WHO WE ARE
A center for Christian thought and formation at one of the world’s most influential universities.
At UCLA, tens of thousands of students and faculty are asking the deepest questions of life. 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.
The Augustine Center is a Christian study center that integrates 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.
UPCOMING PUBLIC LECTURE
Christianity and the Crisis of the University with Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson
Is a university degree anything more than a pathway to a good job? What is the purpose of education? And what should be the mission of a university? In a time when universities view students as customers and education as credentialing, the Christian tradition offers us a vision of apprenticeship oriented toward a contemplative life of virtue. How can students and scholars in the modern university pursue this vision for all it’s worth?
Dr. Hooten Wilson is a well-known writer and speaker who appears regularly on podcasts and at conferences dealing with theology, culture, great books, and the Christian life. She is Fletcher Jones Endowed Chair of Great Books at Pepperdine University and author of many books, including Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints (2022) which received a Christianity Today 2023 Award of Merit (Culture & the Arts).
Date and Time: Friday, October 23rd at 7pm
Location: UCLA Dodd Hall 146
First 40 RSVPs receive a free copy of On the Road with Saint Augustine by James K.A. Smith
A PROVEN MODEL
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.
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!
Events
Public lectures and conversations open to all of campus.
Residence
Shared Christian living and learning in a newly remodeled house across the street from campus.
Reading Groups
Close readings of seminal texts at the heart of the Christian tradition.
THE RESIDENCE
Interested in living in
Christian community?
We have a unique opportunity to begin a Christian living and learning household, across the street from campus. If we have enough interest, the owners of 626 Landfair Ave would like to rent out their house to the Augustine Center.
The deepest kind of formation can’t happen at an event. It happens slowly over shared meals, at morning and evening prayer, and in books read around a table with friends. The rhythm is ordinary; the result is not. Studies, vocation, friendship, and faith stop being four separate aspects of life and become one integrated whole.
Residents would commit to the household rule of life for the academic year and walk with a mentor from the Center. Please fill out the form below if you are interested!
UCLA sends them everywhere.
We send them formed.
Our Team
Bryan Elliff
Interim Executive Director
Bryan has a PhD from UCLA in Hebrew Bible and ancient Near Eastern studies. He has spent most of his life working either working in Christian ministry or pursuing academic study of the Bible, two passions that for him are intertwined. On this journey he has made multi-year stops in Louisville, Kansas City, Israel, and finally SoCal. Bryan is Assistant Professor of Old Testament and Semitics at Biola University's Talbot School of Theology. Bryan, his wife Joey, and their five kids have a love for the LA region and a deep desire to see the name of Christ exalted at UCLA.
Brennan Book
Operations Coordinator
Brennan 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.
Contributors and Advisors
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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
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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
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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
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Yiyi Yao
PhD, UCLA
Chemistry -
Brian Dillard
Regional Development Director, Biola University
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Winston Gee
PhD, UCLA
Chemistry