Urban saints was formed in 1906 and was formerly known as Crusaders. In 1900 an English missionary named Albert Kestin was walking through a north London park and watching a group of children who he was told had given up attending Sunday school "We don’t like it sir" they told him. He wanted to create an organisation which would offer an interesting life changing experience for young people whilst reaching out to Children with the good news of Jesus Christ.
By 1906 the weekly classes he had set up had increased across the country with over 600 children regularly in attendance. The crusaders union was formed in 1906 with the aim to teach the bible in a creative and relevant way for young people who did not attend church. The organisations motto was taken from Hebrews 12;2 "looking to Jesus" and formed an active programme of events and camps. Crusaders celebrated its centenary in 2006 reaching out to 20,000 children and young people every week in local groups and thousands more engaged in varied activity programmes.
Crusaders was renamed Urban Saints on 1st January 2007 but has remained true to the ideals of its founder. The name change was made because it seemed dated in the modern age and the word crusaders had historical sensitivities in a multi-faith multi-cultural society and went against the stated aims of inclusiveness. Urban saints exist to develop radical followers of Jesus. 1) To become what God created you to be 2) To have running mates who keep you prayerful and accountable in your actions. 3) To inspire others to live like Jesus.
The Saint is not somebody who is absolutely perfect but is rather called to live a life of Faith, Hope, and most of all love in the name of Jesus. The Urban part is a modern contemporary word but is not meant to suggest that their work only takes place in towns or cities but rather relates to the city of God as described in the Bible which is representative of Gods kingdom.
Urban saints is organised by committed Christians and has a Christian ethos at its centre, living out traditional Christian values, setting certain standards of behaviour whilst being open and inclusive to all. Urban saints run a training programme for young leaders called 'Energize' which is aimed at equipping a new generation of leaders to create a better future by bringing about positive change in local communities. "On earth as it is in heaven". The organisation runs a twelve month discipleship course called Radish aimed at a radical Christian life of love and giving, discovering the joy of Jesus where his mission becomes their passion.
This work aims to give stability for young people in a confusing and fast changing world and the confidence to resist peer pressure. It has six central beliefs. 1) God is creator of all, and father for those who believe in Jesus Christ. 2) Jesus is the son of God who redeems the world in whom alone we can obtain forgiveness of sins 3) God as holy spirit 4) Sin is a fact and needs dealing with 5) The incarnation, Death, Resurrection, Ascension and coming again of Jesus 6) The Bible is the inspired word of God.
Urban Saints run many events across the country in sport and music, it organises roadshow concerts and gets involved in community projects and overseas aid mission trips, most recently building houses in areas of poverty in Mexico. It also arranges holidays particularly for families on low incomes and people with additional needs. It has many residential centres and camp sites for holidays and conferences and engages in political issues of concern. Recent conferences includes issues such as 'porn scars' and 'empowerment for girls'. Courses are also run for Christian discipleship including the D.N.A. course for young people in their Gap year, this encompasses community and overseas mission. Students are urged to 'stand in the Gap' to give, act and pray. Urban saints currently run 800 youth and children’s groups.