The Upper Room® is a global ministry dedicated to supporting the spiritual formation of Christians seeking to know and experience God more fully. From its beginnings as a daily devotional guide, The Upper Room has grown to include publications, programs, prayer support, and other resources to help believers of all ages and denominations move to a deeper level of faith and service. Upper Room resources are grouped in five different areas:

• Personal Spirituality (personal spirituality)
• Children, Youth, Young Adults and Families (children and young adults)
• Small Groups (formational groups)
• Spiritual Leadership (spiritual life of a leader)
• Cross-Cultural & International Ministries (worldwide fellowship)

For further information contact:
Office of the World Editor
1908 Grand Avenue
P.O. Box 340004
Nashville, TN 37203-0004

The Upper Room began as a daily devotional guide, which remains at the heart of its ministry. During the 1930s, a group of women in San Antonio, Texas discerned through prayer that families needed a time of worship and Bible study to sustain them through the stress of the economic depression. They asked their church for a devotional guide -- a request that inspired the Board of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, to "publish a quarterly devotional booklet to be sold in the local church."

Dr. Grover Carlton Emmons, the first editor of the guide, determined the one-page meditation format and decided that the devotions would be written by various Christians, both lay and clergy, from around the world. The final decision, the name of the guide, came to him as he heard a speaker describe the outpouring of spiritual power among Jesus' disciples gathered in an upper room on the day of Pentecost. He quickly telegraphed those who were typesetting the first issue, and in April 1935, the first issue of The Upper Room daily devotional guide rolled off the presses.

In the decades since the guide was "prayed into existence," The Upper Room has grown into a global ministry and touched millions of lives. The Upper Room continues to expand in response to the spiritual needs of persons and communities of faith.

The Upper Room daily devotional guide is one of five magazines published by The Upper Room. In addition, since 1941, The Upper Room has published books and other resources for spiritual growth.

With meditations written by readers from around the world, the daily devotional guide is a perfect companion for individual and family devotional time. The guide is available in large-print and Spanish language editions (El Aposento Alto®), and in 76 editions and 40 languages reaching some 3 million people daily in over 100 countries. The recent E-mail Edition helps even more people spend time with God each day.

The Upper Room also publishes magazines to help young people grow in faith. Pockets®, designed for those 6 to 12 years of age, nurtures children's spirits and teaches them about God's love. An inviting design and fun activities teach children about God's goodness, while scripture readings invite them into a lasting relationship with God. devozine® is written especially for teens by youth and youth leaders. The magazine addresses challenges facing teens and offers guidance through devotions, prayers, and suggested scriptures.

Two Upper Room magazines focus on specific themes in each issue. Alive Now® offers a mix of articles, meditations, poetry, interviews, and reflection questions around a contemporary issue. This versatile spiritual resource appeals to clergy and lay leaders, small groups, college students, and others, opening them to new spiritual and intellectual truths. Weavings® is an award-winning journal for those deeply interested in Christian spirituality. reflective articles, scripture meditations, and book reviews, Weavings offers a fresh perspective on the Christian faith, weaving together the immediacy of personal experience and the enduring truths of scripture.

Upper Room Books® publishes devotional guides and journals, prayer books, Bible studies, small-group studies and workbooks, devotional classics, books for families and children, resources to strengthen spiritual leaders, pastoral care guides, resources for the Christian year, and publications in Spanish and Korean. Please visit our online bookstore for a complete list of current publications.

In 2004 The Upper Room began to oversee the publishing ministry of Discipleship Resources, which focuses on practical helps and ministry solutions for church leaders.

In addition to publishing, The Upper Room provides programs for all ages and walks of life, with workshops and retreats held across the country and around the world. Leadership training is available through the Academy for Spiritual Formation®. The Walk to Emmaus® and Chrysalis® programs provide adults and teens with a weekend experience that calls them into Christian discipleship and provides ongoing support for their life of faith. The Upper Room also engages in spiritual help through its Living Prayer Center®, in which covenant prayer groups across North America pray with and for callers around the country. The Companions in Christ® series offers small groups a powerfully transforming experience in spiritual formation. All resources in the series explore classic spiritual practices, and invite participants to develop daily patterns that open their lives to a deepening relationship with God and one another.

The Upper Room headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, is centered around the Upper Room Chapel, which hosts over 10,000 visitors each year. Speakers from different denominations and countries take part in services (held regularly on Wednesday), and visiting choirs from Nashville and elsewhere provide special services of music.

The focal point of The Upper Room Chapel is a woodcarving of Leonardo da Vinci's painting The Last Supper, sculpted by Ernest Pellegrini. The woodcarving is an extraordinary work of art, created by more than fifty people over fourteen months time. The carving is seventeen feet wide and eight feet high and, when viewed from the rear of the chapel, seems to have a depth of many feet, almost as if there were a room within the carving (although the greatest depth in the carving is only eight inches). The chancel of the chapel mirrors the carving, with the ceiling, tapestries, and altar table designed to reflect the setting in Pellegrini's work.

The pulpit in the chapel, with its winding stair and canopy, has features of several significant pulpits: City Road Church in London, made famous by John Wesley; St. George's Church in Philadelphia; and St. Philip's Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where Wesley preached when he was a missionary in Georgia. The front of the pulpit bears the Chi Rho, said to be the oldest monogram of Christ.

Visitors also enjoy The Upper Room Museum, whose permanent collection reflects the international, interracial, and interdenominational nature of The Upper Room. In December and January, the museum exhibits The Night of the Child, collection of nativity scenes, with over one hundred renditions from cultures around the world. From Ash Wednesday through April, guests can view a special collection of more than seventy Ukrainian eggs. Hand-designed by Cheryl Christensen, the eggs tell the story of Easter and celebrate the beauty of spring using Christian symbols.