Our Core Values
Bible Training. We value the vital justice of providing opportunities to acquire sound Bible teaching.
Church-based discipleship. Although UDM is a missions organization, we follow up new believers and make disciples within the context of local churches. We plant church with structures and cultures that benefit this discipleship priority. We do our best to follow up new believers and not just hope that others will do follow-up for us. Church planting ensures that discipleship includes obedience to Christ’s Great Commission. In addition, church-based discipleship provides the accountability and prayer to tear down spiritual strongholds and give freedom to live godly lives.
Evangelism. We value relational evangelism, and clear, bold Gospel presentations. Church planting empowers urban families to share the Gospel with people in their circles of influence.
Family. Reaching entire families with the Gospel is one of our highest priorities in evangelism and discipleship. Whenever a young person comes to Christ, we follow up with his or her parent(s), or with anyone in the household who will receive our witness for Christ. We maintain this hope and focus, for reaching every entire family, as long as possible, even for generations. Church planting creates the demand for family evangelism and empowers families to reach more families. We structure church discipleship to encourage families to reach their households and the people in their circles of influence. We believe that the Gospel is powerful enough to save inner city adults. In another way, we value making our own families first-ministry priorities, and become good examples of guarding our family times as we serve.
Global missions. We value mobilizing people of African descent as pioneer leaders of a racially united global missions force. This value is foundational to our Vanguard 2022 Project’s initiatives.
Integrity. We value integrity in Board governance, leadership qualifications, and financial management. In our ministries, church planting provides pastoral teaching and accountability for families regarding integrity issues.
Mercy. We value extending committed, obligating, steadfast love to those in need, which, more often than not, requires personal sacrifice. This relationship-based love defines the real mercy that Christ requires. UDM distinguishes between extending mercy and providing benevolence. We value extending real mercy instead of working in programs that only make one feel merciful. We consider programs as the means to establish mercy-based relationships, not as the ends themselves. Therefore, we value the number of discipleship relationships established, or advanced, through programs and facilities more than the number of participants attending. We value making deep, slow, and long-term impacts in lives more than getting large, shallow, temporary and instant results.
Repentance. We value Christ’s call to repent (Mark 1:15). God’s grace teaches us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world (Titus 2:12). Repentance is vital in our own walks with God and in our witness/disciple-making for our risen Savior: