Street Disciple University

Welcome to Street Disciple University (SDU), where our mission goes beyond the conventional boundaries of religious discourse often found within the walls of traditional sanctuaries.

SDU is a grassroots street ministry rooted in transformative discipleship, shaped by liberative theological scholarship and holistic spiritual formation. We cultivate deeper consciousness and spiritual growth by creating flexible, high-impact learning spaces that bridge academic rigor with spiritual depth and theological praxis. Our commitment is to meet individuals where they are, both physically and spiritually, while fostering a safe and welcoming community where all can learn, heal, and grow.

As followers of the Way, we seek to embody the ethic of Jesus by embodying the truth-telling, healing, and restorative love he practiced among the marginalized and oppressed. Our commitment is to cultivate a liberating model of education, honor human dignity, and nurture wholeness across ten dimensions of wellness. Through this approach of transformative discipleship, learners deepen theological understanding, reclaim marginalized histories, cultivate whole-person wellness, and walk in the Way with purpose and conviction.

SDU is a sacred learning environment shaped by culturally relevant pedagogy, where theological depth meets lived experience and where learners of every level of spiritual maturity are welcome. Whether you are taking your first steps or walking with seasoned faith, you have a place here to explore, question, and seek truth.

at the heart of SDU

Reimagining Jesus of Nazareth as the original Street Disciple

A revolutionary teacher whose ministry unfolded not in temples or palaces but in the streets among the poor, the sick, and the marginalized.
Jesus proclaimed good news to the oppressed and called the disinherited into dignity, freedom, and restorative healing.
Jesus stood in solidarity with the marginalized, suffering, and vulnerable against systems that crushed the human spirit.
Jesus confronted injustice with a love strong enough to endure public humiliation, violence, and death to liberate others.

Challenges We Face Today

Today’s emerging generations are searching for spiritual truth in a world where religious spaces often feel exclusionary, politicized, or disconnected from lived experience. Many young adults describe themselves as more spiritual than religious because traditional doctrines and institutional practices have too often reinforced racial, cultural, and intellectual prejudice. These patterns have created a harmful culture of othering that marginalizes individuals based on race, ethnicity, gender, culture, sexuality, and social identity. This breakdown is rooted in a long history of Eurocentrism and systemic bias within religious thought, which elevated certain identities as spiritually normative while diminishing the dignity, voice, and sacred worth of many others. Anti-Black racism stands as one of the most enduring expressions of this legacy, yet all communities marked as other have experienced its consequences. These distorted narratives have shaped theological imagination, influenced identity formation, and disconnected many people from faith traditions that were meant to liberate and heal.

Compounding this crisis is the reality that a preponderance of Black churches has drifted from ancestral perspectives that understood creation as flowing directly from the Creator. Within these ancestral frameworks, sacraments were not merely rituals of individual grace or salvation. They served as communal reminders of who the Creator called us to be for our people, a celebration of the divine that God placed within us from conception. To participate in the sacraments was to embrace a transformed life that expressed itself in the work of transforming the world. When this communal, liberative, and creation-rooted theology is neglected, spiritual practice becomes disconnected from its power to shape justice, identity, and collective responsibility.

Street Disciple University exists in response to this need. SDU offers a historically grounded, culturally affirming, and justice-driven approach to theological education and spiritual formation that affirms human dignity, reclaims ancestral wisdom, broadens interpretive horizons, and cultivates a liberative understanding of faith for all who have been marginalized by exclusionary narratives.

"A Street Disciple is not defined by religious conformity, denominational labels, or rigid doctrines, but by the radiance of their heart."

— Jeffrey "Jay" Cuttino

Pillars

Theological Enrichment

SDU’s Theological Enrichment Pillar advances broad theological and religious literacy through a liberation theology-centered, interdisciplinary curriculum rooted in Theopraxis. Learners engage Biblical Studies, Theology, Church History, World Religions, and African and diasporic histories with scholarly rigor and spiritual depth. Integrating insights from the social sciences and emphasizing the relationship between theological reflection and ministry practice, this pillar forms critical thinkers and courageous leaders who reclaim suppressed histories, embody justice-centered discipleship, and cultivate culturally grounded spiritual empowerment.

Spiritual Formation

The Spiritual Formation Pillar offers a holistic model of spiritual formation grounded in transformative discipleship. Integrating contemplative practice, emotional resilience, physical well-being, creative expression, and financial empowerment, this pillar nurtures wholeness across ten dimensions of wellness (Social, Emotional, Financial, Spiritual, Digital, Occupational, Intellectual, Physical, Environmental, Cultural). Through balanced and accessible offerings, learners cultivate grounded spirituality, deeper self-awareness, and sustainable rhythms that support long-term spiritual growth and flourishing.

Street Disciple Clothing

It’s More Than A Street Brand; It’s A Spiritual Movement!

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Theological Thoughts

Reimaging Jesus: A Reflection on Black Jesus

Nov 14

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at the heart of SDU