~2025-38285-29: /* Reactions */ changed "mixed bag" to "mixed" as "mixed bag" is not formal or professional in tone

2025-12-03T17:16:34Z

Reactions: changed "mixed bag" to "mixed" as "mixed bag" is not formal or professional in tone

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{{Short description|Evangelical Christian organisation}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = University Bible Fellowship
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| formation = {{start date and age|1961}}
| founders = Samuel Chang-Woo Lee<br /> Sarah Barry
| founding_location = [[South Korea]]
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| type = [[501(c) organization]]
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| status = Active
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| headquarters = [[Chicago, Illinois]]
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| website = {{URL|http://ubf.org/}}
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The '''University Bible Fellowship''' ('''UBF'''; {{Korean|hangul=대학생성경읽기선교회}}) is an international evangelical non-denominational Christian entity that originated in South Korea in 1961.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Statement of Faith|url=https://ubf.org/about/statementoffaith|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-10-26|website=University Bible Fellowship|language=en}}</ref> It was founded through a partnership between a Korean, Samuel Chang-Woo Lee, and Sarah Barry, an American Presbyterian missionary who was sent to South Korea. The international headquarters of UBF is in Chicago. The group members are concentrated in South Korea, but has chapters in 91 countries including American universities and [[community colleges]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.toledoblade.com/Religion/2016/08/27/Campus-prays-University-of-Toledo-staff-and-students-focus-of-religious-gathering-Toledo-Campus-Prays-will-take-place-Thursday.html|title=UT Staff, Students Focus of Religious Gathering|newspaper=Toledo Blade|author=Barger, TK|date=27 August 2016|access-date=26 November 2016}}</ref> The organization's stated goal is student [[evangelism]].<ref>[http://ubf.org/about/origin Origin], [http://ubf.org/about/missionstatement Mission Statement]</ref>

==History==
UBF began in South Korea as a student movement built around one-on-one teaching sessions for college students using the Bible and instilling the founders' version of [[Shepherding Movement]] teachings.<ref name=missiology>Jun Ki Chung, "The University Bible Fellowship: A Forty-Year Retrospective Evaluation", [http://ubf.org/bbs/data/press_media/An_article_from_missiology004.pdf ''Missiology: An International Review''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107121308/http://ubf.org/bbs/data/press_media/An_article_from_missiology004.pdf |date=2009-01-07 }}, Vol. XXXI, No.4, October 2003, pp. 474-85</ref> In 1964, UBF began expanding its campus presence through missionary work in South Korea. In 1966, the group established their headquarters in [[Seoul]]. In the 1970s, UBF began expanding to North America and is mentioned in the group of campus ministries who actively engaged in student recruitment to create Bible-based societies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ocms.ac.uk/regnum/downloads/The_Lausanne_Movement-Final-WMF.pdf|title=The Lausanne Movement A Range of Perspectives|publisher=Regnum Books International |volume=22 |page=196|access-date=15 November 2016}}</ref> In 1975, the organization became incorporated as a non-profit organization in the United States, in the state of [[Mississippi]].<ref>[https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ms/400517/ UBF incorporation]</ref> Soon after the incorporation, the organization's international headquarters was relocated from Seoul to [[Chicago]]. They continued to establish chapters on college campuses in Africa, Europe, South America, Asia, Oceania, and North America. In 2020, [[Wheaton College (Illinois)]] partnered with the Chicago chapter of the group to provide a cross-cultural ministry certification.<ref>[https://www.wheaton.edu/academics/school-of-mission-ministry-and-leadership/partnerships/university-bible-fellowship/], January 21, 2021, Wheaton College School of Mission, Ministry and Leadership</ref>

==Reactions==
Reactions to the group's recruitment efforts on college campuses have been mixed. Some regard the group as a self-supporting missionary model.<ref>[http://www.kukmindaily.co.kr/article/view.asp?arcid=0011089189 University Bible Fellowship Fosters Faith and Intellect Leaders], October 31, 2013, The Kukmin Daily, retrieved December 31, 2016.</ref> Others have, at times, limited or banned the group from practicing their on-campus recruiting efforts, such as at [[University of Winnipeg]] (1989),<ref>Winnipeg Free Press, Vol. 114., No. 322, page 1, Oct. 25 1986</ref><ref>Wendy Stephenson, [https://winnipegubf.blogspot.com/2017/09/ex-cult-member-still-feels-fear.html "Cult personality draws people to Fellowship: Ex-Cult Member Still Feels Fear"], ''The Winnipeg Sun'', Vol. 10, No.90, Tuesday, April 17, 1990, page 5</ref> [[University of Manitoba]] (1991),<ref>Greg Reage, [https://winnipegubf.blogspot.com/2017/09/shepherds-no-band-of-simple-country-folk.html "Shepherds no band of simple country folk"], The Manitoban, VOL. LXXVIII No.9, PAGE 5, October 3, 1990</ref><ref name="upside" >{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Hayward |title=They Can Turn Your Mind Upside Down, Vol. LXXVIII, No.5 |url=http://rsqubf.info/documents/external/manitoban4/ |work=The Manitoban |publisher=Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation |location=Winnipeg, Canada |date=1990-09-05 |pages=12–13 |access-date=2009-04-03 }}</ref><ref>''The Silhouette'' (the student newspaper of McMaster University), February 7, 1991 (Vol. 61, No.22) Page 11</ref> and [[University of Illinois]] (1993)<ref name="uic">Daniel Buckman, [http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/uicnews/articledetail.cgi?id=2031&IssueID=95&catID=2 "UIC worries about cult recruitment; three cases this fall"], ''UIC News'', 12/1/93</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apologeticsindex.org/747-university-bible-fellowship-ubf |title=University Bible Fellowship|date=8 October 2008 | publisher= Apologetics Index|access-date=26 November 2016}}</ref> The group has been documented by various religious watchdog organizations, such as the [[New England Institute of Religious Research]],<ref name="neirr">{{cite web|url=http://neirr.org/ncultlst.html|title= Short List of "Cults", Aberrational Christian, and Other Controversial Groups|publisher= NEIRR|date=October 8, 2008|access-date=26 Oct 2020|archive-date=24 Feb 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224203311/http://neirr.org/ncultlst.html}}</ref> the Freedom of Mind Resource Center,<ref name ="fom"/> and the Evangelical Center for World Survey.<ref>[https://ezw-berlin.de/downloads/Materialdienst_08_1991.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023153707/https://ezw-berlin.de/downloads/Materialdienst_08_1991.pdf |date=2021-10-23 }} The Evangelical Center for World Survey Material Service August, 1991 University Bible Fellowship (UBF) Experience - Report from a Mother</ref> Some consider the group to be a hyper-evangelical Christian movement contributing to the restoration of Christianity in the United States and other countries.<ref>The Spirit Moves West: Korean Missionaries in America 1st Edition, Oxford University Press, 2015, Rebecca Y. Kim, pg 14</ref> Other observers and former members describe the group as [[cult|cult-like]], excessively controlling, spiritually damaging, or abusive.<ref>[https://arcapologetics.org/marks-of-abusive-religious-groups/ Apologetics Resource Center]</ref><ref name="fom">{{cite web| url = https://freedomofmind.com/Info/infoDet.php?id=543| title = Group information: University Bible Fellowship | website = freedomofmind.com | publisher= Freedom of Mind Resource Center Inc. | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170809214115/http://old.freedomofmind.com/Info/infoDet.php?id=543&title=University_Bible_Fellowship | archive-date=9 Aug 2017 | url-status= dead|access-date=26 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="neirr" /><ref>Ronald Enroth, ''[[Churches That Abuse]]'', Zondervan, 1992</ref>

==Financials==
In the United States, the group is registered as a non-profit organization and registered with the [[Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability]] (ECFA). According to the ECFA, the group reported [[United States dollar|$]]2,149,367 of total revenue and $2,073,393 of total expenses for 2019. The group had $13,907,906 in net assets as of the end of 2019.<ref name="ECFA">[http://www.ecfa.org/MemberProfile.aspx?ID=20401 Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* {{official website|http://www.ubf.org/}}

[[Category:Christian youth organizations]]
[[Category:Christianity in South Korea]]
[[Category:Christian new religious movements]]
[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1961]]
[[Category:1961 establishments in South Korea]]
[[Category:Youth organizations based in South Korea]]
[[Category:Religious organizations based in South Korea]]

University Bible Fellowship - Revision history

~2025-38285-29: /* Reactions */ changed "mixed bag" to "mixed" as "mixed bag" is not formal or professional in tone