University Fellowship at a Glance
University Fellowship is a Christian Baptist Church in Eugene. The Church was founded in 2008 by the lead pastor Brett Gilchrist after he left First Baptist, also in Eugene, to form this congregation. He left because he felt the Church was to large and didn't give the sense of community that her wanted in the Church. With him he brought about 300 others from the First Baptist who agreed with his views. From these 300 the church began growing quite rapidly and now has over 800 members in regular attendance to Sunday Worship services. University Fellowship believes the Bible is the word of God and the Bible is a trustworthy and infallible authority in all matters of doctrine, faith and conduct.
University Fellowship is a Christian Baptist Church in Eugene. The Church was founded in 2008 by the lead pastor Brett Gilchrist after he left First Baptist, also in Eugene, to form this congregation. He left because he felt the Church was to large and didn't give the sense of community that her wanted in the Church. With him he brought about 300 others from the First Baptist who agreed with his views. From these 300 the church began growing quite rapidly and now has over 800 members in regular attendance to Sunday Worship services. University Fellowship believes the Bible is the word of God and the Bible is a trustworthy and infallible authority in all matters of doctrine, faith and conduct.
Community Growth
University Fellowship was founded in 2008 and began with about 300 members. Over six years the Church has grown to almost 800 members attending its Sunday services. The community is full of people of all age groups and multiple ethnicity. The Churches growth is mostly attributed to its location so close to the University of Oregon, this location has allowed dedicated Christian students a close and friendly atmosphere to praise God along side fellow Christians. This also gives the Church the opportunity to have members of many nationalities, and encourages their involvement in services and activities put on by the church. Due to its large student population the Church does have large fluctuations of attendance over the summer and is reduced due to many students returning home for the summer season. |
Missionary
University Fellowship preforms multiple Missions in Haiti, Italy and Africa. 10% of their budget goes to these causes (foregin and domestic). A more complete statement on their Missions can be found HERE |
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Facilities
Only having been found 6 years ago the Church is very young and for that reason hasn't built or found a private building in which to conduct their services as well as tend to the administrative duties that are required to run such a congregation. So the Church is divided into two main facilities. The first is their main offices (see below). These serve mainly as the base of operation for the day to day Jobs of the staff of the Church, including the Lead Pastor. Attached to these offices is a large open room in which the Church holds its special events for smaller groups of Church Members which they lovingly call "The Barn". The other main building is the South Eugene High School Gymnasium (see left and below). This building serves as the main gathering place for worship on Sundays. |
Regular Monthly Activities
The Church hosts a regular Sunday service at South Eugene High, anyone is welcome to attend and are just asked to be friendly, social, and respectful while in attendance. The service is broken in to three parts, an opening song of worship sung by all in attendance, followed by any announcements about upcoming events or things happening with members of the congregation. Then there is a short break where you are encouraged to mingle and meet new people. Then the lead pastor leads the group through a chapter of the Bible and adds his own commentary to help others understand its meaning in today's world. Most large Churches usually have multiple services throughout the week, however University Fellowship chooses to only have one in order to build a stronger sense of community as a whole between all church members and not have them divided among different services. The Church also has weekly Men and Women group meetings at "The Barn" where the Bible is discussed among the group and the meaning of each passage to each person is shared. There are weekly meetings of College students with their own Pastor who cover a different section in the Bible with his own commentary to give students different perspective. Beyond worship and bible study the Church has monthly city services where church members will volunteer their time to help the city in some way, cleaning a park, working in a soup kitchen etc. This helps to build the community as well as give back to the city and help others who are less fortunate. Twice a month a Pastor also preforms a service at the prison.
The Church hosts a regular Sunday service at South Eugene High, anyone is welcome to attend and are just asked to be friendly, social, and respectful while in attendance. The service is broken in to three parts, an opening song of worship sung by all in attendance, followed by any announcements about upcoming events or things happening with members of the congregation. Then there is a short break where you are encouraged to mingle and meet new people. Then the lead pastor leads the group through a chapter of the Bible and adds his own commentary to help others understand its meaning in today's world. Most large Churches usually have multiple services throughout the week, however University Fellowship chooses to only have one in order to build a stronger sense of community as a whole between all church members and not have them divided among different services. The Church also has weekly Men and Women group meetings at "The Barn" where the Bible is discussed among the group and the meaning of each passage to each person is shared. There are weekly meetings of College students with their own Pastor who cover a different section in the Bible with his own commentary to give students different perspective. Beyond worship and bible study the Church has monthly city services where church members will volunteer their time to help the city in some way, cleaning a park, working in a soup kitchen etc. This helps to build the community as well as give back to the city and help others who are less fortunate. Twice a month a Pastor also preforms a service at the prison.
Church and State Controversy
University Fellowship uses South Eugene High as their meeting place for Sunday worship as I've said above. This has led to some problems with other local groups who don't believe that the Church should be using the school for their meetings because of the Constitutions Separation of Church and State. However University Fellowship has stated that this should not be an issue, they are simply renting out the space just like any other group or organization can. To also help reassure any who disagree with the churches use of the school University Fellowship offers assistance to the school on matters of funding student lunches who cant afford them as well as helping to keep the school clean. |
Irregular Activities
The Church hosts multiple camps and events for members and non members. Annual Christmas and Easter events are held and all are welcome to attend. A full calender of upcoming events can be found HERE. |
Core Beliefs
University Fellowship is a Christian church and hold onto core christian values. They believe that the bible is the word of God and that its passages are there to help us live our lives for God. However the Bible is not to be taken as completely literal, but instead offer situations from the past that can be interpreted, either by the pastor or the individual, to show how people of God approached similar obstacles in their lives. A full statement of faith is published on the church website HERE. Most of the beliefs of the Church can be heard in Pastor Brett Gilchrist delivered sermons every Sunday, a podcast of the weekly sermon is provided to anyone who wishes to listen HERE.
Disclaimer: The views stated here are based on an interview with one member and a leader of the church. They do not represent the beliefs of every member or the church as a whole but are a basis for what members of the church do believe.
University Fellowship is a Christian church and hold onto core christian values. They believe that the bible is the word of God and that its passages are there to help us live our lives for God. However the Bible is not to be taken as completely literal, but instead offer situations from the past that can be interpreted, either by the pastor or the individual, to show how people of God approached similar obstacles in their lives. A full statement of faith is published on the church website HERE. Most of the beliefs of the Church can be heard in Pastor Brett Gilchrist delivered sermons every Sunday, a podcast of the weekly sermon is provided to anyone who wishes to listen HERE.
Disclaimer: The views stated here are based on an interview with one member and a leader of the church. They do not represent the beliefs of every member or the church as a whole but are a basis for what members of the church do believe.
University Fellowship Contact Info
Office: 25 W. 25th Eugene, OR 97405 Phone: (541)255-1413 E-mail: [email protected] Sunday Worships: South Eugene High School 400 E. 19th Eugene, OR 97401 Website: university-fellowship.com Lead Pastor: Brett Gilchrist Lay Leaders: The Church Lay leaders can be found HERE |