Mottos and slogans can be empty phrases which are drafted formally and ignored constantly!  In a day and at a time when it has become fashionable to be cute in form and shallow in substance, it is critical for those of us seeking to serve Christ in the city to affirm afresh our allegiance to Christ and his Kingdom, to confess our faith in the Word of the living God, and to stand unashamed as representatives and ambassadors of Jesus Christ in the cities of the world.  From our beginning, this has been our passion and desire.

The purpose statement of The Urban Ministry Institute, however, explains and clarifies our deepest convictions.  In a real sense, our purpose is linked to our founding and participation in our parent ministry, World Impact.  TUMI is World Impact's 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 Hope School of Ministry at The Urban Ministry Institute 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.

In the history of the poor in America, there is not institution or entity that has been more transforming, healing, and empowering to the least of these than the church of Jesus Christ.  It has remained the one community that has given welcome and solace to their presence, has provided for their needs and hurts, and has believed in their calling and place.  To equip men and women today in the inner cities of America and the world is to prepare them for service and worship in the Church, the one company and entity that is the body of Christ in the world today.

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.

Our Ministry Objectives

As a ministry of World Impact, The Urban Ministry Institute exists to:

• Equip Urban Christian Leaders


• Empower Church Planting Movements


• Establish TUMI Satellites


• Provide Urban Ministry Resources
  


• Retrieve the Great Tradition
  

• Promote Urban Church Renewal

• Enrich Spiritual Formation

• Advance Pioneer Urban Mission

All we undertake and pursue is shaped by thise pressing objectives.  We seek to honor Christ and advance his Kingdom as we seek to form a new generation of servant leaders for the city.  These objective inform and shape all the various projects, events, and pursuits that we sponsor and accomplish here.

A Burning Passion: To Raise Up a Generation of Mature, Wise Servant Leaders for the Urban Church

We believe that the end goal of Christian leadership training is wisdom. "Everything is permissible for me but not everything is beneficial" (1 Cor 6:12). Therefore, those who train Christian leaders must, like Paul, "proclaim [Christ] admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ." (Col 1:28).

Christian leadership training is intended to contribute to the formation of men and women who possess godly wisdom and Christ-like character. In helping to prepare these leaders, the goal of Hope School of Ministry at The Urban Ministry Institute is not just that they become "smarter" leaders but that they become wiser ones able to discern the leading of the Holy Spirit, the "mind of Christ," and to apply the teaching of the Scriptures in their own unique ministry context.