MISSION

UYWI exists to strengthen a new generation of global urban leaders for transformational ministry.

VISION

To build transformational relationships with 20,000 urban leaders by 2010.
Transformational relationships are defined as a combination of participation in training and development events combined with ongoing, regular two-way communication designed to build ministry capacity. The vision of this initiative is to develop the next generation of urban and multi-ethnic leaders for the urban world. Our goal is to strengthen 20,000 urban leaders who will in turn reach and disciple 1,000,000 urban youth by 2010.

VALUES

Multi-Ethnic - We best solve urban problems and reflect the love of Christ when we embrace our ethnic differences and join together.

Holistic - Leadership capacity is deepened by developing the whole person. We strengthen a leader’s spirit, mind, body and soul!

Relevant - Global youth culture is being shaped by the influence of pop culture and fashion that comes from the city. We engage leaders to penetrate urban culture, respond though relevant ministry and model tech-savvy, cutting-edge ministry.

Christ-centered - Jesus is the hope of the world. Our ministry is committed to living out and promoting the Lordship of Christ and the advancement of His Kingdom.

Collaborative – No one organization can effectively reach and meet all the needs of the children, youth and families of our cities. Our strategy creates collaboration between churches, neighborhoods, schools, cities and faith-based organizations locally and nationally.

Relational - We do not create events and programs in isolation. We create long-term impact by being relational, accessible, grassroots-empowering, servant leaders.

HISTORY

In 1993, while associate pastor at a suburban church in Southern California, Larry Acosta encountered a reality that changed his work forever. Larry saw the Latino community losing thousands of inner city Hispanic youth to the streets every year because of a void in the quality and quantity of Hispanic youth ministry leaders. He launched the Hispanic Ministry Center (HMC), a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, in response to the critical needs facing young people and their families in urban Hispanic neighborhoods.

A significant shift began for HMC with the launching of the first annual Urban Youth Workers Institute (UYWI) in 1997. It quickly became apparent that the focus of this work needed to change dramatically from equipping and mobilizing only Latino youth leaders, to a more intentional effort to work within southern California’s multi-ethnic urban population. UYWI participants reflected a wide array of cultural, denominational and ethnic differences, all describing the same needs for training, leadership development, resources, and networking opportunities. They expressed a sense of isolation and fragmentation that frustrated their desires for citywide transformational ministry.

HMC responded by designing the Urban Youth Workers Institute (UYWI), resource materials and training events to be more relevant to the multi-ethnic urban leaders within the church, para-church and community contexts. The UYWI increased from 180 participants in its first year to 1,500 this past May. Youth leaders began coming from across the country to engage in this new learning experience.

In 2003, after ten years of increasing demand for leadership development across the U.S., HMC leaders began exploring methods to be catalytic on a national scale. Expanding the suite of development opportunities to include Citywide Learning Groups, online resources, and individual coaching and mentoring, the staff experimented with designing easily replicable models. The board of directors initiated a process to phase out the Hispanic Ministry Center name, and become Urban Youth Workers Institute, with complete changeover completed in January 2005.

HMC/UYWI has always had to balance the realities of staffing, finances, and time with the tremendous need and desire of emerging urban ethnic leaders around the country for on going training and development. This past year was spent planning, testing and fine-tuning models, increasing fundraising activities, networking wit h recognized leaders in the field from several regions in the country, and prioritizing options for implementation.