Our dream for UCLA

At the heart of one of the world’s most influential universities, tens of thousands of students and faculty are asking the deepest questions of life—often without knowing how to bring Christian faith meaningfully into that search. Many of our society’s most influential researchers, creators, activists, and entrepreneurs begin their journey at UCLA, yet most never encounter a thoughtful, credible witness to the Christian vision of life during their most formative years.

UCLA students and faculty need credible, trustworthy mentors that can come alongside them to see how their learning, research, and work contributes to God’s project of restoring his kingdom in the world. The Augustine Center is dedicated to integrating Christian faith with the intellectual life of the university. Distinct from traditional campus ministries, we focus explicitly on equipping students and scholars to bring their faith to bear on their academic disciplines, research, and future vocations.

The impact of Christian study centers

The Christian Study Center movement, begun in the 1960s, has a proven formula for reaching and equipping university students and faculty to make a difference for the kingdom of God through their study and work. Study centers fill in the gap between the Church’s lack of equipping Christian students and faculty to integrate their faith and vocation, while also standing as a lighthouse in the fog of the academic waters whose rocks sink the faith of many young Christians before they depart the harbor of the university.

The Augustine Center equips UCLA students and faculty to advance a Christian vision of wholeness within a disintegrating world. We raise up compelling witnesses and imaginative workers who act as signposts for God’s work of New Creation at UCLA and throughout every major field of vocation.

To learn more about the growing Christian Study Center movement, visit cscmovement.org or check out this video!

Our Team

Bryan Elliff, interim Executive Director of the Augustine Center, 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 Augustine Center, 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 Center. 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.

Brennan Book, Operations and Development Coordinator of the Augustine Center, grew up around UCLA students given his parents were Cru staff. A love for the community at and around UCLA has grown in him since he was a kid, and he went on to attend UCLA as a student. After graduating, he furthered his studies at Talbot and received a Masters of Arts in Philosophy. Brennan longs to see students at UCLA impacted by the gospel, but also trained to see their vocation as a way to seek the Kingdom of God in the world. He and his family—his wife Francesca and their eight month old daughter Lydia—plan to minister in Westwood for decades.

Help advance the Christian vision of human flourishing at UCLA.

To establish the center’s operations through the next academic year, the Augustine Center needs to hire two directors—one for vision and leadership and the other for networking, development, and operations. Each hire plays a key role in our launch to sustain momentum, building a network of support and execute high-quality programming.

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Contributors and Advisors

Jeremy Treat

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

MD, UCSD and PhD, UCLA
Assistant Clinical Professor, Infectious Diseases at UCLA
Yucan Chiu

Vice President of Movement Strategic Services, Redeemer City to City
Naomi Yoder

PhD, UCLA
Professor of Psychology at Chapman University
Ryan Larson

Judge, 395th District, TX
UCLA Alumnus
Isaac Brickner

Branch leader of Jews for Jesus Los Angeles
John Book

PhD, Southern Seminary
Over 20 years of ministry with Cru at UCLA
Martín González-Cabello

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

PhD, Syracuse University
Board of Directors, Rivendell Institute at Yale
Sam Song

COO of City to City SoCal
Founder of The Beautiful Future
Matthew Maxwell

MBA, UCLA
Founder of Family First Music Group
Frederick Barber

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

PhD, UCLA
Chemistry
Brian Dillard

Regional Development Director, Biola University
Winston Gee

PhD, UCLA
Chemistry