The Rauschenbusch Center was first established by the Rev. David Bloom and the congregation of University Baptist Church. In 2006, the Center became a taskforce of the Church Council of Greater Seattle. While retaining the vision and emphases of its founders, the Center now functions as an ecumenical organization reaching out to congregations and individuals of various Christian traditions. While the main focus and concern of the Center is the Christian community, some of its work involves cooperation with congregations and individuals of other religious traditions.

The Rauschenbusch Center is committed to fostering theological education in both a contextual and ecumenical manner. This means that our programs encourage theological reflection in the context of various problems facing our American society. And whenever possible we attempt to do this with groups of people who come from different congregations and confessional backgrounds.

To honor individuals who embody the Center's vision and the legacy of Walter Rauschenbusch, the Center makes two awards at its Annual Dinner.

• The Rauschenbusch Award for Ministry: to persons who embody the spirit of Walter Rauschenbusch in their life and work.

• The Rauschenbusch Seminarian Award: to a Master of Divinity student who presents a paper that addresses the relevance of the social gospel to the issues of today's world.