UP and the Main Thing

How urban programs help students BE TRANSFORMED

They help round out students’ views of God by emphasizing aspects of God’s character often overlooked by evangelicals, such as God’s commitment to justice and shalom, in the context of the city where those needs are often obvious.
They introduce students to the God who does not abandon the poor or marginalized, and help students recognize Jesus in the face of strangers.
They expose students to diverse forms of worship, which expand their view of God.
They broaden students’ views of God's mission to include systemic, not just personal, transformation.
They place students in new and uncomfortable situations, testing grounds, where they find God faithful, creating new spiritual muscles and tendons.
They provide dramatic examples of God's transformational power, grace, forgiveness, healing and love for sinners in actual situations in the urban church.
They help students fall in love with God through intense study and application of God’s word.

They give Christian and non-Christian students an opportunity to volunteer alongside one another, and Staff a mechanism for inviting new students into the fellowship.
They provide a unique and credible apologetic for the gospel.
They recognize that universities sit in a context – most often the city – and there is a symbiotic relationship between the two. Students from the city bring city issues (e.g., housing, poverty, economic and social issues, etc.) with them to campus, and pastoral care dictates that we deal with them. Urban programs prepare staff and student leaders for this.
They help students mobilize for justice on campus.
They give students a foundational team ministry experience, and give staff a chance to develop leadership skills of key students.
They give staff another tool to use in their efforts to confront lordship issues in the lives of students, especially in the areas of materialism and racism.

They provide multiple pathways to connect students to God's mission.
They expose students to God's agenda for cities, which, in the context of international globalization, will play an increasingly strategic role on the world stage.
They expose students to various models of ministry in the urban context, where most of them will graduate to live and work.
They teach students to ask good questions regarding the impact of policy on the lives of the urban poor, and about how to re-channel or redirect resources, skills, energy, education and talent toward the kingdom.
They develop leaders who are more equipped to make a relevant contribution to God's kingdom in a globalizing, urbanizing world.
They intentionally combine word and action, setting up a "new normal" for discipleship. Empirical data confirms this track record.
They help students acquire a prophetic voice, which is always necessary for change.
They introduce students to world changers in the very context that most of them will graduate into.

This document reflects the combined work of UP Directors from across the country gathered in a National Forum in Fresno, April 2005