Reshaping Evangelicalism’s Future Leaders: How Short Term Urban Service Experiences are Influencing the Theology, Social Change Strategy, Cultural Awareness, and Social Connections of a Group of Evangelical College Students

Many evangelical college students are going on urban immersion experiences in order to serve the city, learn about justice and poverty, and grow in their connectedness to poor and ethnically diverse people. These trips cost less than international trips, present fewer language and culture barriers, and often are experienced as life changing events much like international trips. But little research has been done on these urban short term immersion experiences. This dissertation explores the impact on the theology (spiritual capital), social change strategy and cultural awareness (cultural capital), and social connections (social capital) of a group of evangelical college students.