Time will be devoted to worship and Bible study as a house. What’s more, students learn to serve each other through weekly household chores and a weekly family-style meal. One of the expectations we have of students during their year in the city is that they will participate in the spiritual life of the house to the fullest of their abilities. See our Community Life Standards that were adopted by the U4C Board of Directors.

Students in the U4C Program live in the house as does a Resident Director and Assistant Resident Director. Like in the dorms, these people will be there to support you, answer questions, provide leadership in household issues, help mediate any conflicts that come up in the house, and most importantly provide the spiritual oversight of the house.

Jesse Purcell grew up in Annandale, MN. He has 4 brothers, 2 sisters, 4 nieces, & 8 nephews! Here is how he shares his ministry experience, “My college years were spent helping with youth groups.  I also got involved with the ethnic communities of the Twin Cities though teaching drivers training and coaching basketball at Peavey Park.  After college I worked with the Evangelical Free church in Tanzania.  In 2007 I set up a program in Memphis, TN to help the refugee in the process of resettlement.  Currently, I lead up All Nations Christian Fellowship's Refugee ministry, helping to resettle Refugee in partnership with World Relief.” What does he like to do in his free time? Pretty much anything outdoors: sand volleyball, kayaking, biking, working on friends houses, moving friends, especially good in-depth conversations and eating great ethnic foods.

Heather comes from a family of seven, and loves her family very much. She was born in Cannon Falls, MN where her family and she lived for fifteen years, after which Heather and her family moved to the mission field of Jos, Nigeria, Africa. In Nigeria, Heather served at couple of ministries—an orphanage for children who lost their parents to AIDS where she helped take care of the children, and a Nigerian elementary boarding school where she taught a wide range of students math and reading skills. In May 2006 Heather graduated from Hillcrest School— a Christian international school located in Jos, Nigeria, which represents over 30 different nations. Heather now is at Northwestern College (Saint Paul, MN) studying Early Childhood Education with a minor in Special Education. While studying at Northwestern College—because of Heather’s heart for cross-cultural ministry—she has been involved in a ministry called "Living Hope Ministries" for the past four years. This is a ministry that reaches out to at-risk children in NE Minneapolis. In May 2010 Heather was awarded the “Who’s Who in Community Ministry Leadership” award from Bethel Seminary, recognizing her faithful work with Living Hope Ministries. In fall 2010, Heather will be student-teaching. After her student-teaching, Lord willing, she will graduate from Northwestern College. Heather is involved at her church by singing on the worship team, helping out in the nursery, and is part of the women’s Bible study. During her free time Heather enjoys to sing songs to her God, sit down with a cup of coffee and read a good book, go on walks, play with children, and hang out with her family and friends.

Move-in and orientation typically occurs over Labor Day weekend in early September of each fall. It’s a weekend of great excitement and anticipation. Although more specific details on move-in dates and an orientation schedule will be mailed to you over the summer months before your year in the city, know it will be a fun weekend spent getting to know each other, the expectations of the house and starting to explore what it means to live in Christian community together. For those in the program there is the possibility of moving into the house the summer before and/or staying in the house after your year in the city.