The Urban Scholastic Center Story

Chuck Allen, Founder and Executive Director of The Urban Scholastic Center, never thought he would serve in ministry, and he said he would never return to his hometown, Wyandotte County Kansas to live, but God had other plans.

When Chuck left Wyandotte County in 1987 to attend Kansas State University on a track scholarship, he stepped into a whole new world. It was as though someone turned a page in his life and introduced him to something that he never knew existed. Chuck savored this new environment as he met new people, visited uncommon places, and experienced a new-found level of independence. He vowed never to return to Wyandotte County to live.

For three years Chuck’s life was focused on track, friends and school, in that order. God used several devastating personal injuries to take Chuck off the oval track and put him on the straight and narrow track. (Read Chuck’s salvation testimony) After suffering through injuries Chuck left the K-State track & field team and focused on his education.

He was working toward a degree in Graphic Design and felt a summer internship would increase his chances of landing a good job upon graduation, but he couldn’t find an internship. Chuck called home and his father offered to get him a job at the Wyandotte County Juvenile Detention Center (JDC). He accepted it, but only by the providence of God.

God had Chuck right where he wanted him. He was in a place where he would spend a significant portion of his life, not in a correctional facility, but rather, working with students. Another page had turned in Chuck’s life and he could see clearly what was penned for him to do: encourage, equip and pour into the lives of youth.

Chuck returned to K-State and completed his degree in Graphic Design then earned a second degree in Education. Although he had a great desire to work with students he was resolute on never returning to Wyandotte County to live, so he accepted a job in the Blue Valley school district in Johnson County, Kansas, an affluent suburban area.

Chuck thoroughly enjoyed his new teaching position and couldn’t wait to inform his former teachers of his profession. Chuck thought it would be a shock to some of his former teachers because he was not always a model student. From time to time he would throw great tantrums and run away from school.

Chuck drove to his old elementary school expecting to surprise everyone, not realizing that another page in his life was about to be turned.

Chuck went through the small rough doors of the school and walked through the dim narrow halls. As he looked at the art supplies on a small cart and the old Apple computers on some of the desks he stopped suddenly. A disillusioned and somewhat perturbed look crossed his face and he said to himself, "This is what it means to have an uneven playing field." Another page had turned. His mind’s eye was no longer blurred by inexperience, he now understood the meaning of the much said but never explained phrase because he had become intimately acquainted with "the other world." The shock of this revelation was so disturbing and there were so many things churning in his mind that he doesn’t even know if he talked to any of his former teachers. He thinks he merely returned to his car and drove away.

Soon afterward, his wife, Tricia, became pregnant with their fourth child and the thought of raising a family of six on a teacher’s salary led Chuck to leave his teaching position and search for a higher-paying job. He didn’t realize that what had been revealed to him were pages that made up the novel God had penned in the book of his life, all of which would be used to soften his heart toward Wyandotte County and bring him into ministry.

After months of searching for a job, Chuck received a call from a friend he worked with at K-State. This friend was now a minister in his hometown of Wyandotte County and he asked to meet with Chuck to discuss a job opportunity. During this meeting, Chuck was offered a position to work with urban youth and as youth pastor with the church this friend was starting. Chuck was excited about the possibility of working with youth, but he felt neither worthy nor qualified to serve as a youth pastor.

As Chuck listened to his friend share about the positions, he started thinking of the uneven playing field. He also remembered the students he built relationships with while serving at the Wyandotte County Juvenile Detention Center several summers before and his heart began to soften. He knew the Lord was calling him to return home and encourage, equip and pour into the lives of urban youth so he decided to go to the Lord in prayer. After much prayer and a miraculous confirmation from God, Chuck could not ignore the call on his life to return to his hometown to minister and serve.

After vowing never to go back Wyandotte County to live, Chuck returned there in 2000 with his wife Tricia and their four children.

In 2002, Chuck became Youth/Associate Pastor at a different church and served there until 2004, when God called him to carry the vision of The Urban Scholastic Center on a full-time basis.

The Urban Scholastic Center became an official 501(C)(3) Non-Profit Corporation in June 2005 and is passionate about transforming lives in Wyandotte County and the world.