New York School Of Urban Minis

What New York School Of Urban Minis does

New York School of Urban Ministry (NYSUM) is a private nonprofit religious organization founded in 1984 by Paul and Gloria Johansson and headquartered at a 74,000 sq. ft. training campus in Long Island City (Astoria, Queens), New York. Its core function is to design, host, and coordinate short-term urban mission experiences for visiting church groups, youth groups, Christian colleges and Bible schools, and mission organizations, deploying those teams across the five boroughs of New York City in partnership with a network of 325+ inner-city pastors, churches, and ministries. Programmatically, NYSUM offers tiered mission trip packages (Discover NYSUM orientation, 3-day/weekend trips, 5-day week-long trips) plus five seasonal specialized outreach programs (Extreme Makeover, City Fest Basketball, Backpack Outreach, Operation Drumstick Thanksgiving, Christmas Compassion), a 3-Month Urban Internship Program, and a Mobile Food Truck Ministry that operates across all major packages. The organization also markets ancillary services including dormitory lodging ($59/bed/night in 2026), à la carte meal plans, meeting room rentals, and airport shuttle transportation.

NYSUM's revenue model is a hybrid of programmatic fees and charitable giving. Trip and lodging fees represent transactional, per-person unit pricing published across 2026 and 2027 tiers, with multi-year booking cadences and a 3% credit/debit convenience fee or $3.95 eCheck flat fee applied at payment. Recurring and one-time donations flow through the Kindful donation platform and the Urban Ambassadors Circle, an eight-tier monthly giving program ($20 to $1,000/month) supplemented by non-traditional gifts (wills, stocks, real estate, endowments, trusts, business interests). A separate $400,000 capital campaign supports the Building the Dream Kingdom Expansion Project. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven: direct outreach to churches, conferences, and ministry organizations by President Rev. Peter M. DeArruda; website- and phone-based reservations; the Discover NYSUM campus visit program for first-time pastor and ministry leaders; and word-of-mouth through a 60,000+ alumni base. There is no proprietary technology platform, no AI/ML capability, and no mobile application; the underlying stack is a WordPress website, JotForm registrations, and standard SaaS tools for donations, payments, and reviews.

Name

New York School Of Urban Minis

Legal name

New York School of Urban Ministry

Website

https://nysum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NYSUM is a 1984-founded nonprofit operating a 74,000 sq. ft. urban ministry training campus in Queens, NYC. It designs and hosts short-term mission trip packages, seasonal outreach programs, and lodging for churches, youth groups, Christian colleges, and mission organizations across the five boroughs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Mission Trip Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Short-Term Student Housing (Summer/Intensive Programs) (EDAIALAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills) (EDAAAFAN)

Keywords

• Urban ministry training
• Short-term mission trips
• Ministry education programs
• Church mission experiences
• Youth mission packages

Headquarters

HQ city

Long Island City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Mission Trip Package Fees: Short-term mission trip packages sold to churches, youth groups, colleges, and mission organizations. Packages range from 2-night weekend trips ($241-$251/person) to 5-night week-long trips ($544-$566/person), with specialized seasonal packages like Christmas Compassion, Operation Drumstick, Backpack Outreach, City Fest, and Extreme Makeover outreach programs.
2. Accommodation and Lodging Fees: Dormitory-style housing for mission teams (up to 300 guests capacity). Missionary/Mission Team Accommodations at $59/bed/night (2026). Additional night stays outside ministry packages at $49/person/night. Couple's rooms and suites available on limited basis.
3. Meal Plan Fees: Meal plans offered separately from packages: Breakfast $14-15, Lunch $16-17, Bag Lunch $9-10, Dinner $18-19. Teams can purchase individual meals or full meal plans.
4. Additional Services Revenue: Single outreach ministry experience ($28-29/person), meeting room rentals ($55-145/hour), airport shuttle services (LaGuardia $23/person RT, JFK $43/person RT).
5. Donations and Charitable Giving: Individual donations through the Kindful donation platform. Urban Ambassadors Circle monthly giving program with giving levels from $20/month (Messengers) to $1,000/month (Urban Ambassadors). Non-traditional gifts accepted including wills, stocks, real estate, endowments, trusts, and business interests.
6. Building the Dream Expansion Project: Capital campaign fundraising for the Kingdom Expansion Project with a $400,000 goal to construct five prophet's chambers for pastors and ministry leaders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

New York School Of Urban Minis (NYSUM) is a nonprofit urban ministry training organization that provides short-term mission trip packages and ministry training programs from a 74,000 sq ft training campus in Long Island City, NY. The organization serves churches, youth groups, colleges, and mission organizations, offering turnkey mission experiences including housing, meals, ministry opportunities, and debrief sessions. NYSUM has been operating since 1984 and delivers structured urban ministry programming to visiting groups.

Product overview

NYSUM operates a comprehensive urban ministry training organization with a 74,000 sq. ft. training campus in Astoria, Queens. The core offering consists of structured mission trip packages (Discover NYSUM orientation, Weekend/3-Day trips, 5-Day week-long trips) and seasonal specialized outreach programs (Extreme Makeover for women, City Fest Basketball Outreach, Back-to-School Backpack Outreach, Operation Drumstick Thanksgiving, and Christmas Compassion). The Mobile Food Truck Ministry is a key programmatic element deployed across all mission experiences. NYSUM also offers a 3-Month Urban Internship Program and can accommodate external groups through Training Campus facility rentals, meal plans, and meeting room bookings. Additional services include airport shuttle transportation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 1-Day Mission Trip

Quantifiable outcome

• 150,000+ urban leaders trained since 1984
• +7 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• 325+ Inner-City NYC Churches and MinistriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNYSUM partners with over 325 inner-city pastors, churches, and ministries across New York City to deploy short-term mission teams for outreach activities. These partnerships enable mission teams to serve in shelters, food pantries, soup kitchens, and community programs throughout the five boroughs. Partners include churches in underserved neighborhoods who provide ministry sites, volunteer coordination, and local expertise.

Scale indicators19 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• YWAM (Youth With A Mission): YWAM is a large global Christian missionary organization operating training centers and short-term mission trip programs in urban centers worldwide. Comparable in offering structured short-term mission experiences with housing and training, but at much greater scale and geographic breadth.
• Word of Life: Word of Life is a faith-based organization offering Bible schools, youth ministry training, and short-term mission trip programs with on-site housing. Comparable in delivering bundled youth-oriented mission training experiences, but with a larger year-round residential Bible school component.
• Pioneers: Pioneers is a mission-sending organization that trains and deploys teams for church planting among unreached people groups. Comparable in mobilizing short-term teams and operating training programs.
• InterVarsity Christian Fellowship: InterVarsity is a campus-focused Christian organization running short-term mission trips and urban ministry programs from U.S. colleges. Comparable in mobilizing student-led urban ministry trips, though without NYSUM's centralized housing and training campus.
• Christar: Christar is a faith-based mission organization that mobilizes and trains workers for ministry among least-reached people groups. Comparable in mobilizing short-term teams and providing mission training infrastructure.

Direct peers

• New York Theological Seminary: NYTS is a New York City-based seminary offering urban ministry programs and theological education. Most directly comparable based on geography, urban ministry focus, and overlap in equipping Christian leaders for ministry in NYC contexts, though at the graduate-degree level rather than short-term trips.
• Frontier Ventures: Frontier Ventures (formerly Caleb Project) trains and mobilizes Christians for ministry among unreached people groups through structured learning programs. Comparable as a faith-based mission training and mobilization organization.
• Mission Training International: MTI provides cross-cultural and missionary training programs for Christians preparing for ministry. Comparable in delivering structured training experiences, though focused more on pre-field preparation than in-city deployment.

Regional players

• Alliance Theological Seminary: Alliance Theological Seminary is the seminary where NYSUM board member Dr. Charles Hammond serves as Vice-President and Dean of the Chapel. Provides graduate-level urban ministry training with NYC-area exposure; comparable mission alignment and overlapping faculty/community networks.
• Elim Bible Institute: Elim Bible Institute is the affiliated Bible college where President DeArruda trained and where he serves on the Council of Elders. Comparable in faith-based ministry training with missions components, though focused on residential seminary education rather than short-term urban trips.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=LYes3sEUXP0
• Xx.com/theNYSUM

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about New York School Of Urban Minis