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Understanding TUMI's Purpose |
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The Urban Ministry Institute, a ministry of World Impact, is a training and research institution that exists to equip leaders for the urban church, especially among the poor, in order to advance the Kingdom of God.
Each part of this statement has profound importance to us.
To Prepare Leaders
Although we live in a culture where leaders are often openly disrespected and the very idea of leadership is sometimes seen as oppressive and restrictive, we believe that leaders are of fundamental importance in all of human life. Nowhere is this more important than in the life of God's Church.
The Urban Ministry Institute of Chester exists to equip leaders who are serving and investing in others. These leaders may be formal or informal, pastors or lay leaders, men or women. They may be mothers or fathers, evangelists, missionaries, Sunday school teachers, worship leaders or those who visit the sick. We are interested in anyone whom God has gifted and called to lead in his or her church at any level of responsibility.
For the Urban Church
Believing strongly that effective ministry cannot take place apart from the Body of Christ, The Urban Ministry Institute is committed to enriching the life and outreach of urban congregations and their servant-leaders. All of our programs and materials are designed to equip men and women effectively to serve in the context of a local assembly. Applicants must be actively participating in a church body in order to be considered for acceptance in our programs.
Half of the people alive today live in cities, and that number is constantly growing. This calls for a special focus on urban churches, especially in those areas which have historically been neglected, or have large concentrations of people who have not been reached with the gospel of Christ.
Especially among the Poor
We believe that God has chosen those who are poor in the eyes of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the Kingdom which He promised to those who love Him (James 2:5). Whether you, personally, are rich, poor, or somewhere in-between, we believe that Jesus has given all believers a theological mandate to prioritize the poor in their life and ministry.
By the year 2025, one out of every three people on the planet will live in urban poverty. We believe that God is raising up leaders who will go to the unreached millions among the urban poor both in America and around the world. More importantly, we believe that God is raising up dynamic leaders from among the urban poor who deserve access to quality theological education. If either of these descriptions applies to you, we are vitally interested in helping you prepare for leadership.
In Order to Advance the Kingdom of God
The Church of Jesus Christ is vitally important to God's will because it is the agent of the Kingdom of God, charged to function as salt and light in the midst of a decaying and corrupt world. The freedom, wholeness, and justice of the Kingdom of God is to be embodied and proclaimed by the Church. A church community is responsible to show visibly what the "Rule of God" looks like when it is embraced by people who acknowledge Christ's lordship. The Urban Ministry Institute is dedicated to helping churches make God's reign visible in all the dimensions of Christian community life, and in its ministry to the needy in the city.
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