Who are we, what do we believe, and in what category do we belong?
In America today, many single word labels have deteriorated to mean many things, hence the meaning of the label becomes meaningless.
Love in Deed & Truth
We aspire to walk, and allow our life to be formed in such a way that it genuinely displays what Jesus taught and lived. We aspire to demonstrate His love in deed and in truth.
"My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth." — 1 John 3:18
A Faith We Own
We aspire to walk in the level of dedication to that of the lives of the early Anabaptists. We feel it is time for us to own our faith. We do not see it necessary to ride the coattails of something that happened 500 years ago, but rather step up to the plate and dedicate our lives in sacrifice for the revolutionary gospel of the peaceful Kingdom of God.
We are also inspired and aspire to walk on a path of life that is influenced by that of the early church pre-Constantine.
No Cheap Gospel
The admin team here at Ur-BAM is not promoting a cheap gospel, but rather aspiring to make evident the gospel in the lives we live sacrificially, in complete service to our risen Lord and Savior, empowered by His grace to live righteous and holy lives, which is the power of Jesus, who is full of Grace and Truth.
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." — John 1:14
You can call us Anabaptist, you can call us Christians, but we are children of God, serving God, while living in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
The Team Behind Ur-BAM
The people who put this together
Hector Troyer
Hector Troyer is a contractor, author, and visionary — one of the men behind Ur-BAM. With years of experience in remodeling, market gardening, farmers markets, and urban living, he is passionate about giving the Gospel real, life-giving hands and feet in unreached communities. Hector and Lois Troyer are part of Followers of Jesus congregation in State College, PA. They have six children, ages 5 to 18, and are currently working towards starting a church in an unreached part of the United States.
Stephen Stoltzfus
Stephen and Sarah Rose Stoltzfus, along with their four boys, are from Lancaster County. Over the past year, God has been calling their family to prepare for a potential move to an urban setting. Stephen currently works on a farm that ships food directly to consumers across the United States, and they are endeavoring to steward God's earthly resources in a way that glorifies the Creator and points people to Jesus. Growing up, Stephen had a deep passion for business. However, the Lord intervened and redirected that drive — shaping it into a desire to glorify his Maker by using what he learned in the business world as a platform for Kingdom work.
Michael Esh
Michael and Liz Esh have five children and live in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania. Before moving to Philipsburg to be part of a new church plant, they spent 10 years operating a grass-fed dairy. Since moving, Michael now does sales for a construction company. As he puts it, "God took my cows away and gave me people to work with, so I would learn how to work with people." Their desire is to use agriculture and business to reach the people around them.
Austin Shenk
A lifelong urbanite passionate about empowering urban community through church, school, and careers.