OUR NAME
Pronounced 'are you eff,' RUF is a church-based, gospel-driven ministry on over 160 campuses nationwide. It is for students of all backgrounds, regardless of one's beliefs, ideas, or opinions about Jesus. In other words, RUF is for the "convinced" and "unconvinced."
Reformed
The word "reformed" simply means that we hold to an historic understanding of Christianity. Though many today would claim that truth is relative or unknowable, we believe that Christianity stands upon very clear and specific truth claims. Jesus himself said that we must believe who he claimed to be and hold to his teachings. In RUF, you are given opportunities to wrestle with the truth (through the Bible as God's word), and to see that the gospel speaks to every area of life. Through exposure to truth, we hope that many will come to know the one who is truth, Jesus Christ.
Also, we believe that Christianity is not just a moral system. It has a moral system, but that is not what it is. Christianity is not intended to make us better people; the gospel makes us new people. It brings new life for those who are dead in sin, and brings hope for the hopeless. We believe that those who come to see that Jesus is the truth will also see that he is life and so be transformed in every part of their lives.
University
The university plays a crucial role in the formation of our world. It is a bustling marketplace of ideas and intellectual innovation. Universities gradually influence our cultural landscape; they provide paradigms that help our world make decisions on economic, political and moral issues. RUF values the university and does gospel ministry on the university and to the university with the goal of impacting Christ’s global kingdom. We believe that Jesus is King of everything, not just our spiritual activities but of all of life. MIT offers great opportunities in engineering, business, science, residential life, and more. We don't want to take students out of those opportunities, but help them to appreciate and understand what it means to see their engineering studies through the lens of the gospel, to apply the kingship of Jesus to their research, or to live in the freedom of Jesus in their sorority/fraternity/dorm houses. RUF wants to serve and influence MIT by offering a counterculture where students don’t just look at their faith but with their faith at all of life.
Fellowship
The best way to try to be a Christian or figure out what it might mean to be a Christian is to have a solid Christian community with whom you can grow in God’s grace and truth together. In RUF we want to journey through life together - caring for one another, praying for one another, and serving with one another. We believe the ideal place for this kind of community is the church. RUF seeks neither to be a Christian bubble on the campus nor a replacement of the local church. Rather we are the church going to the campus, with the vision of building the church through the campus. It is important to our ministry to have a commitment and accountability with the visible church in the Boston/Cambridge area. We understand the general suspicion students have with the church along with the logistical difficulties of being connected to one while in college. It is our desire to connect students to the church and the church to students. We long for students to see the church as a beautiful reality where Jesus is at work and to receive wisdom and encouragement from the broader community of faith, and for these things to happen during and after college.
Pronounced 'are you eff,' RUF is a church-based, gospel-driven ministry on over 160 campuses nationwide. It is for students of all backgrounds, regardless of one's beliefs, ideas, or opinions about Jesus. In other words, RUF is for the "convinced" and "unconvinced."
Reformed
The word "reformed" simply means that we hold to an historic understanding of Christianity. Though many today would claim that truth is relative or unknowable, we believe that Christianity stands upon very clear and specific truth claims. Jesus himself said that we must believe who he claimed to be and hold to his teachings. In RUF, you are given opportunities to wrestle with the truth (through the Bible as God's word), and to see that the gospel speaks to every area of life. Through exposure to truth, we hope that many will come to know the one who is truth, Jesus Christ.
Also, we believe that Christianity is not just a moral system. It has a moral system, but that is not what it is. Christianity is not intended to make us better people; the gospel makes us new people. It brings new life for those who are dead in sin, and brings hope for the hopeless. We believe that those who come to see that Jesus is the truth will also see that he is life and so be transformed in every part of their lives.
University
The university plays a crucial role in the formation of our world. It is a bustling marketplace of ideas and intellectual innovation. Universities gradually influence our cultural landscape; they provide paradigms that help our world make decisions on economic, political and moral issues. RUF values the university and does gospel ministry on the university and to the university with the goal of impacting Christ’s global kingdom. We believe that Jesus is King of everything, not just our spiritual activities but of all of life. MIT offers great opportunities in engineering, business, science, residential life, and more. We don't want to take students out of those opportunities, but help them to appreciate and understand what it means to see their engineering studies through the lens of the gospel, to apply the kingship of Jesus to their research, or to live in the freedom of Jesus in their sorority/fraternity/dorm houses. RUF wants to serve and influence MIT by offering a counterculture where students don’t just look at their faith but with their faith at all of life.
Fellowship
The best way to try to be a Christian or figure out what it might mean to be a Christian is to have a solid Christian community with whom you can grow in God’s grace and truth together. In RUF we want to journey through life together - caring for one another, praying for one another, and serving with one another. We believe the ideal place for this kind of community is the church. RUF seeks neither to be a Christian bubble on the campus nor a replacement of the local church. Rather we are the church going to the campus, with the vision of building the church through the campus. It is important to our ministry to have a commitment and accountability with the visible church in the Boston/Cambridge area. We understand the general suspicion students have with the church along with the logistical difficulties of being connected to one while in college. It is our desire to connect students to the church and the church to students. We long for students to see the church as a beautiful reality where Jesus is at work and to receive wisdom and encouragement from the broader community of faith, and for these things to happen during and after college.
OUR PRIORITIES
What are our priorities...our core values...the themes that guide our ministry?
A Priority on . . . Authentic Christian Community
“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:27-28 In a fragmented world, the power of the gospel is powerfully seen in authentic Christian community- the kind of community that unites us in loving, sacrificial relationships that cross such modern barriers as race, social and economic classes, etc. We take that seriously at RUF by seeking to be a multi-ethnic fellowship who become known in the community as Jesus’ disciples by how we love one another (John 13:34-35).
A Priority on . . . The Student’s Vocation
The vocation of a university student is just that - a university student. RUF takes that seriously and strives to equip students to be faithful and growing Christians who are conscientious in their studies. The campus is not reduced to a convenient pretext to do evangelism, but rather the place where God has providentially placed students to prepare for legitimate vocations after graduation. Christians learn, grow and reach others in the midst of this, not in spite of it.
A Priority on . . . Being Rather Than Doing
RUF ministries will have a variety of activities on the schedule, but we do not expect everyone to be involved in everything. We have no agenda to bury students in a crush of activities, something that often burns them out. Rather, we desire to help students become people who truly know and love God, and whose lives are profoundly affected because of it. This, rather than a flurry of activities, will make their life and witness more effective and authentic.
A Priority on . . . Challenge and Thinking
We believe in absolute truth, and we also believe the most helpful thing we can do for people is to help them learn to recognize and discover that truth themselves. We avoid giving a set of pat, canned answers. We encourage thoughtful questions and place a strong emphasis on critical thinking, learning how to interpret and understand the Bible properly, and then applying it to all of life today.
A Priority on . . . The Visible Church
RUF is not a substitute for a local church. We are the church going to the campus. Essential to our ministry is a commitment and accountability to the visible church. RUF is not only accountable to and under the guidance of the church, but it is concerned to see students integrated into the life of the local church. The church is where students will spend the rest of their Christian lives, not a campus fellowship. By encouraging student involvement in local churches, RUF situates students to continue their growth in grace long after RUF and college are over.
What are our priorities...our core values...the themes that guide our ministry?
A Priority on . . . Authentic Christian Community
“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:27-28 In a fragmented world, the power of the gospel is powerfully seen in authentic Christian community- the kind of community that unites us in loving, sacrificial relationships that cross such modern barriers as race, social and economic classes, etc. We take that seriously at RUF by seeking to be a multi-ethnic fellowship who become known in the community as Jesus’ disciples by how we love one another (John 13:34-35).
A Priority on . . . The Student’s Vocation
The vocation of a university student is just that - a university student. RUF takes that seriously and strives to equip students to be faithful and growing Christians who are conscientious in their studies. The campus is not reduced to a convenient pretext to do evangelism, but rather the place where God has providentially placed students to prepare for legitimate vocations after graduation. Christians learn, grow and reach others in the midst of this, not in spite of it.
A Priority on . . . Being Rather Than Doing
RUF ministries will have a variety of activities on the schedule, but we do not expect everyone to be involved in everything. We have no agenda to bury students in a crush of activities, something that often burns them out. Rather, we desire to help students become people who truly know and love God, and whose lives are profoundly affected because of it. This, rather than a flurry of activities, will make their life and witness more effective and authentic.
A Priority on . . . Challenge and Thinking
We believe in absolute truth, and we also believe the most helpful thing we can do for people is to help them learn to recognize and discover that truth themselves. We avoid giving a set of pat, canned answers. We encourage thoughtful questions and place a strong emphasis on critical thinking, learning how to interpret and understand the Bible properly, and then applying it to all of life today.
A Priority on . . . The Visible Church
RUF is not a substitute for a local church. We are the church going to the campus. Essential to our ministry is a commitment and accountability to the visible church. RUF is not only accountable to and under the guidance of the church, but it is concerned to see students integrated into the life of the local church. The church is where students will spend the rest of their Christian lives, not a campus fellowship. By encouraging student involvement in local churches, RUF situates students to continue their growth in grace long after RUF and college are over.