About the UEC – Fresh Springs Association

The UEC – Fresh Springs Association is an Associated Ministry of the United Evangelical Churches (P.O. Box 1000, San Juan Bautista, CA 95045-1000), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1964. All donations to the UEC – Fresh Springs Association are fully tax deductible to the extent that no goods or services were received in exchange for contributions other than intangible religious benefits.

The core purpose of this ministry is evangelism and teaching in the greater New York City metropolitan region, on university campuses, in Latin America, Europe, and southern Asia. We are about the work of proclaiming the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ, promoting unity and cooperation among believers for the advancement of God’s Kingdom, and for the building of His eternal Church. The Bible contains the eternal, unchanging revelation of the mind of our Lord, and remains today the most powerful and effective tool for the transformation of lives, families, and communities. As Psalm 87:7 proclaims, “All my fresh springs are in you.” (NKJV, expanded) The Word of God brings refreshing, transformation, and genuine life to all those who receive and live out Jesus’ message of forgiveness and grace. The proclamation of His redeeming power is our chief work.
 

About Chris White 

Mr. White is a member of the Global Network of Evangelists (GNE) of the Palau Association. His ministry in Colombia has been sponsored by CEDECOL (Consortium of Evangelical Churches of Colombia) and by many churches there. His work in Cuba, the Czech Republic, and Pakistan have also been sponsored by local churches in each of those countries.  He recently completed the book, Discipleship and the Body of Christ (formerly called Come, Follow Me), published by T.E. Lowe, Ltd., New York City.  The book has been released in the Spanish-speaking world as well under the title, Ven y Sígueme: Como Ser Discípulos y Miembros del Cuerpo de Cristo, published by CLC (Centro de Literatura Cristiana). Since then, he has published several more books listed on his Amazon Author's Page.

Chris White preaching in the Coliseo de la Luna in Chía, Colombia

Missions and Ministry Experience.

 Chris White was called by the Lord to be an evangelist in 1973 as a sophomore at Yale University, with several independent confirmations.  As an undergraduate, Mr. White was a member of the Yale Standard, taking part in daily prayer meetings for the campus six days a week and Bible studies twice a week.  He joined other believers as they produced The Yale Standard, a publication presenting stories on Yale’s Christian history, testimonies of undergraduates, and articles of evangelistic appeal.  Issues were usually distributed twice a year to the entire campus.

Arise New York concert at the Jones Beach Bandshell, 9/13/2012

 He and other students also preached and sang once or twice a week in campus common rooms and in open spaces such as the Old Campus, often with significant opposition as there were few believers at Yale at the time.  Various members of the Standard who sang and preached on campus in the 60’s and 70’s were mockingly called the “God Squad.”  Over the years since, however, reports have come of alumni who first heard the Gospel through those efforts and who have since become believers in Jesus Christ.  After withdrawing from Yale in 1973 for financial reasons, Mr. White continued to be active in Bible studies at Yale and took part in a variety of outreaches to undergraduates.  He also assisted with Bible studies at Columbia University, and was involved in weekly meetings at Princeton for four years in the late 70’s.  His church, the New Testament Missionary Fellowship, held regular open-air outreaches in New York City at Columbia University, at major street crossings, and in many of the city’s larger parks.

Mr. White returned to Yale in 1985 with a full scholarship.  He continued to be a member of the Yale Standard, but also joined the Yale Christian Fellowship and participated in various events with Yale Students for Christ.  He and other undergraduates labored to get believers to work together at a time when different groups of believers on campus were often in competition.  He became a member of YCF’s worship team, and joined Living Water, Yale’s Christian a cappella chorale, later becoming its pitch (director).  He continued to preach on and off campus with other students and with Living Water.

After graduation in May 1987, Mr. White continued to be active with campus Bible studies for another decade.  Beginning in 1995, he made the transition from leading Bible studies to being a guest speaker sponsored by the Yale Standard, InterVarsity, Campus Crusade, and various Chinese, Korean, and other student groups at Columbia University and at Yale.  In April 1995, he spoke at Yale at a university-wide gathering of Christian students, graduate and undergraduate, as well as various faculty members, 200 or so present in all.

Thereafter, he began to work more directly in evangelism, holding a series of campaigns at Columbia and Yale, in churches in New York and Connecticut, and as a member of the ministry team at Manhattan Grace Tabernacle in New York.  He also spoke several times at the Lambs Theatre in Times Square, in open-air Gospel street outreaches on 114th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in Colombian Independence Day celebrations in Flushing Meadow Park in Queens, on Wall Street, in Columbus Circle, as well as other places.  He was the main speaker at the Arise New York evangelistic concerts at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park and at the Jones Beach Bandshell which were held through the end of 2019.  He speaks regularly on college campuses in the northeastern United States, and especially in the greater New York City area. For several years, he helped organize and run Campus Renewal Ministries (CRM)’s New York metro area One Cry university prayer and worship gatherings.

In early 2004, Roosevelt Muriel, the President of CEDECOL–the umbrella organization of the evangelical, Pentecostal, and charismatic churches of Colombia–visited Chris and Pilar White in their home in New York. He invited Mr. White to begin work as an evangelist in Colombia with ministry trips twice a year. In March 2006, he spoke at the First Colombian National Congress of Evangelists in Bogotá on the theme The Passion of the Evangelist. Mr. White has done evangelistic campaigns with churches in Bogotá, Chia, Cali, Cartagena, Villavicencio, Bucaramanga, Santa Marta, Ipiales, Tunja, Ibagué, Palmira, Sogamoso, San Andres Isla, and in many other cities and towns in Colombia. He has been on the radio and television in several cities, including national broadcasts, and held his first evangelistic campaign in northern Ecuador in May 2010. He has also done open-air outreaches with young people in plazas and parks in many places around the country, and has spoken at Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá as well as at various schools.

Beginning in 2017, Mr. White has been preaching in churches in various parts of Cuba with many coming to Christ. Starting in 2020, he was invited to preach in southern Asia via Skype in outreaches sponsored by local churches there. He has since done ministry in person on the ground there as well, with thousands coming to faith in Christ. In 2021, he and his wife ministered in churches and a school in the Czech Republic.

A Short Biographical Sketch of Chris White

Mr. White, the son of a Congregational minister, was reared in various small New England towns. He graduated as salutatorian of Masconomet Regional High School in Boxford, Massachusetts and entered Yale University in the fall of 1971. After completing three semesters there, he withdrew from the university, unable to afford the costs, and worked in home improvement contracting in Yonkers, New York for several years. Therafter, he was granted a full scholarship to return to Yale in the spring semester of 1985 and completed his degree, graduating with honors in 1987 with a major in History focusing on the Middle East. His senior essay, A Time to Favor Zion: the Jews of Jerusalem 1825-1850, was labeled “brilliant” by the Chancellor of Tel Aviv University.

Having earned his M.A. in Education in 1991 at Teachers College/Columbia University, Chris has taught mathematics and history at public and private high schools, including Scarsdale High School, the Greenwich Country Day School, and the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry. As of July 1, 2007, he retired from teaching mathematics after twelve years of teaching at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Manhattan in order to go into full-time evangelism. Honors received while in education include being nominated twice to Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, being named Outstanding Teacher in the Upper School at Sacred Heart in 2005, and being given an Outstanding Teacher award from the University of Chicago in 2006. An ordained minister, a singer and songwriter, he is the author of more than thirty sacred songs. His first original music CD, How Glad the Morning, was released in April 2020 on CDBaby.com. His second music CD, Grace to Live 1984, was released in June 2023. He and his wife Pilar have four sons who are also serving the Lord.