Character Theology provides a natural, universal way for the world to engage God through his chosen cast of characters.
As the media eras continue to change (oral to print to digital-virtual), too many Bible scholars, and consequently pastors and Bible teachers in the West and beyond, lack capability to effectively communicate Scripture to Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha. These generations find little if any relevance in the Christianity promoted by those stuck in modernity's sticky abstract systematic theology.
Character Theology relates, sticks, and transforms these generations. Why? Because people grasp and engage God most naturally and precisely through his interaction with biblical characters and their interaction with each other! Characters communicate the Creator's characteristics. The roadmap to the recovery and expansion of Christianity in the twenty-first century will be through Bible characters.

Tom Steffen and his family served with New Tribes Mission for twenty years, fifteen of which were in the Philippines, planting churches among the Ifugao and consulting for the agency. He is Professor of Intercultural Studies and directs the Doctor of Missiology program in the Cook School of Intercultural Studies at Biola University in La Mirada, California. He is the author of Encountering Missionary Life and Work (with Lois McKinney Douglas), Great Commission Companies: The Emerging Role of Business in Missions (with Steve Rundle), Passing the Baton: Church Planting That Empowers, and Reconnecting God's Story to Ministry: Crosscultural Storytelling at Home and Abroad.