UNIVERSITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Est. 1908
Joining Jesus in his mission to reconcile all people.
IN THE BEGINNING...
In 1906 Theodore Roosevelt was in
the White House, Albert E. Mead was governor of the State of Washington, and Thomas B. Kane was president of the University of Washington. Ten years earlier, when the University had moved from its downtown location to a plot of land northeast of Lake Union, the land was mostly timber and underbrush. But now houses were scattered around the area. That year the announcement by the state legislature and the University that the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909 was to be held at the campus caused a surge of interest and growth. The district boomed, and a number of local residents moved into the neighborhood to start a church in the University District. And so, University Presbyterian Church was born.
1912. Our first Chapel building on UPC’s present location at NE 47th St.
WHO WE ARE We are a family of communities joining Jesus to transform our lives and the lives of neighbors at the University of Washington, in our neighborhoods, and all around the world.
UPC has always been a church with a passion to share Christ’s love in the places where we live, study, work, and play. As the culture around us shifts, how do we engage with it?
God is bringing the world to our doorstep, and we have a unique opportunity to share the Gospel with people of all ages, generations, and ethnicities. Our vision:
Joining Jesus in his mission to reconcile all people.
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So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 2 Corinthians 5:17–19
What does it mean for UPC to be next door to students, seekers, skeptics, and a new generation?
Our mission begins in our neighborhoods. Jesus forms and grows us as we live as family alongside our neighbors and share the good news in ways that are inviting and authentic. God has put us in our neighborhoods. You are not where you are by accident. You have been uniquely positioned where you live, study, work, and play. Jesus is at work in the people around you, and you have an assignment to join him in a ministry of reconciliation. Together, we embody Christ’s love in circles of community, build relationships with the disconnected next door, and invite them into the family of God!
Following Our Values We live out this vision by leaning into the values that shape the culture of UPC, that define and differentiate us and hold us accountable to our mission. Our values describe how we live together as a family of communities on mission, joining Jesus in his work of reconciliation in our world.
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Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2
The good news of Jesus transforms us. As Jesus invites us deeper into the adventure of knowing him, we move from unbelief to belief in every area of our lives. He compels us to go out and love others with the same love with which he has loved us.
OUR VALUES
GOSPEL-SHAPED LIVES
We share life together in circles of community. Our neighbors will not understand the Gospel unless they see it lived out. So, we share meals together, we meet to talk about God’s Word, we show up when someone in our community is in need, and we commit to worshipping together regularly.
OUR VALUES
LIVING AS FAMILY
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Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. Acts 2:46–47
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Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” John 20:21
We’re here for the sake of people beyond ourselves. Jesus calls us to join him in his mission. He’s sent us to connect the disconnected back to him. And so, we go out into our neighborhoods and call people into a new kind of community. We pursue the hearts of our neighbors to win them to Christ. We recognize that we are kindred and embrace the ongoing, messy, but beautiful journey to open our city’s divided and broken places to the healing of Jesus.
OUR VALUES
SENT FOR OTHERS
We grow as students together with students. We embrace students because we, like them, are all students in God’s mission. We’re students of the Word but also students of the world. We’re curious and thoughtful. We have questions and pursue answers. We live with tension and pass along Godly wisdom to younger generations because following Christ is a lifelong journey.
OUR VALUES
GROWING WITH STUDENTS
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We will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. Psalm 78:4
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Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19
We open our lives to the world on our doorstep. Our mission begins right where God has placed us—in our neighborhoods. As we make room in our lives for those who are not like us, we experience Jesus in profound ways. We love to cross borders of age, stage, ethnicity, culture, politics, or preference, to learn and connect with all people. We plant seeds for a growing movement of multi-ethnic and intergenerational communities in the University of Washington, the neighborhoods of Seattle, and all around the world.
OUR VALUES
GLOBAL CULTURE
WHERE DO WE BEGIN? With Jesus. And prayer. And with honest reflection on our own experiences of: neighborhood, circles, and family. Neighborhood... What’s my neighborhood? It’s either the community where I live, study, work, or play, or where Jesus is calling me to join him. Circles... Who are some friends who could join me on mission in that neighborhood? What would it look for our circle to start doing life with Jesus together? Family... What would it mean for us to start living like family with the neighbors in that neighborhood? What tensions would it create? How would our lives have to change? Let’s reflect, pray, and discern how Jesus might be calling each of us to step out and join him in his mission to reconcile all people.
Learn more about upcoming events and ways to get involved at:
upc.org/nextdoor
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After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Luke 10:1–2
Who is your neighbor? It’s time to discover who lives...next door!
4540 15TH AVE NE • SEATTLE, WA 98105 • 206.524.7300 • UPC.ORG