Meeting people where they are.
We know our community includes people at many different stages of faith, and we trust that Jesus meets each person exactly where they are—because we've seen it happen. We celebrate that our community spans a wide range of political perspectives. Just like Jesus invited both a zealot and a tax collector into his inner circle, we want to welcome that same kind of diversity—even when that requires us to become people who maintain relationships with those who hold opposing worldviews.
Come, be part of what God is up to in our midst.
We worship together on Sunday mornings: 9.45–11.00am
A community oriented to love.
Sharing God’s love is a core part of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. We believe that Jesus wants to share His love in many ways, through all kinds of different people, in many different places. The more we, as followers, are experiencing that love ourselves—by deepening our relationship with God through prayer, worship, service, and life together in community—the more His love will flow from us and into the lives of others.
A community for university.
Every person needs places and spaces where they can belong—people they can feel safe, known, welcomed, and at home with. This need for belonging is all the more pressing in younger generations, where experiences of loneliness and isolation are on the rise. Being a home for students studying at the nearby University of Cincinnati is the reason our fellowship began. We believe college students need the church and the church needs college students. God has charged us with this costly, yet joy-filled work to prayerfully and proactively share the Gospel with our student neighbors—doing all we can to nurture, develop, and support them in their walks with Christ.
A community for diversity.
While our hearts beat loudly for college students, we also believe that all of us need friends of different ages, life stages, backgrounds, and cultures to help us become more like Christ and best reflect the Kingdom of God. While achieving unity among such diversity presents significant challenges, we believe it’s not only possible but essential to our mission. This approach requires conscious and consistent effort, and a real commitment to grace.
At UCC, we commit to walking with one another on this journey to become more like Christ in every way.
A heart for inclusive discipleship.
We're intentionally building a welcoming, non-judgmental faith community centered on Jesus Christ. We call this approach "Inclusive Discipleship," and it starts with recognizing something pretty obvious: people have always interpreted Christian Scriptures in different ways, creating a rich diversity of belief systems. Consider how many Christian denominations exist today—this shows us how beautifully diverse Jesus followers can be.
A heart for inclusive decipleship.
We're intentionally building a welcoming, non-judgmental faith community centered on Jesus Christ. We call this approach "Inclusive Discipleship," and it starts with recognizing something pretty obvious: people have always interpreted Christian Scriptures in different ways, creating a rich diversity of belief systems. Consider how many Christian denominations exist today—this shows us how beautifully diverse Jesus followers can be.
Mission:
To nurture and develop lifelong disciples, equipped to share the love of Christ in our university neighborhood—and beyond.
Leadership
PASTORAL STAFF TEAM
Church leaders—elders and pastors—are equippers who serve their congregations by helping all to fulfill their God-given role in God’s Kingdom. They see the local church as a hub for shepherding, equipping, and sending, prioritizing the church’s spiritual growth and development (discipleship) over Sunday attendance. Leaders in the church serve as God-honoring models of what life in Christ looks like, teaching others to dwell with and attend to the presence of the Spirit. In other words, leadership in the church is not merely oversight of an institution or a weekly event; it is a pursuit of the heart of God for the sake of God’s people and advancement of the Kingdom.
Cara Barth
Cara serves as UCC’s Financial Administration Minister where she oversees the stewardship of finances for UCC, while offering a pastoral and shepherding presence for the broader UCC community.
Megan Trischler
Megan serves as UCC’s Directional Pastor where she stewards the development and expansion of UCC’s mission by keeping the community connected, focused, and moving as a unified local body with branches that extend citywide. Megan cultivates cohesion on the staff and Lead Team, and provides pastoral care and spiritual direction to adults within—and beyond—the church.
Shannon Sanker
Shannon serves as UCC’s Pastor of Parents, Children, and Teens where she supports the faith formation of our youngest community members, while cultivating creative ways to connect and develop parents.
Jeremiah Johnson
Jeremiah serves as UCC’s Community Pastor where he leads the direction and development of UCC’s teaching. Jeremiah works with the team to cultivate Sunday morning worship experiences, and provides pastoral care and companionship to individuals across the UCC body. Focused primarily on discipleship, Jeremiah cultivates ways for the church to be “good news” amongst our neighbors.
Rob Girvin
Rob serves as UCC’s Worship Coordinator where he leads a team of volunteers to shape a worshipful Sunday morning atmosphere, one in which all can encounter God and grow in their relationship with Jesus and others.
2024–25 Lead Team
At UCC, our senior leaders function as a collaborative team of co-equals. This way of leading places a diverse team of mature disciples together who work cooperatively to equip the entire body for the work of ministry. Our Lead Team models mutual submission as they learn to listen for the Spirit together, as part of the congregation, for the sake of UCC. A robust overview of UCC’s leadership philosophy and structure is available for view/download here. *Note: UCC’s two full-time co-pastors, Megan and Jeremiah, also serve as members of the Lead Team.
Sarah Bowman
Began term of service: May, 2019
Scott Ellis
Began term of service: May, 2021
Chris Human
Began term of service: May, 2021
Lowellette Kolloff
Began term of service: May, 2024
Chris Wood
Began term of service: May, 2022
Isaac Stambaugh
Began term of service: May, 2023
Jen Underhill
Began term of service: May, 2023
2024-25 Commissions Teams
A-Team
Cara Barth
Drew Ellis
Kristin Suess
Jen Underhill
B-Team
John Edwards
Chris Wood
C-Team
Tyler Chernesky
Alicia Suguitan
Megan Trischler
Prayer Team
Sarah Bowman
Jeremiah Johnson
Mary C. Miller
Jane Sheldon
Nohemi Stambaugh
Core Tenets
UCC seeks to be a place where everyone is welcome at the table, free to explore who God is and what it means to follow Jesus. While we do not have a formal statement of faith or an exhaustive list of theological positions, there are some basic Christian tenets we maintain.
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By embracing the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as revealed in the Gospel, we begin the lifelong journey towards becoming more like Jesus in every way. From this posture of deepening surrender to Jesus, we begin to trust in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and in the lives of our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. Good news!
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Scripture is the story we’re living. We can look across the entire biblical narrative to discover God’s engagement with his people over time, understand God’s reconciling, redemptive mission in the world, understand who Jesus is, and learn how to know and love him better. Good news!
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As we look upon the world we inhabit, we see people—including ourselves—living under the oppression of unjust systems, worldly powers, and cultural idols. We long to advance the Kingdom by proclaiming Jesus’ lordship across all domains; that in fact Jesus is alive today, sits enthroned at the right hand of the Father, and has the power to overcome all forces of evil that seek to squander life. Good news!
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Sin is estrangement from God out of which harmful action may arise. This separation, if left unattended, can lead to further damage, causing harm to ourselves and fractures in our relationship with/among God’s good creation. Recognizing our sinful nature before God—who loves us and wants to reconcile us back to himself—is what leads us to repentance, is what leads us to new and restored life. Good news!
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Acknowledging sin leads to repentance, a deliberate “turning” that redirects our wills, hearts, and minds towards a gracious God. Repentance is not a one time action, but rather an ongoing lifestyle that strips us of our false natures and orients us towards just and righteous living. Opening to repentance means opening to the Spirit’s work in us, which we trust will lead us into all truth and freedom. Good news!
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Baptism is an outward declaration of a lifelong commitment to live for God. The act of immersion symbolizes dying to our life outside of Christ and being raised, like Jesus, to live under the lordship of our One True King. Good news!
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In scripture, justice and righteousness are the foundations of God’s throne. We look to Christ to see how God’s justice and righteousness are held together. In Jesus, we see the ongoing pursuit of “lost sheep,” those who have gone astray from God, controlled by unrighteous living. In Jesus, we see the ongoing pursuit of restoration, mending what’s broken in gentle and redeeming ways. As followers of Jesus, we are called to this same pursuit of righteous justice—the pursuit of shalom. As UCC, we trust that the same Spirit that lived and breathed in Jesus dwells inside of us, molding and transforming us into people who reflect restored life with our merciful Creator. Good news!
Practices
01
We practice local life together.
Apart from commitment to a specific group of people, we will never reach maturity in Christ. At UCC, we practice local life together by:
Regular fellowship within the church body and among regulars at Rohs Street Cafe
Reaching those on the edges by extending hospitality and generosity to everyone we encounter
Rooting deeply in place, enjoying nature, and seeking God’s goodness in all creation
02
We practice reconciliation.
The reconciling love of God shown in Jesus is an important biblical theme and a central element in the life and ministry of the Church. We practice reconciliation by:
Pursuing unity within the body, recognizing that conflict is a natural part of growth
Honoring all people as God’s image bearers despite differences or disagreements
Standing with the lonely, weak, marginalized, and oppressed
03
We practice remembering.
When we honor the past, we see that we’re part of a vast communion of saints connected across time, tradition, and nation. Remembering where we’ve been helps us find belonging in the long witness of faithful followers—and helps us discover what God might be up to in the present time in our local context. We practice remembering by:
Spending regular time in the sacred texts of the bible
Telling stories, both personally and communally, of God’s goodness and love
Following historical liturgical rhythms and traditions in contemporary ways
04
We practice patient rhythms.
When we set out to do God’s work, it’s tempting to establish grand goals and expect easy success. Choosing the slower, more relational, abiding way of Jesus is humbling, and reminds us that God is the one doing the shaping and growing. We practice patient rhythms by:
Setting aside regular times for prayer—fasting, silence, solitude, meditation, etc.
Walking with others in their spiritual, relational, and personal growth according to God’s timeline for them
Practicing sabbath and other intentional times of rest, play, and creativity to delight in God’s goodness
Ministry Partners
University Christian Church partners with several ministries—locally and nationally—to share Jesus’ love across our university neighborhood and beyond. Current partners include: The 86, City Gospel Mission, Impact Campus Ministries, Young Life Collegiate, International Friendships Inc., and UNDIVIDED.