God put it in you.
We help you walk it out.
ONE PATHWAY · THREE COHORTS · TWELVE SESSIONS
You're showing up every day for young people who the world has counted out. You're doing it with limited resources, limited support, and more on your plate than anyone outside your community could understand. And you're still here — because the calling won't let you quit.
The UYWI Leadership Pathway was built for leaders like you. Not a generic leadership program repurposed for ministries — this was made by urban leaders, for urban leaders. It's a four-month-per-cohort journey alongside peers who know what it's like to lead in your zip code, your context, your culture.
Three cohorts. Each one complete on its own. Each one building into something bigger. Personal Leadership lays the foundation. Team Leadership builds on it. Strategic Leadership emerges from both. You can't skip ahead — and you won't want to.
415+ leaders graduated
Cohorts run year-round
Online & In-Person
THE CERTIFICATION PATHWAY
STEP 1
You can't lead others well if you're running on empty. Cohort 1 is where you discover who God actually made you to be: your identity, your health, your calling.
STEP 2
You've done the inner work. Cohort 2 is where you learn how to bring people with you, without burning them out or doing it all yourself.
STEP 3
Your community deserves more than good intentions; it needs a plan. Cohort 3 is where you build a real vision and strategy for the next 5 years of your ministry.
The Certification Pathway takes you from a leader who shows up despite the weight, to one who knows who they are, builds people around them, and can tell the story of their mission in a way that moves funders, partners, and the next generation forward.
WHAT LEADERS SAY
We love to journey with our leaders and
see them become the leader God created them to be.
When I first began the UYWI Certification Pathway, I was questioning my role as a leader and mentor after experiencing pain in ministry. In the course of months, God used the UYWI team to help confront, rebuild, and heal those wounds through Biblical truth and sound advice. I began to practically apply the skills I was learning.
UYWI has been a game-changer. It was the reason why I was able to serve youth in crisis well, because as an urban youth leader, I felt believed in and empowered.
UYWI has been helping me organize and structure my ministry team of youth leaders. I now have the tools to lead a team of youth leaders in our church most efficiently and effectively.
UYWI’s Certification Pathway has truly helped organize my ministry and keep me accountable. I truly thought that after completing the Certification Pathway, I’d never hear from UYWI again, but I was wrong. They kept up with me and my ministry and were there to answer any questions and encourage me to keep going even when it got hard.
