The U.S. Center for World Mission, later known as the Venture Center, was a collaborative
Christian mission
A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and a ...
base in Pasadena, California from 1976 until 2019. The center sought to connect other like-minded organizations around prayer, research, innovation, media, education, strategy, and mobilization with a continued focus on
unreached people groups.
History
Spouses
Ralph D. Winter (1924-2009) and Roberta Winter (1930-2001) founded the U.S. Center for World Mission in 1976 in a few rented offices on the campus of Pasadena Nazarene College. Their purpose was to pull people together to concentrate on the unreached people groups. The campus had previously hosted the
Nazarene University Pasadena campus, and earlier the Pacific Bible College and Pasadena College (1897-1976).
When the Pasadena Nazarene College campus was up for sale, the U.S. Center engaged in a
bidding war
A bid price is the highest price that a buyer (i.e., bidder) is willing to pay for some goods. It is usually referred to simply as the "bid". In bid and ask, the bid price stands in contrast to the ask price or "offer", and the difference bet ...
with the
Church Universal and Triumphant
The Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT) is a New Age religious organization combining elements of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Theosophy, founded in the United States in 1975 by Elizabeth Clare Prophet. The church is headquartered near ...
, which the U.S. Center won.
The money came primarily through small gifts of individual Christians around the country, and through the efforts of
televangelist
Televangelism (from ''televangelist'', a blend of ''television'' and ''evangelist'') and occasionally termed radio evangelism or teleministry, denotes the utilization of media platforms, notably radio and television, for the marketing of relig ...
Dr. William Davis who promoted the project on national television and traveled across the country to meet personally with wealthy Christian donors. The final payment for the campus was made in 1988.
The Center sought to serve the mission movement with resources, information, and strategic insights to the movement grow and effectively reach all the unreached peoples.
In 2015, the US Center was renamed the Venture Center.
The Venture Center and its affiliated ministries were run by members of Frontier Ventures, which was founded by Ralph D. Winter. In 2019 the center was sold as part of Frontier Ventures' move to a decentralized model.
Legacy
Archives of the center now reside at the Ralph D. Winter Research Center. Many Christian ministries had their genesis at the center or resided for a season before moving on to new locations throughout the world.
Venture Center Ministries
* Mission Frontiers magazine
* Global Prayer Digest
*
Joshua Project
The Joshua Project is an Evangelicalism, evangelical Christian organization based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs, United States, which seeks to coordinate the work of Christian_mission#Contemporary_concepts_of_mission, missionary ...
* Roberta Winter Institute
* INSIGHT (an acronym for: INtensive Study of Integrated Global History and Theology. One or two year college-level course.)
* International Journal of Frontier Missiology
*
William Carey International University
William Carey International University (WCIU) is a private faith-based university in Pasadena, California, USA, that provides distance education programs. WCIU offers online-only graduate degree programs in International Development with various ...
*Perspectives Global
*Prime
*
William Carey Publishing
William Carey Publishing, previously known as William Carey Library, is a book publishing company based in Pasadena
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most po ...
* Perspectives on the World Christian movement, a 15-week course.
Perspectives
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See also
*Providence Christian College
Providence Christian College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Pasadena, California, United States. Founded in 2002, it is an independent, confessionally Reformed college with no formal denominational ties. The college offers one de ...
in Pasadena, California
Notes
Further reading
* (A published PhD from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David)
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External links
Frontier Ventures
William Carey Publishing
Perspectives on the World Christian Movement
Mission Frontiers
1976 establishments in California
2019 disestablishments in California
Christian missions in North America
Pasadena, California