THE MISSION OF URSHAN UNIVERSITY
The mission of Urshan University, Inc. is to educate, empower, and equip
Apostolics through higher education for life and service
in the church and to the world.
The mission of Urshan University, Inc. is to educate, empower, and equip
Apostolics through higher education for life and service in the church
and to the world.
THE VISION OF URSHAN UNIVERSITY
Aspiring to reach the world and equip the church by educating Apostolic servant leaders one student at a time.
ABOUT URSHAN
Urshan University aspires to be an interdependent community of students, faculty, and staff who honor and obey Jesus Christ by living Spirit-filled lives.
Urshan University academic programs work to cultivate a deep and enduring faith that affirms the practical teaching of Scripture as it is applied in daily life.
The Urshan University community encourages each individual to discover God’s unique purpose and to develop personal potential as a celebration of that holy purpose.
Spirit - Filled Community
A Biblical Foundation
The Pursuit of Purpose
OUR CORE VALUES
Urshan university is United Pentecostal in teaching and practice, serving the global Apostolic community. As a university, we are committed to the following:
Our curriculum seeks to integrate faith and learning in a scholarly environment that fosters critical and creative thinking, academic excellence, and professional competence.
Urshan College works to educate students to experience and engage the world in ways that empower them as leaders to serve and transform their professions, churches, and communities.
Academic Excellence
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.
