WHAT IS UKIRK?

Collegiate ministry is a lot of things: it is inspiring, funky, hilarious, and weird. It is high-energy, world-changing, tear jerking, life-altering. It is where students can pray, ask, respond, listen, laugh, cry, wonder, and be who God made them to be. It is for ‘Jesus freaks,’ skeptics, Christians, atheists, doubters, and wanderers. It gives students a space for worship, questions, fears, anxieties, hopes, and dreams. It reminds us—whether or not we’re in college—that we are not alone, that we are not forgotten, that we are loved, that we matter. It’s where we, Christ’s body, are called to be. And so, we, the Church, will walk alongside students as they come to know and seek to understand Jesus as Lord. We will listen to the truth that they tell, which is wild, untamed, risky, and exhilarating, while also teaching and offering them our own Reformed understanding of who God is. Not only will we name God’s radical love for college students, we will encourage a way of life proclaiming that the Lord is at work in the world, for the world, for all of us.

UKIRK (meaning University Church) is a network of ministries supported by the Presbyterian Church (USA) charged with reaching, loving, and teaching college students so that they may be lifelong followers of Jesus Christ.

At its core, UKIRK is about:
  • Worshiping and serving the living, Triune God.
  • ​Diving into Scripture, acknowledging its authority, being claimed by it, asking questions of it, wrestling with it, and, through the Holy Spirit, trusting it as it speaks to us.
  • Encouraging active engagement in the world, commitment to God’s mission throughout creation, and love for neighbor and self. !Connecting students to one another and to the Church, helping them to understand there is a world beyond their own yearning for God’s grace and reconciling promises.
  • Connecting collegiate ministry workers with one another, helping them to understand the many ideas, approaches, pitfalls, and possibilities when it comes to serving students.

UKIRK is open to all people, places, and experiences, because, as it has been stated, collegiate ministry is a lot of things, and we just can’t miss out on any of it!