The Upper Room (Christianity)

The Upper Room is an arm of The United Methodist Church dedicated to helping people grow in relationship with God through regular spiritual practice (such as worship and prayer, Bible reading and meditation, journaling, and participation in spiritual support groups). Though it is part of one denomination, The Upper Room's ministry is interdenominational, international, and interracial in scope and character. It publishes a number of devotional magazines and books, and it provides a number of program experiences for in-depth learning in Christian spiritual life. The Upper Room is best known for its devotional reader entitled "The Upper Room" daily devotional guide which is published in 45 languages and 55 countries and reaches people in as many as 100 countries in every region of the world.

Origin

Upper Room Ministries began by publishing a daily devotional guide, which remains at the heart of its ministry. During the 1930s, a group of women in San Antonio, Texas discerned through prayer that families needed a time of worship and Bible study to sustain them through the stress of the Great Depression. They asked their church for a devotional guide -- a request that inspired the Board of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, to publish a quarterly devotional booklet to be sold in local congregations.

Grover Carleton Emmons, the first editor of the guide, determined the one-page meditation format and decided that the devotions would be written by various Christians, both lay and clergy, from around the world. The final decision, the name of the guide, came to him as he heard a speaker describe the outpouring of spiritual power among Jesus' disciples gathered in an upper room on the day of Pentecost. He telegraphed those who were typesetting the first issue, and in April 1935, the first issue of "The Upper Room" daily devotional guide was published.

Ministries

Upper Room Ministries continues to expand in response to the spiritual needs of persons and communities of faith in many countries. The focus continues to be in helping people make room for God every day, grow in Christ's likeness, and together be the presence of Christ in society through personal spirituality, prayer ministry, and small groups enabling mutual support and spiritual formation. The magazine ministries include "The Upper Room" daily devotional guide, "Alive Now", "Pockets" for children, "Devo'zine" for youth, and "Weavings--A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life" for adults seeking deeper insight. Books ministries include Upper Room Books with many titles for personal devotional, family life, small groups, spiritual leadership, youth and young adults; Fresh Air Books for those seeking God in a secular world who are outside the established church; Discipleship Resources for leadership functions in the church; and the Companions in Christ series for those truly seeking long-term and short-term courses in the core spiritual practices and spiritual formation. Electronic ministries include the email edition of The Upper Room daily devotional guide, Reflections, Method X spiritual inventory and prayer wall, and more to come. Program ministries include the Walk to Emmaus in 350 sites in over 30 countries, Chrysalis which like Emmaus for youth and young adults, Living Prayer Center which is a 24-hour prayer line, the Academy for Spiritual Formation 2-year and 5-day expressions, Pathways center for Congregational Spirituality, Soulfeast yearly conference and SoulFiesta: Leading for Christian Transformation occasional conferences, and the Upper Room Chapel and Museum and Bookstore.

Locations

In the USA, The Upper Room main office and operation are located on Grand Avenue in Nashville, Tennessee. Africa Upper Room Ministries is located in Eikenof, South Africa, just south of Johannesburg on a piece property named Anathoth. With this biblical name, AURM shows its faith in and commitment to God's mission and the church's work of redeeming the land, restoring the people, and becoming a Christ-healed Africa for the healing of the nations.

Structure

The Upper Room is a not-for-profit corporation registered in the state of Tennessee. It is also a unique division of the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church, the denominational agency responsible for providing resources and training for local church ministry functions. It is unique as a division of an agency both in the fact that it is financially self-supporting, relying on income from sales and donations, and the fact that it is ecumenical in scope, outreach, purpose, and staffing.

ee also

* Piety
* Pietism
* Prayer in Christianity

External links

* [http://www.upperroom.org/ The Upper Room] (official site)
* [http://www.upperroom.org/devotional/ Daily Devotional]