Why UCLA?

UCLA is a world-class institution for higher learning and research, consistently ranked as the #1 public university in America. Many of the world’s future leaders spend their most formative years on UCLA’s campus, and UCLA’s faculty and students are often at the vanguard of cultural shifts. UCLA is thus a critical intersection at which the Christian movement interfaces with some of the most influential of our society’s researchers, activists, creators, and entrepreneurs. If we want to see deeply-formed Christians emerge from among these leaders, strategically equipped with a vision for God’s kingdom in their learning and work, there are few better places to start than here.

Why a study center?

“The most effective presence of Christians within secular institutions happens when Christians find a way to create lasting patterns of presence, which is to say mini-institutions. The least effective way to be Christian in a secular environment is as an individual who passes through and metaphorically hands out little tracts, witnessing, and then is gone.

You have to make a multigenerational commitment to Christian presence. Probably the most encouraging movement in our time is our Christian study centers that operate in parallel with the university, with deep relational connections to the faculty and administration of the university. They are intended to exist for a long time, accompanying the university in its own quests of teaching, research and service, but in a Christian way.”

— Andy Crouch, Christian Author and Thinker

In light of this great need and opportunity, we have been gripped by a vision to establish a Center for Christian Study at UCLA. Following the model of the nearly 40 other Christian Study Centers near universities all across the US, this center will become an institutional presence that promotes a Christian vision of truth, goodness, and beauty, that offers relational and intellectual hospitality in Jesus’ name, and that fosters honest conversation about how God’s Kingdom touches every aspect of life, learning, and work. Toward this vision, we are pursuing the purchase of a building across the street from UCLA for study, discussion, lectures, courses, and spiritual and intellectual formation.

To learn more about the growing Christian Study Center movement, visit The Consortium of Christian Study Centers (cscmovement.org) or check out this video!

“The Consortium of Christian Study Centers is excited to come alongside the group at UCLA to prepare the ground for a new Center. As a leading research university on the West Coast, UCLA is exactly the type of institution where we endeavor to see a flourishing Christian intellectual presence. We stand ready to assist the group at UCLA in order to launch this important new work.”

— Fred Barber, Consortium of Christian Study Centers

Why us?

Our team is uniquely equipped to see this work off the ground. Having founded a church over the last decade in Westwood (thecommonsla.com), we have the experience, rootedness, and relationships in the area that will be needed to create an ecumenical, networked ecosystem for Christian learning.

Bryan Elliff, Launch Coordinator and interim Executive Director of the CCS, has a PhD from UCLA in Hebrew Bible and ancient Near Eastern studies. He has been immersed in the UCLA graduate environment for the last 7+ years during one of the most tumultuous seasons in school history. He has the academic experience to be a credible catalyst for this work. As a pastor in his local church, he is also uniquely gifted to bridge the divide between the life of the mind and the maturation of the soul. He and his family—his wife Joey and their 5(!) kids—live 10 minutes from UCLA.

Devin Deuell, Strategic Catalyst of the CCS, and his family moved to Westwood to plant The Commons LA in 2013, a church centered in the urban university region of UCLA. A love for the university and the mind of strategist have prepared him to help catalyze the CCS work. After nearly 20 years in ministry in urban university contexts (UW, UCLA), he’s clear-eyed about the challenges of forming institution and community in the skeptical ecosystem of UCLA. Having lived almost 14 years in Westwood, the Deuells envision staying rooted in the UCLA community for decades serving in ministry across the future generations in both the church and the Center.

Why now?

A unique opportunity has arisen to purchase a building directly across the street from UCLA. The 911 Broxton building has become available for the first time in 40 years and would be a perfect home for the Center for Christian Study at UCLA. The 911 Broxton building is in the nearest location to student housing at UCLA. It is a 3- 10 minute walk from nearly every student dormitory on campus. Students walk by the building on their way to the grocery store, restaurants, theaters, and farmers’ market or other events. We couldn’t pick a better location for accessibility and street-level marketing.

If we are able to purchase it, we are confident that, should Jesus not return prior, it will serve the next 100 years of Bruins. The property is in a strategic location adjacent UCLA, has floor layouts that suit the needs of the Center, and has 34 subterranean parking spots ($18 value/day in Westwood Village).

We believe this is a unique opportunity that we may not see again in our lifetime in Westwood Village. The World Cup is coming to LA in 2026. The Olympics are coming to LA in 2028 and UCLA will be Olympic Village. By 2028 the purple line subway station will be extended and completed in Westwood Village. Projected to be the second busiest stop in all of Los Angeles, the purple line will transport over 100,000 passengers a day to Westwood Village.

This is the moment to buy property for the Kingdom of God that will serve the coming generations.

Contributors and Advisors

Bryan Elliff

PhD, UCLA
Pastor/Elder at The Commons LA
Jeremy Treat

PhD, Wheaton College
Pastor/Elder at Reality LA
Quen Cheng

MD, UCSD and PhD, UCLA
Assistant Clinical Professor, Infectious Diseases at UCLA
Naomi Yoder

PhD, UCLA
Professor of Psychology at Chapman University
Martín González-Cabello

PhD candidate, UCLA
MBA, MIT Sloan School of Management
Greg Ganssle

PhD, Syracuse University
Board of Directors, Rivendell Institute at Yale
John Book

PhD, Southern Seminary
Over 20 years of ministry with Cru at UCLA
Sam Song

COO of City to City SoCal
Founder of The Beautiful Future
Frederick Barber

Director of Strategic Initiatives, Consortium of Christian Study Centers
Yiyi Yao

PhD, UCLA
Chemistry
Winston Gee

PhD, UCLA
Chemistry