Website Info.


When and how did CSC start?
God first placed the vision for CSC in Robert and Erica’s heart in the fall of. 2005. As a professor of Chicana/o Studies at UCLA, Robert observed that there is a terrible and insidious misconception of Christianity which has taken hold of college and university campuses throughout the United States and the world: This is the lie that Christianity stands opposed to issues of racial and social justice and that one cannot be a follower of Jesus Christ and care about justice. This spiritual lie keeps millions of students from coming to know the Lord Jesus and it produces two destructive trends: (1)It serves as a spiritual and emotional barrier that prevents students from exploring a relationship with Jesus Christ; and, (2)It causes many Christian students to lose their faith. Many students go to college with faith in Christ and then fall away from the body of Christ because they encounter this stronghold and don’t know how to reconcile this perspective taught by their professors with the faith passed down to them by their families. What makes matters worse is that this lie is often reinforced when these students go to their home churches/campus fellowships and find apathy towards issues of justice and race on the part of many followers of Jesus Christ. The tragic result—they find community with well-intentioned non-believers, fall out of community with the Church, and fall away from Christ.

In response to these perceived needs, God led Robert and Erica through a special period of prayer and fasting in 2005-2006 to seek His direction and guidance on the establishment of a new ministry which would address this spiritual lie that has taken hold of college campuses throughout the world. At the end of several months of prayer, we felt that God was leading us to pray for a “core” team of leaders who would serve as the foundation for the new ministry of “Christian Students of Conscience.”

Our first kick-off event for C.S.C. was an urban justice “boot camp” in July 2006 called “Project Revolution.” This was a joint ministry venture of C.S.C., New Song L.A., and Here’s Life Inner City (the urban ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ). As part of Project Revolution,God brought together 24 people to live together in community for one week at the Salvation Army in Compton. During this time we conducted intensive Bible studies and trainings on issues of race and justice and we sent teams of students out to various urban ministries throughout the city to work with youth, immigrants, and homeless populations. Participants also went through a “poverty simulation” in which we simulated the experience of being homeless for a day and a half. On the 4th of July, we took a “Freedom Ride” throughout the city and visited various historical sites of racial struggle and discussed specific issues of racial injustice from a Jesus-centered perspective. Our “tour” included the Santa Anita Race Tracks(which were Japanese internment camps during WWII), Olvera Street, Chinatown, and important sites related to the Watts Riots and the Rodney King beatings. The day culminated with a fireworks celebration on the Pacific coast in Santa Monica. It was an amazing time and we are now beginning to plan for Project Revolution IV!

Building upon Project Revolution, we have also conducted two other social justice/inner city programs since 2006. The first is a ministry program called, “The Urban Justice Leadership Training.” The goal of the Urban Justice Leadership Training is to raise up a leadership core of authentic, broken followers of Jesus Christ who have a heart for issues of urban justice and community development. The U.J.L.T. is an intensive 6-month training on social justice and urban community development from a Jesus-centered perspective. It focuses important urban justice issues/topics such as Christian Community Development, Poverty & Health, Women’s Issues & Job Development, Youth & Education, Immigration, and Race Relations. Our second training program is titled the J.A.C./C.S.C. Servant Leadership Training. This is a high commitment two month training which has the goal of raising up core leadership for C.S.C. The Servant Leadership Training covers topics such as “the Jesus of Justice, Advocacy, and Compassion,” “Biblical Perspectives on Poverty,” “Cross-Socioeconomic and Cross-Cultural Learning,” “Urban Ministry Stylz: Learning from the Streets,” “Introduction to Christian Community Development,””Nehemiah and Community Transformation,” “Nehemiah and Community Transformation,” and “The City and the Poor: How Injustice is Built Into City Structures.”

C.S.C. places a high value upon socio-economic and cultural diversity and our students come from a wide array of backgrounds. We have undergrads, graduate students, and young adults from community colleges, UCLA, and local churches. Our group is also incredibly culturally diverse, with a strong mix of Latino, African American, Asian American, and Anglo American participants. In confirmation of the initial vision, God has brought to us many students who would probably feel alienated by many traditional campus groups and churches.

And so, God is doing some amazing things through C.S.C.! We are so thankful for all He has done in such a short period of time, and we look forward with eager anticipation to all that He has planned! We hope that you can come be a part!


Goals of CSC
Are you a “revolutionary”? Interested in issues of race and social justice? Interested in finding ways to serve the poor? Not sure how to reconcile your faith in Jesus with your your heart for these issues? As a follower of Jesus Christ, and as a professor of Chicana/o Studies at UCLA, I know how hard it is to wrestle with these questions. Christian Students of Conscience is a home for Christian college and university students who care about issues of justice and race, but who find no place to express their concern for these issues in traditional church settings and campus ministries. Sadly, many Christian college students have walked away from church and their commitment to Christ because they viewed the organized church as irrelevant to the needs and concerns of the poor and people of color. Christian Students of Conscience (C.S.C.) provides a place for such students to become reconnected with Christ, holistically discipled, and systematically trained in issues of justice and race from a biblical perspective. C.S.C. creates a new community on campus for Christian students concerned with issues of justice and race. In addition, C.S.C. will systematically train college and university students in Christian Community Development and mobilize them to serve the poor of urban communities in the United States and abroad. A primary goal of C.S.C. is to raise up future Christian leaders who understand God’s heart for the poor and who will take this understanding into the international workplace and market place of ideas. A further goal of C.S.C. is to serve and resource the thousands of important and already established ministries of our urban communities. C.S.C. recognizes that these grass-roots ministries are in the best position to understand the needs of their own communities. The leaders of these urban ministries are the “hidden heroes” of our nation who have labored quietly, arduously, and without recognition in the name of Christ for many years. C.S.C. will come alongside these ministries in an attitude of servanthood and humility to learn and serve. C.S.C. will provide a steady supply of student laborers for these ministries which do such important work, but which are often under-staffed and under-resourced. C.SC. is also a place where socially "conscious" students can come to learn more about the real Jesus. Sadly, students are taught in the classroom that Christianity stands opposed to issues of justice and race and this stereotype is further perpetuated by the conflation of Christianity with partisan politics. If this is you, we invite you to join us on the journey of learning more about Jesus' heart for justice. In the Solidarity of the Kingdom,Robert Chao Romero


How can I get more info to be a part of CSC?
Contact Robert Chao Romero at: robertchaoromero@gmail.com
Erica Romero: ericasheplerromero@gmail.com
Check out our Group Facebook: Christian Students of Conscience

What are some upcoming projects?
“Boxes of Love” Packing Party, Here’s Life Inner City, Lynwood, November 15
“Project Angel Tree” Distribution, Salvation Army, Compton, December 13-20
May 1st Immigrant March, Downtown Los Angeles
Urban Youth Worker’s Institute, Azusa Pacific University, May 14-16
Project Revolution, Summer Urban Justice Bootcamp, Los Angeles, July 2009

Resources (News, Media, MP3, Suggested Books, Facebook)
People and Organizations:


1. “Here’s Life Inner City,” Urban Ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. Various cities throughout the U.S.
http://www.hlic.org/

2. “Christian Community Development Association”
www.ccda.org

3. “International Justice Mission”: http://www.ijm.org

44. Sojourners.com

5. Urban Youth Worker’s Institute: uywi.org



Books and Videos

Books:
1. God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It; Jim Wallace
2. Beyond Charity: The Call to Christian Community Development; John Perkins
3. A Theology as Big as the City; Ray Bakke
4. Divided By Faith; United By Faith both by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith
5. Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger; Ronald J. Sider
6. Good News About Injustice; Gary Haugen
7. The Irresistible Revolution; Shane Claiborne


Videos:
“Compassion by Command” by Here’s Life Inner City, C.C.C.
Compassionbycommand.com

2. “Good News About Injustice: A Witness of Courage in a Hurting world”
http://www.ijm.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?&pid=209&srcid=208

“Healing America’s Wounds”, book and video, by John Dawson
“Another World Is Possible”, Vol. 2, “Poverty,” Shane Claiborne

Partnerships
New Song Los Angeles, Here’s Life Inner City, Neighborhood Outreach Council of Los Angeles, Destino, La Fe, Compton Salvation Army, Pico-Union Nehemiah House, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship at UCLA, Chinese for Christ, Xealot Mexico City

Meeting Times and Locations
J.A.C./C.S.C. Servant Leadership Training, October 2-December 4
Contact Robert and Erica for more information on the training and upcoming service projects.