Listening honestly, reforming faithfully, and seeking reconciliation with all who have been part of our ministry.

"If possible, so far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ... As we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who belong to the household of faith."

Romans 12:18; Galatians 6:10

The Reconciliation & Unity (R&U) Committee exists to help University Bible Fellowship face its history honestly, learn from those who study religious communities, and pursue reconciliation with former and current members. Our conviction is simple, and it was expressed well by a longtime friend of our ministry:

"The goal is not to purge the public negatives about UBF, but rather to replace them with a positive message growing from the good fruit of love working itself out in unity inside of UBF."

— Dr. John H. Armstrong, founder of The Initiative

Our purpose & history

University Bible Fellowship began in 1961 in Gwangju, Korea, founded by Pastor Samuel Lee and missionary Sarah Barry as a Bible-centered student movement. Over the following decades it grew into a global evangelical campus ministry active in roughly 96 countries. As the ministry expanded beyond Korea, cultural assumptions that were not part of the core gospel sometimes traveled with it, and in earlier years some members experienced leadership as overly directive. The R&U Committee was formed to address this openly.

Three purposes guide our work

  • Understanding. Reach out to the cult-research community and help them understand who UBF really is today.
  • Reconciliation. Reach out to those who have been hurt or offended by UBF, listen, and seek reconciliation.
  • Renewal. Address the underlying issues reflected in criticism, and keep reforming as a church.

How we approach this work

  • Recognizing where Korean cultural practices were mixed with the gospel, and learning to distinguish the two.
  • Implementing biblical models of church governance — especially a plurality of elders (Titus 1:5).
  • Encouraging Bible-school and seminary education for our leaders.
  • Taking responsibility, following Matthew 5:23–24 and 18:15–18, toward those who have been hurt.
  • Engaging openly with the wider Christian and apologetics community.
  • Establishing external accountability partners outside our own ministry.

Our engagement with NEIRR & ICSA

Rather than dismiss criticism, we sought out respected experts who study spiritual abuse and new religious movements — and we asked them to examine us honestly.

  • May 2019. At our invitation, Rev. Bob Pardon and Judy Pardon of the Northeast Institute of Religious Research (NEIRR) visited UBF headquarters in Chicago, met with senior leaders, and presented on aberrational Christian groups. Rev. Pardon followed up with a written set of suggestions and recommendations.
  • September 2020. UBF leaders met with the leadership team of the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) in a joint meeting to discuss concerns openly and hear the experts' counsel.
  • Ongoing. We continue this dialogue, treating it as a source of accountability rather than a one-time event.

Six recommendations we embraced

  • Clearly become, and define ourselves as, a church within the Body of Christ.
  • Encourage theological education for current and future leaders.
  • Internally acknowledge both the good and the bad in our history.
  • Acknowledge that some members were mentally, emotionally, or spiritually wounded.
  • Create venues to hear former members and seek forgiveness.
  • Establish accountability to Christian leaders outside our ministry.

What we heard — and what we acknowledge

We do not present these meetings as an exoneration. Our experts engaged us not to condemn but to help us reform, and we take their counsel seriously. As Rev. Pardon and the ICSA participants noted, most of UBF's struggles arose from some earlier leaders' lack of understanding of intercultural issues. We acknowledge that people have been hurt, and we accept a dual responsibility: to be reconciled with those who were offended, and to establish practices that prevent such harm.

At the September 2020 meeting, Dr. Ken Garrett — an ICSA Advisory Board member who was present, and himself formerly harmed in a different ministry — observed that a genuine reformation was taking place in UBF. ICSA's Executive Director, Dr. Michael Langone, wrote that he and his colleagues are encouraged whenever an organization that has struggled embarks on a journey of correction and reconciliation. We are grateful for their honesty and their hope.

The "Reasons to Stay or Leave" research initiative

Claims of reform mean little without evidence. To hold ourselves accountable, UBF has commissioned independent, rigorous research into the experiences of both current and former members.

"Our vision is to edify the church through quality research of UBF's beliefs and practices — pursuing accountability and transparency, and providing a biblical leadership model that facilitates healing for those who were hurt by us."

— UBF Research Initiative Vision Statement

In partnership with FifthTheory, an established survey research firm, the study — Reasons to Stay or Leave: Exploring Current and Former Members' Attitudes and Perceptions of UBF Leadership Quality — uses the validated Campbell Organizational Survey (COS™) framework. Its central question is open and honest: what organizational and leadership factors lead members to stay in, or leave, the ministry?

What the study examines

  • Perceived leadership quality and the consistency between leaders' intent and members' lived experience.
  • Servant-leadership practices — empathy, listening, stewardship, and commitment to member growth.
  • Organizational climate and well-being — trust, psychological safety, ethics, and burnout.
  • Conflict resolution and governance functioning.
  • Cross-cultural leadership capacity in a global, multicultural ministry.

About the research

  • Framework: Campbell Organizational Survey (COS™), via FifthTheory.
  • Scope: current & former members; beginning in North America, extending globally.
  • Research team: Dr. Allison Haga (Principal Investigator), Dr. Andrew Dellinger, Dr. Gideon Bahn, Dr. Abraham Lincoln, and Pastor Kevin Albright.
  • Intended outcome: peer-reviewed publication and concrete improvements to leadership training and conflict resolution.

A broader research vision

The retention study is part of a wider commitment to studying UBF honestly and academically. A related project is exploring how UBF has sustained racially and culturally diverse congregations across the United States for more than four decades — a rare model in American church life. Dr. John H. Armstrong, a longtime friend of the ministry, lent his support to this work, writing that he believes it will both edify UBF and "promote a broader understanding of how to achieve racial and cultural unity in the American church."

This work builds on a growing body of scholarship about UBF, including a 2024 study of the founders' leadership by Grace S. Lee and Jun-Ki Chung, and academic dissertations examining UBF's history and mission.

Were you once part of UBF?

If you were hurt or offended during your time in our ministry — whether you have moved on to another church or none at all — we would genuinely like to hear from you. Our desire is to listen, to reconcile, and where we have erred, to make amends.

You can reach the Reconciliation & Unity Committee directly at reconciliation@hq.ubf.org.

This page presents a summary of the committee's work. Some source documents remain internal to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.