“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” - Matthew 5:16
Since my last update, we have concluded the Freshman Welcoming Campaign. I’m happy to report that we had 35 students join our Bible Courses. We wrapped up the Campaign with a Fall Retreat. At the fall retreat I called students to seek the Lord in greater ways. I invited them to have: four 30 minute morning and evening devotions per week, fast once a week, faithful Bible Course attendance, and faithful church attendance. Six students are now participating in this. Here are a few of their testimonies:
“Morning and evening devotions have been the most transformational experience of my life.”
One student, in speaking about their course load said, “classes are getting easier,” and he’s less stressed about his course load.
We have also begun to engage in outreach on campus, and part of this outreach is specifically to Hillel and MSA (Muslim Student Association), in light of the attack on Israel on October 7th and other anti-Semitic events at Penn. There is a high degree of Jewish students at Penn, some of which have family and friends directly affected by the October 7th attack, and I wanted to make sure that we reached out to them. Both Hillel and MSA were grateful that we reached out. Hillel invited us to participate in their dinners that they are hosting on Thursday nights. This will allow us to begin to build strong relationships within a group of students that we have not had prior relationships with. The leadership at Hillel has been extremely grateful for our initiative in reaching out and offering support and care.
Reaching out to Hillel has also been encouraging and inspiring for students within CU Martus. As the scripture cited above, we are being witnesses, and my prayer is that the Father will be glorified in it! Lastly, I’m thrilled to report that these efforts are also making a national impact, as Christianity Today mentioned our work in a recent article. You can read that article here.
Please join me in praying for:
- Greater hunger for seeking God among our students
- That students would sense God's presence and grow in their love (obedience) to Him though our Bible Courses
- Gospel advancement at Penn. We want to be a living witness of the gospel in our love and care for others, while also having opportunity to preach the gospel
- That our love would abound and be a bold witness at Penn
We would be grateful if you are led to give a one-time or recurring donation at this secure link:
https://www.christianunion.org/cornerstone/martus
Also, feel free to share this link with anyone in your life who may be interested in helping to make Christ known at Penn.
Thank you, again, for your prayers and support, which God is greatly using to grow the ministry impact at CU Martus. We couldn’t do this without you!
Blessings,
Cory Lotspeich
Ministry Director
Christian Union Martus
Please note: if you would like to receive regular updates on how to pray for Christian Union's work at Penn, please email prayer@christianunion.org.
