In this midst of this difficult time, thank you for your continued prayers and financial support. We are thankful that we stand together as brothers and sisters in Christ, even as we face many challenges as a country and as a ministry. Our ministry in Princeton continues to be greatly affected by the novel coronavirus. The coronavirus has hit home most profoundly for us with two students having already lost family members to the virus. We are grieving with these students. Beyond these tragic loses, all our students are still adjusting to the new realities and seeking to show resilient faith during this time. For some, the transition home has been especially difficult as they have been put back into difficult home and living situations.
As mentioned in our last letter, ministry has continued in Princeton. Our Bible Courses have been meeting weekly, via Zoom. We have had strong and consistent student turnout at our courses, as well as at our two regular large group meetings, daily prayer, and regular one-on-one discipleship meetings. At these virtual gatherings, our students have shown a strong interest in growing in their faith and reflecting the character of Christ. We have also done a several new initiatives during this time, including a book study of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov and an evangelism training time led by our Evangelism Team. As part of this evangelism initiative, we are challenging every student in our ministry to begin to develop a “VIP list”—that is, a list of important persons that they are praying to share the gospel with.
Here are specific prayer needs we have at this time:
- Pray for the students—that they would continue to grow spiritually in a season where growth is difficult. Pray that difficulties would, in fact, lead them to grow in their faith
- Pray for those students who have lost loved ones to the virus
- Pray for our director, Christopher, as he leads our staff in the midst of the unique challenges we are facing right now
- Pray for “Cornerstone Partners” who will support our ministry through prayer and giving. Our team at Princeton, as with each of our campuses, has begun reaching out broadly to share more about our current financial needs in light of COVID-19. We want others to know what God has been doing as well as ways they can partner with us in the work. We will need grace and favor in these conversations.
Thank you for your prayers for our ministry. We have likely never been more in need of prayer.
Grace and peace,
Christopher Heslep
Ministry Director
Christian Union Nova
As a postscript, I wanted to share that Christian Union is encouraging Christians across America to join together in a 40 day fast for the coronavirus and that lives would be spared and people would be spared from economic calamity as well. You can sign up to participate online at: https://www.dayandnight.org/fast
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.
