About UYWI07
Dear Urban Leaders,
In May of 1998, 180 urban leaders gathered in Los Angeles to launch the first Urban Youth Workers Institute. It was my dream at the time to identify, connect, equip and strengthen a new generation of multi-ethnic leaders for the urban world. While we were a relatively small crew initially, the response of those who came confirmed the need and ignited my passion for next generation urban leaders. Today, 10 years later, that “urban crew” has fueled a movement - a movement shaped by God through leaders like you who are launching bold and dangerous Kingdom initiatives among the last, the lost and the least in our cities.
This coming May 17-19 as we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Urban Youth Workers Institute, what was once a small gathering in 1998 in Munson Chapel has evolved into a leadership summit of 2000 urban revolutionaries that covers the campus of Azusa Pacific University - and we want you to be among them! Join me along with your team for this most amazing gathering of multi-ethnic leaders in the country where I am confident that you will benefit from the broad array of urban leadership offerings, from urban youth ministry to urban church planting, social justice, community development, worship, arts and the industry. Let’s dream together about living out Isaiah 61:1-7 as we call a generation OUT OF THE WRECKAGE and usher in new Kingdom realities before Jesus returns!
Your servant,
Larry Acosta, D.Min.
President-UYWI
OUT OF THE WRECKAGE!(theme)
In Biblical terms, the year of Jubilee was a time of joy, a year of remission and universal pardon. According to tradition, it is the season in which every household recovers absent members, returns land to its former owners, slaves are set free, and debts are remitted. Jubilee means liberty. Jesus began His ministry by preaching the Jubilee message and so it must be central to our ministry as well.
There’s a Jubilee passage in Isaiah 61 that’s been referred to by various translators as Good News for the Oppressed, The Announcement of Freedom to all Captives, The Year of the Lord’s Favor and the Exaltation of the Afflicted. In terms of our urban reality, the Isaiah passage screamed: OUT OF THE WRECKAGE! - and so has become our 2007 theme!
God wants to rebuild your heart and set you free. He wants to bestow beauty upon you where there was devastation and give you joy instead of sorrow. This is vital truth for you; even more so for the urban youth you serve. In the midst of broken lives and our seemingly wrecked cities, true liberty is found in the name of Jesus. Come with us OUT OF THE WRECKAGE and find true FREEDOM, HOPE AND JUBILEE!