships with Christian leaders throughout the Majority World.

He is the author of World Christianity and the Unfinished Task: A Very Short Introduction, which was selected by Christianity Today as one of the best books in its field. His forthcoming work, The Surprising Work of God: A New History of World Christianity, is scheduled for release in 2027. His writing has appeared in Christianity Today, Desiring God, and academic journals and publications in the fields of World Christianity and mission studies.

He also serves as a Senior Research Associate at the Cambridge Centre for Christianity Worldwide (Cambridge, England) and is a member of the Yale-Edinburgh Group on World Christianity and the History of Mission. Throughout his career, he has worked at the intersection of the academy, the local church, global mission, and Christian philanthropy.