top row: ooFlora, oJosh, oJessica, oRich, oBrandon, oDion
bottom row: ooNicole, oSuzanne, oKim

Zak

Brandon

Kim

Rich

Ashley

Vanessa

Leah

David

Flora

Lauren

All the students in the 2000 PORCH House happened to be UCSB college students, although this was not a requirement. The community was made up of 6 women and 4 men. The structure of the house itself provided a nice division of genders with 2 bedrooms downstairs for the men and 3 bedrooms upstairs for the women. Not all of the members were Presbyterian, but all committed themselves to live under the same covenant.

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How do the students live?
With the 2001 House just starting, the quesiton of how 10 students (5 men, 5 women) will negotiate eating, sleeping, studying, relaxing, and stressing in a 5-bedroom house. What has worked during the 2000 House was a system something like this:

All pay into a community food pot and buy groceries. One or two students go shopping every week for the House. Since there are ten weeks in every quarter and ten House members, this is works out well. Each member also has responsibility over one of the bills (grocery money, rent, water, etc.) They also have weekly chores and a weekly House meeting.

How does it really work? Well, that just has to be experienced for oneself...

If you want more information about the nitty-gritty of the House, please don't hesitate to contact the members.

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Where did the students come from?
The members of the 2000-2001 House were assembled last year through what many truly believe was a God-led process. At first, there were four members of Front PORCH who were excited by the idea of a Christian community in the heart of Isla Vista. Then one of the women decided to send out an e-mail during winter break, inviting all who she thought might be interested. The next step was to get together and talk about what this Christian community could mean and what it could look like. The four original members had already gone house-hunting and had spotted a house that would be perfect for ten people. During that first get-together, nine people (out of about 30 invited) attended. They ate dinner together and laughed for five hours straight, gaining encouragement in what felt like a common vision. Through prayer and much discussion, the total ended up at ten people.

The 2001 House was a different story. Based on all the knowledge and learning gained in the first year, there was an application process headed by a "Application Committee" (the PORCH staff members and a few House members). This process also brought together 9 students. Some are returnees and some are fresh faces. Undoubtedly, each grouping of students brings about new purposes, problems, and praises.

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What is Isla Vista? (And why is the PORCH House there?)
Isla Vista is a square mile of what some would consider a "slum." The area is densely populated with college students and poor families as well as a homeless population. The housing tends to be poorly constructed and the rent unreasonably high. It lies adjacent to the UCSB campus while the Pacific Ocean boarders its southern side. This fertile location gives rise to a notorious party atmosphere known both to locals and not-so-locals. Isla Vista, fondly nicknamed "IV," has given UCSB a struggle in constructing a respectable college reputation in the past, but now fails to stand in the way UCSB's status of being among the top 10 research schools in the US. The boomtown nature of Isla Vista did not afford very good city planning, and as a result, the area is oftentimes difficult get around in with a car. Parking is scarce. So is housing. Many students must look for housing in the months of January and February for the next school year. (Click here for a more official version of what Isla Vista is.)

Isla Vista has an interesting history. (Click here to see a little of IV history.) But its future looks bright, as far as renovation and revision goes. There is a project under way which hopes to solve some of the physical problems that IV is experiencing. However, it is the atmosphere of Isla Vista which the PORCH House seeks to address. Struggles of college life, independent living, and societal pressure. The need for escape, the need for acceptance and love, the desire for a better life. Questions of self-worth, self-fulfillment, and self-realization. All of these struggles and questions too often make the students here feel trapped. We see many of our peers trying to deal with these issues in less-than healthy ways. It is not the history or society of IV that the PORCH House hopes to affect, it is the people. Accordingly, our mission statement is as follows:

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Contact the PORCH House?

Snail Mail:

6527 Sabado Tarde

Isla Vista, CA 93117

You can also contact us through the Front PORCH e-mail address:

frontporch@altavista.com

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I	Because we are created by God and for His glory, we seek to magnify Him in every aspect of our individual and communal lives.
	[Matt 22:36-40; Isa 43:6-7, 45:23; Col 1:16-18, 3:17; Psa 34:1-3, 63:3-4, 73:23-25; Rom 14:8; 1 Pet 2:9-12; Eph 5:1-2, 19-20; Phil 1:27, 2:5]
II	Because God's word is provided by him to guide every aspect of our lives, we seek to magnify God by submitting ourselves to His will as revealed to us in Scripture and by the Holy Spirit.
	[2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:19-21; Deut 8:3; ROM 15:4; Psa 119; Heb 4:12; 1 Pet 1:23; Isa 40:6-8; Col 3:16; Mk 12:36,13:11; Jhn 14:15-21; 1 Thess 1:4-5]
III	Because we are the body of Christ and God desires His children to be united, we seek to magnify Him by pursuing and protecting unity at all times through:
	o Fellowship with one another o Seeking reconciliation biblically and with grace o Attending all scheduled meetings o Remaining within the house for the entirety of the school year
	[Psa 133; Jhn 17:11, 20-21; Acts 2:42-47, 4:32-35; ROM 12:4-8; Eph 4:11-13; ROM 15:5-6; Eph 4:2-6, 16, 25-27, 29, 32, 5:21; 1 Cor 1:10, 10:17; Col 3:9-14; Phil 1:27, 2:1-4; Col 4:6; Gal 6:1-2; Matt 18:15-18; Lk 17:3-4]
IV	Because God desires all people to love and honor Him, cares deeply for those who are lost and has commanded us to love others as ourselves, we seek to magnify Him by submitting to the leading of the Spirit in using our gifts to witness and minister to our greater community, testifying through the compassion of our words and actions to the reconciling love of God through Jesus Christ His only son.
	[Matt 22:36-40; Acts 1:8; Lk 24:45-48; Matt 28:19-20; Mk 11:17; Lk 15:4-10; Deut 16:11, 31:12-13; Acts 22:14-16]
V	Because our bodies are not our own, but are meant as sacrifices for the Lord and to be controlled at all times by His spirit, we seek to magnify Him by making our bodies holy and pure temples for the presence of God, refraining from drunkenness, drugs, sexual immorality, and all else that keeps us from submitting to His leading.
	[ROM 12:1, 13:13-14; 1 Cor 3:16-17, 5:1-11, 6:12-20; Eph 5:3-5; 1 Cor 6:9-11; Eph 5:15-18; Col 3:5]
VI	Because our Lord is a God of covenants and promises, and we are being conformed into his likeness, we seek to magnify Him by honoring all our commitments, including timely completion of chores and payment of bills.
	[Heb 6:13-15; Jer 34:8-22; Eze 17:13-18; Matt 5:37; Gal 3:15; Jas 5:12; Col 3:23 ROM 13:7-8]

	We, as members of this community, covenant to magnify God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in the manner set forth by His word, both inside and outside the house. Because we recognize that we are fallen and sinful beings, and are therefore in need of God's perfect forgiveness, we acknowledge that our Salvation comes only by the Grace of God through Jesus Christ His Son. It is, therefore, our desire to confirm and declare God's Grace by embodying His love, forgiveness and reconciliation in our daily lives. We commit to holding each other accountable to these truths and submit to each other in love and reverence for Christ Jesus.
	"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." --Joshua 24:15

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