Ron Ruthruff

Currently Ron serves as associate professor of theology and culture at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. Ron is core faculty and the anchor professor for global and social partnerships. Currently teaching courses entitled, “Biblical Theology”; “ What Does the Bible Say About Injustice?”; “Developing Cultural Competency: Being the Word on the Street; “Our Religious Impulse”; “Social Entrepreneurship”; and advanced reading seminars in social justice and missional theology.

Ron is ordained clergy with the Street Psalms Community and an associate with Street Psalms Resource Center, providing pastoral care, training, and support for grassroots urban leaders who serve youth and families in hard places around the world.

Ron’s education is an eclectic blend of social work, counseling, and theological studies. Ron holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Washington University, a Master of Science degree from Pepperdine University, and a doctor of ministry in complex urban settings degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston. His dissertation title, Welcoming Kids to the Table of Community: New Horizons Ministries as a Model of Service to Homeless Runaway Adolescents, addresses the psychosocial and spiritual issues surrounding homeless adolescents and describes a relationally based and theologically supported service delivery strategy to serve these marginalized young people.

For the past 30 years Ron, with his wife Linda, has served marginalized communities and street involved youth. He has provided case management services, designed programs, and educated the community on the issues that impact this vulnerable population. Ron completed his first book, The Least of These: Lessons Learned from Kids on the Street, released by New Hope® Publishers in 2010.

Since completing his doctorate, Ron has lectured on missiology, urban ministry, social justice, and marginalized people groups. Ron has been invited around the world to discuss missions with diverse people in urban settings. In Guatemala, he supervised a doctoral project that was creating chaplaincy services for gang-involved street youth; in Hanoi, Vietnam, he presented a lecture to the leaders of the communist government regarding faith-based approaches to urban problems; and in Nairobi, Kenya, and Mumbai, India, he taught philosophy of service and theology courses to urban pastors and youth workers. Ron continues to lecture and teach both internationally and nationally. Closer to home, Ron is on a regular preaching schedule at several churches and serves his community as a pastoral presence.

Ron and Linda Live in south Seattle in the Rainier Valley, a multicultural neighborhood in the city. Living close by are their two adult sons, Ben and Clayton. Ron and Linda’s mission is to equip individuals to lead lives of purpose, to empower faith communities to love their neighbors, and to engage communities in cross-cultural and global conversations.