November 2018

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I am writing to you after just meeting with one of our student leaders named Tyler. In our times of discipleship together we are currently looking at the book of Matthew. I have been meeting with Tyler regularly for over a year now and through our ministry he is becoming a strong Christian leader. Of course, these meetings are just a small part of the ministry—all of which is enabled by your generous support.

In this letter, I want to specifically highlight two recent ministry initiatives and provide you with several specific prayer requests. The first ministry initiative happened two weeks ago over Fall Break. During this time, some of our students and staff helped resettle a number of refugee families in New Brunswick, NJ. It was an amazing way to put our faith into action—just as the name of our student group (Princeton Faith & Action) suggests. Our ministry also hosted Dr. Ed Welch of the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation (CCEF). At our Leadership Lecture Series, Dr. Welch spoke with our students about how God’s word addresses depression. The following morning Dr. Welch also did a Q&A with our students on topics related to Scripture and mental health. Dr. Welch’s talks strengthened the faith of our students as they think about these things in their own lives and the lives of their peers.

We would ask your prayers for the following things:

Ski Safari
As you are likely aware, Ski Safari is a week-long retreat we go on with our students every January. In addition to being a fun time, it is also a time for our students to connect with God. Would you pray that God would lead many students to come and that this time would be impactful in the lives of our students?

Raised Expectations
Would you also pray that God would raise our expectations about what he is able to do in the lives of our students? It is sadly easy to expect far too little, so would you specifically pray that God would give us a bold vision of what he can do in the lives of our students?

At this time of year, I think it is important to mention that we depend on the generosity of many supporters to make this ministry possible. The resources provided by alumni, parents, and friends make it possible to run Bible courses; to hold off-campus conferences, where students step away from campus life to grow closer to God and deepen their relationships with one another; to engage in creative Gospel outreach on campus and bring engaging speakers. And, of course, to meet with students one-on-one—just like I mentioned above—to counsel and encourage them toward new faith in Christ or to deeper maturity in Him. To support this work, would you prayerfully consider making a special gift by December 31 to support current students as they hear the Gospel and grow in faith? 

Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support of our ministry!  

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.

As a postscript, I thought I would mention God’s personal faithfulness to me and my wife.  Since our last prayer letter, I have successfully defended my doctoral dissertation—I am now Dr. Ryan Reed.