Reformed University Fellowship

Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) is the campus ministry organization of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). RUF has experienced rapid growth in the 1990s; its income in 1995 was $200,000 and grew $24 million by 2012.[1] Currently, RUF has more than 170 ministries at different college campuses spread across 41 states in the US and throughout the world.[2] RUF began on college campuses in the southern United States but expanded throughout the country, with campus ministries from Hawaii to Massachusetts. The PCA follows traditional Westminster standards, including belief in the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible.[1]

Reformed University Fellowship logo

Purpose

RUF is not intended to be a substitute for formal church. It is open for anyone to join and is not exclusive to those within a certain denomination. However, the organization itself is closely associated with the Calvinist theological viewpoint, as their name implies. Its meetings range in size from campus to campus. There are also different types of meetings, often referred to as 'Large Group' or 'small groups'.

RUF hosts its main conference, Summer Conference (popularly known as SuCo), for students during three weeks in the summer at Laguna Beach, Florida. There are also regional conferences that take place throughout the year. The conferences, like the organization meetings, are not limited to those ascribing to Calvinist theology.

History

The first RUF was started by Mark Lowrey in 1973 at the University of Southern Mississippi. The mission, vision, and guiding principles of RUF were approved by the PCA in 1979, and Lowrey became the first National Coordinator in 1982.[3]

RUF grew significantly in the early 21st century. It went from 35 campuses in 1998 to over 100 in 2012. Its revenue was $200,000 in 1995, but $24 million in 2012.[4]

As of 2021, RUF has 170 campus ministers, 49 campus staff, and 176 interns.[5]

Other similar movements

The Reformed Youth Movement, while a ministry similar to RUF, is not officially a part of the PCA.

References
  1. McDonald, Jeffrey Stephen (2017). John Gerstner and the renewal of Presbyterian and Reformed Evangelicalism in modern America. Eugene, Oregon. ISBN 978-1-4982-9632-8. OCLC 1015828636.
  2. "Campus". Reformed University Fellowship. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  3. Our Story
  4. McDonald, Jeff (2017). John Gerstner and the Renewal of Presbyterian and Reformed Evangelicalism in Modern America. Wipf and Stock. p. 180. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  5. Chapell, Bryan. "Actions of the Forty-eighth General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America 2021" (PDF). Presbyterian Church in America. Retrieved 31 July 2021.

Initial visibility: currently defaults to autocollapse

To set this template's initial visibility, the |state= parameter may be used:

  • |state=collapsed: {{Reformed University Fellowship|state=collapsed}} to show the template collapsed, i.e., hidden apart from its title bar
  • |state=expanded: {{Reformed University Fellowship|state=expanded}} to show the template expanded, i.e., fully visible
  • |state=autocollapse: {{Reformed University Fellowship|state=autocollapse}}
    • shows the template collapsed to the title bar if there is a {{navbar}}, a {{sidebar}}, or some other table on the page with the collapsible attribute
    • shows the template in its expanded state if there are no other collapsible items on the page

If the |state= parameter in the template on this page is not set, the template's initial visibility is taken from the |default= parameter in the Collapsible option template. For the template on this page, that currently evaluates to autocollapse. [[Category:]] [[Category:]]

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.