Ministries

Greetings from Palo Alto!

Summer starts late for Stanford students, but it is finally here. Our pace of life will be a bit different between now and September 19 when the incoming freshman arrive on campus. Please pray that the intervening months are refreshing and productive for us!

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Christian Union Lumine Enjoys Close-to-Campus Space

On October 13, 2018, ministry faculty, staff, and financial partners celebrated the debut of the Columbia Ministry Center with a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony. The celebration came after the purchase of the facility in February.

Properties near Columbia are challenging to secure as the university owns much of the surrounding neighborhood. Given the competitive nature of Manhattan’s real estate market, Christian Union leadership lionized the extraordinary acquisition, just a block from Columbia University’s massive Butler Library.

Since then, the ideally located space has functioned as a hub for Bible courses, discipleship, and meetings, providing a secure, cozy hangout for students.

The center is a visible sign that God is alive and working in the heart of NYC!

ColumbiaMinCent2021

The map above illustrates the rarity of finding a property adjacent to Columbia that is not already owned by the University.

“This new Ministry Center, located so unbelievably close to campus, will bless generations of students, faculty, and administrators. The precious word of God will go forth from the Center, powerfully transforming this great university and our nation.” -- Former Columbia Ministry Director Lane Young

columbia team 3

Pictured to the left is the Christian Union ministry team at Columbia, joyfully holding up the keys to the newly aquired property.

The address is: 529 West 113th Street, just one block from Columbia University’s Butler Library.

The building is comprised of a basement and five floors, divided into three units. Christian Union will be using the first unit: the basement and the first floor.

The unit provides much needed room for Bible courses, prayer meetings, freshman outreach dinners, social events, and faculty preparation.

An Extraordinary Outpouring of Support

In October 2017, Christian Union urgently needed to raise a considerable sum to move forward with the purchase of a Christian Union Ministry Center at Columbia University. The Lord moved the hearts of 220 ministry partners to give a total of $503K for the Ministry Center, $11K more than was needed to move forward with the seller.

Heartfelt thanks go out to all who gave in response to the ministry’s urgent request for help. The generosity shown by so many is deeply encouraging and will make a difference for generations to come at Columbia.

All praise goes to our wonderful God, a gracious provider, for this outcome.

A Ministry Center is a game changer for sharing the Gospel at Columbia. The challenge of meeting and office space has been acute for Christian Union’s team already working with more than 200 students at Columbia. This is an enormous provision.

Columbia Ministry Team Explains the Need (1:18)

Additional Gifts Move the Ministry Forward

In the near term, the ministry will rent units 2 and 3 to offset the mortgage. Christian Union plans to use the whole building in the future; the project requires another $3 million of investments from God’s people. You can support this effort here.

Naming Opportunities are Available

Christian Union offers naming rights to the building and key rooms in the center.

Gifts of Appreciated Securities Make a Difference

Gifts of appreciated securities can be made toward this campaign. Please contact the ministry by calling (609) 688-1700 Option 2 to alert us to the gift, so that it is counted toward the total today. Learn more here.

Christian Union Ministry at Columbia

Christian Union's ministry at Columbia is engaging nearly 200 students, an extraordinary number for this secular institution. Meeting space has been exceedingly difficult to come by at Columbia. Christian Union urgently needed room to minister to students and office its faculty.

Christian Union ministry fellows open their homes to students, but these are small spaces. It is not uncommon for the Columbia ministry director and his family to host an outreach in their very small apartment that is attended by more than 100 students over the course of the evening.

Additionally, a ministry center establishes a permanent Christian presence at Columbia. Crucially, in a time when Christian ministries can face discrimination on campus, ministry centers reduce Christian Union’s dependency on the universities’ administrations for securing space.

Please give generously to see God glorified at and through Columbia.

To Learn More

If you would like to learn more about making a strategic impact through a ministry center at Columbia, contact Dave Magnuson: David.Magnuson@christianunion.org.

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Cornell University

Christian Union owns and operates the Mott Center at Cornell University. The Center was named after John R. Mott, a Cornell graduate (1888) who had an enormous impact for Jesus Christ, in America and abroad.

For 27 years, he served as the national secretary of the Intercollegiate YMCA of the USA and Canada. He was a part of the conference that launched the remarkable Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions, and later served as chairman of the executive committee of the Student Volunteer Movement. In 1895 he helped launch the World's Student Christian Federation. In his various roles, he helped organize student missionary movements in countries spanning the globe.

In 1946, he won the Nobel Peace Prize as a result of the impact of his work.

Mott's life was changed during his second year at Cornell (this quote is from the page on the Nobel Prize web site):

At this time he thought of his life's work as a choice between law and his father's lumber business, but he changed his mind upon hearing a lecture by J. Kynaston Studd on January 14, 1886. Three sentences in Studd's speech, he said, prompted his lifelong service of presenting Christ to students: "Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God."

The house provides living space for Christian students who host Bible studies and other gatherings.

The Mott Center
Address: 203 Wyckoff Avenue, Ithaca, NY 14850
Phone: 917-969-1241