THE MISSION OF URSHAN GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
The mission of Urshan Graduate School of Theology is to provide training, development, advanced studies and a research center for men and women of Apostolic faith worldwide to further them for Christian service.
THE VISION OF THE URSHAN SYSTEM
Aspiring to reach the world and equip the church by educating Apostolic servant leaders one student at a time.
ABOUT URSHAN
THE MISSION OF THE URSHAN SYSTEM
The mission of Urshan is to prepare Apostolic men and women through higher education for service in the church and the world.
Urshan Graduate School of Theology believes that God, who is holy, calls each of us into relationship with Him. As an expression of this call, God has revealed Himself and His will in the Bible. The scriptures of the Old and New Testaments take precedence over mere human experience, tradition and reason and are therefore our infallible standard for faith and practice. UGST values scholarship, practices, attitudes, and lifestyles that seek to remain faithful to the Scripture. We believe in covenanting with a community of believers to study God’s Word, pursue God’s holiness, and live in the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
Corporately and individually we acknowledge our dependence on the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. All worthwhile human endeavors are enhanced by submission to, reliance upon and cooperation with the Holy Spirit. His wisdom and direction are essential for consistently making right decisions concerning our lives and practices. Urshan Graduate School of Theology is committed to the proper manifestation of spiritual gifts (including the word of wisdom, word of knowledge, gift of faith, gifts of healings, the working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues) in the lives and worship of the Urshan community. We seek to discover, acknowledge, and prepare individuals to fulfill spiritual callings to servant-leadership in the church (including apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers).
As a place where the Spirit continually calls individuals as well as communities to respond to God’s invitation to be holy, Urshan Graduate School of Theology is committed to fostering integrity. UGST values the Spiritual fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) as guiding principles of personal and institutional decision making. This commitment has the effect of blending and overlapping all areas of seminary life. UGST does not view as distinct its responsibilities to academic and spiritual growth in the classroom, in the home and in the church. We value the integration of the intellectual and spiritual dimensions of each discipline we teach and the practical application of principles to life and ministry.
Scriptural Fidelity
Spirit Empowerment
Personal Integrity
OUR CORE VALUES
Urshan Graduation School of Theology is United Pentecostal in teaching and practice, serving the global Apostolic community.
As a seminary, we are committed to the following:
Urshan Graduate School of Theology values human diversity. We seek to promote awareness of the diversity of race, ethnicity, and culture within the human family, and assist students in gaining the particular knowledge, appreciation, and openness needed to live and practice ministry effectively in changing cultural and racially diverse settings. UGST promotes the participation of women and persons of racial/ethnic minorities in institutional life.
The Urshan community regards the members of the various institutional constituencies as essential for the success of the academic enterprise. Collegiality incorporates mutual respect for similarities and for differences in background, expertise, judgments and assigned responsibilities; and involves mutual trust and shared governance. Collegial governance allows the academic community to work together to find the best answers to issues facing the seminary. Collegial governance assigns primary responsibility to the faculty for the educational functions of the institution in accordance with basic policy as determined by the Board of Trustees. Further, Urshan Graduate School of Theology values the benefits derived from cooperating with other schools of different theological perspectives on common tasks that benefit the broader community of theological schools.
Cultural Diversity
Scholarly Collegiality
Urshan Graduate School of Theology values the pursuit of academic excellence. We desire to equip the faculty and students to pursue the highest level of scholarly achievement to which they are individually capable. We believe that the academy is a component of the church; that academics must be realized in relationship to the local congregation. We value engagement in ministry and worship within the context of the church as an integral part of quality scholarship.
Academic Quality
Urshan Graduate School of Theology is committed to the development of the personal, spiritual, and professional leadership skills and competencies of its faculty and students. All believers are called to service. Christian leadership flows first from the desire to be a servant. Servant-leadership seeks to unselfishly develop the potentials of others. Those called to leadership within the body of Christ are to prepare the saints for the work of the ministry. Leadership, therefore, is worked out within the context of the church and the world.
Servant Leadership
The Urshan Honor Code represents the Urshan culture and sets the expectations for every member of the Urshan Community. The Honor Code communicates values we hold sacred, principles we seek to prioritize, and practices we commit to apply as we pursue honesty, integrity, and a lifetime of biblical discipleship.
The Urshan Honor Code is rooted in specific character values from Scripture and reflects the message of Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
HONOR CODE
ABOUT URSHAN
The Urshan Honor Code is the highest obligation of the entire Urshan Community.
Every member of the Urshan Community is Honor Bound:
TO DO WHAT IS GOOD:
Promote and uphold the Christ-like values of honesty, honor, integrity, and love for others.
TO DO JUSTLY:
Uphold academic integrity regarding cheating and plagiarism. Embrace honesty and the pursuit of truth in communication. Embrace sexual purity.
TO LOVE MERCY:
Model behavior that fosters a safe and peaceful environment. Compassionately confront any person you believe to be in violation of the Honor Code. Inform the appropriate community authority if unresolved (Matthew 18:15-20).
TO WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR GOD:
Model behavior that fosters a safe and peaceful environment. Compassionately confront any person you believe to be in violation of the Honor Code. Inform the appropriate community authority if unresolved (Matthew 18:15-20).
The following statements provide a summary of biblical doctrine that is affirmed by the United Pentecostal Church International and the Urshan System:
STATEMENTS OF FAITH
ABOUT URSHAN
ABOUT GOD:
There is one God, who has revealed Himself as our Father, in His Son Jesus Christ, and as the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is God manifested in flesh. He is both God and man. (See Deuteronomy 6:4; Ephesians 4:4-6; Colossians 2:9; I Timothy 3:16.)
ABOUT THE BIBLE:
The Bible is the infallible Word of God and the authority for salvation and Christian living. (See II Timothy 3:15-17.)
ABOUT sin and salvation:
Everyone has sinned and needs salvation. Salvation comes by grace through faith based on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. (See Romans 3:23-25; 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9.)
ABOUT the gospel:
The saving gospel is the good news that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. We obey the gospel (II Thessalonians 1:8; I Peter 4:17) by repentance (death to sin), water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ (burial), and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit (resurrection). (See I Corinthians 15:1-4; Acts 2:4, 37-39; Romans 6:3-4.)
About our fundamental doctrine:
The basic and fundamental doctrine of this College is the Bible standard of full salvation, which is repentance, baptism in water by immersion in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the initial sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance.
about christian living:
As Christians we are to love God and others. We should live a holy life inwardly and outwardly, and worship God joyfully. The supernatural gifts of the Spirit, including healing, are for the church today. (See Mark 12:28-31; II Corinthians 7:1; Hebrews 12:14; I Corinthians 12:8-10.)
about the future:
Jesus Christ is coming again to catch away His church. In the end will be the final resurrection and the final judgment. The righteous will inherit eternal life, and the unrighteous eternal death. (See I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:11-15).
Urshan College and Urshan Graduate School of Theology are named in honor of Andrew D. Urshan and Nathaniel A. Urshan, whose ministries represent a century of global Apostolic Pentecostal leadership. Andrew Urshan, an Assyrian immigrant from Persia to the United States, was the prototypical Oneness pioneer. His hunger for God led him from mainline Protestantism through the Holiness Movement to Pentecostalism. He then carried the gospel across North America, brought the Pentecostal message to Russia, and pastored in New York City. In the mid-twentieth century, his son Nathaniel Urshan preached camp meetings across North America that were significant in the expansion of Oneness Pentecostalism. After pastoring one of the most influential churches in the movement, Nathaniel Urshan served as the general superintendent of the United Pentecostal Church International from 1978 to 2001.
In April 1998, Timothy Dugas, a pastor in suburban St. Louis, Missouri, initiated a committee to explore the formation of the first UPCI-owned seminary. From 1998 to 1999, various committees developed a proposal for the UPCI General Board. In 1999, the UPCI General Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, voted to establish Urshan Graduate School of Theology.
The UGST board of directors held its first meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, in January 2000, choosing Nathaniel A. Urshan as chancellor, Jesse F. Williams as board chair, and David K. Bernard as president. The board of directors and the president installed the founding faculty for the first semester in August 2001: Raymond L. Crownover, James A. Littles Jr., David S. Norris, and Gerald L. Truman. In 2010, UGST earned full accreditation with the Association of Theological Schools, a national accrediting commission for seminaries.
Under the ownership of the UPCI Missouri District, Gateway College of Evangelism began offering classes in 1968 in the St. Louis area. In 1971, the Bible college purchased a campus that had formerly been St. Stanislaus Seminary, the oldest college campus west of the Mississippi River. A portion of this campus was rented to UGST when it began operations in 2000.
In October 2011, the UGST board of directors and the UPCI General Board approved a plan for UGST to acquire Gateway College and use it to establish a new undergraduate Christian liberal arts college. Under this plan, the college would offer a variety of majors in addition to ministry and would seek regional accreditation. After months of collaboration between the boards, administration, faculty, and staff of both institutions, the transition from Gateway College to Urshan College was completed on July 1, 2012. In 2014, UC and UGST established Urshan Collegiate Support Organization and, through this corporation, officially acquired the Florissant campus in 2015.
In the fall of 2018, the Urshan Board voted Rev. Brent Coltharp, D.S.L. as Urshan System (UC and UGST) president and voted to acquire a 40+ acre campus property in Wentzville, Missouri. The Urshan System began the 2019-2020 academic year on the Wentzville campus.
In the summer of 2018, the Urshan System attained the status of Candidate for Accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission, a regional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. After only two years in the four-year Candidacy period, Urshan filed for early initial accreditation. After a site visit on the Urshan campus in February 2020, meetings between Urshan and HLC administration, and a formal meeting of the HLC Board of Trustees, the Urshan System was granted early initial accreditation on June 25, 2020.
In February 2023, UGST achieved a significant milestone by receiving its reaffirmation from the ATS Board of Commissioners, affirming its continued excellence and adherence to rigorous academic standards. This achievement was followed by another major accomplishment in March 2024, when Urshan College also secured its reaffirmation from the HLC Board of Commissioners. These endorsements not only highlight the institutions' unwavering commitment to quality education and institutional integrity but also set a strong foundation for their continued growth and impact in the academic community.
