April 2018

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As I write you this letter, we are nearing the final stretch of the semester here in Princeton. There are only two weeks of classes left. As we near the end of the Spring semester, we continue to see the fruit of your prayers and support!  
Since I last wrote to you, we have had several major initiatives on campus, in addition to our Bible Courses, one-on-one meetings, daily prayer meetings and weekly large-group gatherings. With the arrival of Holy Week, we hosted several initiatives related to Christ’s passion. It was truly a moving time in our ministry. One major event was a late-night showing of “The Passion of the Christ” at the Garden Theater, a theater located walking distance from campus. We had over forty-five students come to this showing of the movie. Our ministry also worked to ensure that students on campus without transportation were able to attend Easter services at nearby churches. Through this initiative, roughly seventy-five students were able to go to church. 

In addition to Holy Week, there have been other major ministry happenings. Last week, we had two major events. Rece Davis (ESPN Sports Analyst) spoke at our Leadership Lecture Series, Encounter. Davis’ talk, entitled, “Almost Persuaded,” focused on Paul’s ministry in the book of Acts. His message was both well-attended and well-received. Our Service and Justice team hosted our second annual 5K. This year our 5K was in support of refugee resettlement. We had over 130 students participate within this event. 

As mentioned at the outset, we have also been continuing our regular Bible Courses, one-on-one meetings, daily prayer meetings, and our weekly large-group gatherings. God is at work in these events as well. Personally, I have seen many students take new steps of obedience in their Christian walk. To give just two examples: I personally have had several students begin to practice fasting for the first time. I have also had one of my students take drastic steps towards sexual purity. His growth has been amazing to watch. There are many other examples of decisions to pursue obedience and holiness by our students. 

As we head towards the end of the semester, please pray for the following:

Leadership Teams
We are currently in the midst of our yearly, ministry-wide transition to new leadership teams. Please pray that our new student leaders will bring energy, passion and God-sized vision that will help our ministry see new fruit in the coming year!

Pre-Retreat Registration
We have already begun recruiting students for Pre-Retreat. Please pray that students will register for this retreat. Pre-Retreat is always important for our ministry, since it begins to set the tenor for the rest of the school year. 

Bible Courses
Pray that God will move in our Bible courses. At this time of year, it is easy for students to disengage as they get busy, so pray that they will continue to be faithful in attending. 

One-on-One Discipleship
Pray that students will continue to surrender completely to Christ’s authority. Pray for students who are considering becoming Christians as well as those who have not yet fully committed to Christ’s authority and are questioning aspects of the Christian faith. 

Summer Initiatives
Pray for students who will be going to Israel, as well as taking part in other Christian Union summer initiatives.

Grace and peace,

Ryan Reed
Christian Union Teaching Fellow
Princeton Faith and Action

Please note: if you would like to receive regular updates on how to pray for Christian Union's work at Princeton, please email prayer@christianunion.org.