I am so very thankful to this church. My son was raised in conservatives churches like PCA (Presbyterian church of America) and CRC (Christian Reformed Church). I know many kids raised this way fall away from church once they go off to college. When my son went off to UC Davis he was recovering from Covid pandemic depression and didn't really want to go to church. For months I prayed for him and sent him links to Christian gatherings around Davis but he was lukewarm and not receptive. Then one day a classmate invited him to a college ministry from this church. He met the nicest and most encouraging group of friends ever. This church provides so much loving support to college kids, many who come to UC Davis for a few years and then leave. But they will leave with greater faith and better equipped to live out their Christian lives outside of school. Priceless. Thank you. read more

It pains me to write this bc UCC has been my home church for over 10 years. I started attending bc I love the community and served on volunteer staff for both Junior High then High School ministry. I've also served at MOPS, am an UCC member, and even worked on staff as an admin assistant at one point. Churches are never perfect, so this is not a complaint on that. I want to write this review bc I don't believe UCC to be clear enough on where they stand on the LGBTQ community. They have events like "How to love on your LGBTQ community" and yet there are glass ceilings in place (which are not loving). It's important for people to make informed decisions about their church community. There were many years in ministry where there were more LGBTQ people volunteering with me than not. It was seemingly welcoming and we even spoke many times about inclusion and equality with staff (paid and unpaid). Apparently that's not the case. You can only serve if you are part of the LGBTQ community if you are celibate (which to John, the pastor, apparently means no dating either). I had some friends who are a part of the LGBTQ community that don't go to UCC (unbiased) read over UCC's website and pick out what is unclear or ambiguous. My husband and I then met with John to go over it. He agreed to change some things, but not others (the all means all part). So far they haven't been corrected and I know we weren't the only ones who have asked for this change. If you want to claim that you love the LGBTQ community (which John claimed in the congregation LGBTQ meeting) then "No person should have to wonder the limits of their welcome. The vulnerability entailed in investing into a community is difficult enough -- LGBTQ+ people should not have to constantly worry about when the other shoe is going to drop. Even when directly asked, many church leaders do not give straightforward answers about the church's policies towards LGBTQ+ people. It often takes multiple conversations and years of relationship-building before clarity is delivered -- and by then, the damage is already done. It is unreasonable to expect people to jump through hoops to learn how policies that affect them will be enforced." All this was said to John in our meeting in which imo was really hard to get a clear answer out of so we had to ask lots of clarifying questions. In the end, he was clear, but we'd like for the website to reflect that. So hopefully this review can help others make an informed decision. UCC please be clearer. You have hurt a lot of people how you have handled this situation. You don't get to claim to love the LGBTQ community and lead them on. You don't get to claim to love the LGBTQ community and not check in on them after holding a whole congregational church meeting on the matter. You don't get to say you love them and there be no action to do so (or at least this was the impression we got after our meeting with John). If you want to keep that opinion. Sure. Just be clear. read more

I spent five years at UCC serving on both paid staff and volunteer positions, so it is with a heavy heart that I am writing this review as a one star rating. After coming out as gay to the UCC staff, and after a lengthy process of meetings where my private life was disected for all to see, they decided I was no longer allowed to serve on a paid OR volunteer basis, due to the fact that I was in a same-sex relationship. I would however, be able to set up chairs and serve in ways that weren't directly influential, but I was no longer allowed to mentor college students, preach to college/youth, lead a small group, or do anything that I was passionate about. When I left, UCC head Pastor John Fanous told me and many others he would make sure to be crystal clear with the churches stance in regards to queer folks, especially in regards to their website, that way other humans aren't blindsided. It is no surprise to me that John did not follow through on his word, so I am writing this review to help inform others like me. UCC is not a safe space for LGBTQ+ folks who desire spirituality and community. Strict rules are inforced on LGBTQ+ folk who desire to serve including but not limited to: being transparent about your dating life, agreeing to not date ever, agreeing to not have conversations publicly that disagree/undermine/or challenge the churches view, and some other restrictions. UCC believes queer folk should be celibate, and to them that includes dating. If you are queer and don't abide by that, you are not welcome. John Fanous used the words "You're welcome to go somewhere else". Their website flippantly uses words and phrases like "all means all" and "inclusion" however it's very misleading. It is unkind to be unclear. If you are an LGBTQ member and want to be involved here, it's an uphill battle full of deceit and hurt. If you want to attend here and aren't LGBTQ but you have close friends or family that you might want to introduce to spirituality or welcome back into the loving arms of Jesus, just know this isn't the safest space for them. Again, John Fanous agreed to make it clear on their website where they stand, he agreed to take down misleading verbage, and he never did. This church doesn't do everything wrong, I obviously loved it for the better half of five years, but when it comes to the LGBTQ+ conversation, they are hurting more people then they are helping, I am one of those people. read more

I spent a little over a year as an intern here, and trust me, a YEAR at a church can turn ugly quick. As you can read in the reviews, they are not very accommodating towards their LGBT community, specifically staff members that have served nearly full time for years BEFORE coming out, only to have their leadership position revoked over their sexuality and openness. The scrutiny under which they obsess over the very personal details of someone's love life is problematic and invasive. I have theories about why they've adopted this behavior, and if I were to take a wild guess, its because they're learning how bad they are at picking, and keeping staff. If you're like I was, and a little "letter of the law" ish, or you just straight up agree with the sentiments of this church's theology, then lets move on to the leadership they have had pass through that was less than Christ like. In fact, I was called a "b****" to my face over questioning some of the inconsistent policies I observed. The first six months of my time with this church involved working with college students, including a young women who had been witness to the affair that ended the previous pastor's term at the church. When she told me that she had been not only dismissed, but also nearly blackmailed into being quiet about the situation, I knew that it needed to be addressed by the current staff. I brought it up to leadership and they had her speak with a spiritual counselor, and let's just say the results were inconclusive and she decided to go to a different church. Read between the lines. But friends, that's not all. We could deep dive into the shady behavior of staff members and this could turn into a novel, however, you don't have all day. In short, as long as you kept your sin a secret and you weren't gay, you were free to serve in any capacity, even if those leaders drove people from the church entirely. Many of those individuals remained blameless and the show went on. The problem with a "progressive church" that wants to be traditional and contemporary all at once is that eventually you have to make choices about what you allow and what you think will damage your reputation. They chose wrong. This wasn't about the word of God, this was about power and pride. They have high staff turnover because if you really follow Jesus, you naturally are inclined to be raw and repentant, as necessary. Instead, the staff is inclined to be holier than thou and so high on their horse, that they are above the word of God. Ironic. Good luck, UCC. You're right, I am a b****. People only stay quiet for so long. Cheers. read more

UCC is a very special church with amazing leaders and teachers. They have a lot of ministries, especially a thriving preschool, and children and adult ministries. This is an active church, not just a Sunday go-to-church sometimes type, and you can make amazing supportive friends in their small groups and larger ones like the one for 60+ or the women's ministry. I find that this particular church teaches from the Bible with amazing love and warmth and Spirit. They also embrace and encourage diversity, discussion and striving to understand differences in theology. I highly encourage families, students, and singles to check it out. This church, like many, does belong to a denomination that sets certain overall theology beliefs and practices but I see an evolution in their willingness to take a fresh look at current events and topics. Check it out! read more

After 15 years of being part of the congregation, my husband and I left UCC last fall because of the discriminatory treatment towards those in the LGTBQ+ community. There are many aspects of this church we appreciated, including their college ministry Catalyst (which I served in for 5 years) and the focus on inclusion for children with disabilities in their youth programs. However, we came to realize last year that UCC does not extend full inclusion to those in the queer community based on policies that were put in place starting in 2016 which impacted people we know directly. We became exasperated with the lack of transparency in how these policies have been communicated with the congregation by church leadership and therefore feel compelled to leave this review for anyone who may be researching UCC so others don't have to experience this same kind of confusion. For context, UCC belongs to the Evangelical Covenant Church denomination, which abides by the doctrine that heterosexual marriage is the Christian standard. While I have come to disagree with this stance, I do not fault a church for adhering to a certain interpretation of theology. What I strongly oppose is not being upfront and clear about how this is implemented. Over the last year, we have discovered through the experience of queer friends who attended that UCC does not allow openly queer folks in a same-sex relationship to serve in ministry roles, as elders, etc. Yet it is not CLEAR anywhere on the church's website that this is their policy. We met with Pastor John to ask about this policy and he told us "sexual orientation is not a factor at all" in being able to lead in any capacity at UCC. However, sexual orientation most certainly IS a factor in serving as a leader since someone we know has been removed from their ministry positions once they began a same-sex relationship and the church leadership has said that this is the church's policy although this is nowhere in their bylaws or on their website. According to leadership, queer folks must remain celibate AND not be in a same-sex relationship in order to serve at UCC. In a direct conversation with the lead pastor John, my husband was told that even straight people who believe in "Side A" theology (being queer-affirming, supporting same-sex marriage, etc.) also cannot serve in leadership positions at UCC, which I'm sure would be news to many people who attend. It has been excruciating to watch friends we know be blindsided by policies they didn't know existed after attending UCC for years and creating community there. Therefore, we asked the church leadership 8 months ago (in December 2018) to update their website to reflect these policies and to take down misleading language such as "all means all", especially since this phrase is most often associated with LGTBQ+ affirming churches. At this point, the website is still not updated. It has been painful to leave a church we attended for so long and have many fond memories from. But we cannot continue to go somewhere that does not allow our openly queer brothers and sisters in Christ to participate fully. Here is a blog about one of our friend's experience and an article from the Aggie newspaper about the situation for further insight. https://fisforfriend.wordpress.com/2018/11/30/to-my-family-and-friends-at-university-covenant-church-davis/ https://theaggie.org/2019/02/04/local-church-campus-group-accused-of-restricting-leadership-roles-for-queer-people/ read more

I can't say enough good things about this sweet church. My family and I moved to Davis in 2019 and have been blessed to call University Covenant Church "home" since the beginning. This church has a wonderful staff that is kind and caring to its members and is one of the most welcoming churches I have ever been to. The excellent leadership trickles down to a strong body with loving members. read more

We have attended this church for over 11 years. They have an amazing heart for the community, for children's ministries and inclusion. The pastors and staff are genuine and knowledgeable. The sermons are delivered in a real world relatable way. read more

This place was great. I loved going to University Covenant Church. It was so big. My Dad used to take me because my friends went there. They had a good Sunday school. I used to get coins & then I would put them in the machine & try to win prizes. read more

I was a worship leader and unpaid staff member for the Catalyst college ministry from 2010 to 2013, and I want to piggyback off of some of the reviews here. I liked UCC when I attended it and thought it was a great community and still know many people involved there who I think are great. What I've learned recently with how the church leadership has treated LGBTQ+ folks has made me quite sad and wishing that they would be consistent and clear with their position on the matter so that they don't lead LGBTQ+ folks on. It's not very Christ-like. read more

When I was younger, my parents and I would trek an hour out to UCC for church every Sunday. (at the old location)Why such a long ride for church you ask? A) nothing suitable in our area B) they have an awesome worship team C) Pastor Jamie Cook is understandable for people of all ages D) it's a low stress environment perfect for church go'ers ---all things good in a church. Now I'm in college and I'm back! Location wise- it is a bit farther on the outskirts of Davis but UCC has a carpool system incase you do need some help getting out there. The new building is new and they keep it up. Everyone is friendly and its a good mix of college students and community members. read more

I came to this church when I was in law school at Davis. Pastor Jamie was the head pastor at the time. I really enjoyed the services and sermons here. Pastor Jamie was a great speaker and pastor. He had a wonderful sense of humor that was relayed in his sermons. There are a lot of pastors on staff and guest speakers, so they rotate speakers pretty often. I was very sad to hear that Pastor Jamie stepped down. Nevertheless, I was very blessed during the time I attended this church and learned so much. They had several services on Sunday. The newest one was the 5:30pm on Sunday, which I think was geared for college students. They also have classes on Sundays. They have groups for elementary students up to young professionals in their twenties. There were free cookies and coffee after the earlier services on Sunday, which I appreciated. I was a big fan of the library which I took full advantage of. Pat, the librarian, was always very nice and helpful. They have a rotating homeless shelter which takes place at the church and a vacation Bible study in the summers for the youngens. This church is more liberal in that it accepts that fact that there are Christians who can be liberal, Christians who can be conservative, and those in between. They don't preach politics. read more

This is my first Yelp post, but I love UCC so much I had to write! I attended UCC as a student at UC Davis from 2002-2006 then subsequently moved to Tokyo, Japan where I kept in touch with some of the members and periodically listened to Pastor Jamie's podcasts. I moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area a few months ago so I can no longer attend but still keep in touch with some of the members. While at UCC I was involved with some of their children's programs, college (Catalyst) group and small groups. Here's some observations: 1) Commitment to God's Word. This was a must for me while searching for a church. Pastor Jamie preaches in such a way that the Bible comes alive and is engaging...he does not compromise the teaching and is full of grace and truth! 2) Multi-generational church with solid history dating back to 1963. Many of the founding members are still actively involved even though the church has been through many changes. 3) Multi-cultural. I grew up in an all-Asian church and found UCC super refreshing in the way the church represented the demographics of Davis. It's hard for a church to do this, but UCC does it well! 4) Flexible/open to Holy Spirit's leading. I was a freshman/sophomore at UCC when the church went through the transitional move from the old "homey" location to the new more "modern" location and I was impressed with the way the move was handled. There were so many memories attached to the old church building, but even the founding members could see that the church was outgrowing the old location. The move was a good decision even though the location IS a little bit farther. 5) Loving community. One of the things I missed most when I moved to college was community with people of all ages...I found myself hanging out with college students all the time and while it was fun, the families, elderly, young, and community members made me really feel a part of the UCC and Davis community. It really became a place to belong. 6) Willingness and desire to work with college ministries/students. As a student I was highly involved with a Christian student organzation called Cru. Instead of competing with my commitment to Cru, I felt supported and cared for by those leading the college ministry (Matt Robbins was a key support during my freshman year and I'm so happy he's back...he and his wife Joy were away at seminary during my other years of college). Pastor Jamie even led an on-campus Bible study so that those who could join him during lunch break could join him. I was amazed at how he could remember everyone's names (I couldn't!) when he leads a congregation of a thousand! 7) Worldview and Generosity. My eyes were opened at UCC to the needs of the entire world. For the gospel of Jesus Christ to be heard and for the physical needs of whole people groups enslaved by poverty, child abuse, sexual abuse, etc. UCC is a community committed to giving...I was a recipient of their generosity during my years in Japan with Cru and I was also encouraged to give. I'm still giving through Compassion International to a child in Thailand as a result of "Compassion Sunday" at UCC and the whole mindset. I could go on and on, but I'll end for now...one last thing is that although I'm no longer able to attend since I'm currently living in the Bay Area I still feel that I'm being influenced by UCC as my current pastor went to UCC and still talks about things that he learned at UCC for my current church to learn from!! read more

The Jr. High Youth Pastor at this church was great! She helped my kids while they were growing up. Definitely recommend the Jr. High ministry here! read more

Wonderful Scripture-based, walk-the-talk church for everyone, no matter your age or season in life. We have been active members since 2018 and found the church immediately welcoming, transparent, and honest. Services are biblical, personal, and inspiring. We especially appreciate how many people gather after service for fellowship and the multiethnic and intergenerational emphases of the church. They also have a wide variety of ministries that make it easy to build strong links with fellow churchgoers. Definitely recommend checking them out if you live in the Davis area, or - with everything online now because of Covid - no matter where you live. read more