Each year, Christian Union at Harvard facilitates “Texts 4 Toasties,” an initiative that has had great success. Upperclassman Bible course students partner with younger students to make and deliver warm sandwiches all over campus. Students text in a question about God, faith, and the Bible, and in return, representatives from Christian Union show up to their dorm rooms with a sandwich and an answer to their question.
This outreach not only engages students who do not know Christ, but it also serves to help train Bible course attendees in evangelism; many students are often surprised at how ‘easy’ talking to people about God can be. This semester, over 400 students at Harvard texted for toasties, which led to hundreds of conversations about Christ!
Ministry Director Don Weiss had this to say about the initiative:
“I wish I knew who deserves the credit for this idea, but T4T is brilliant. If you’re on the receiving end, you get a free sandwich (or some other campus-friendly delicacy) delivered to your door. This is already a win. {tweetme}With friendly people willing to respectfully engage in your sincere (or otherwise) question, you have every opportunity to enter into a meaningful conversation with a fellow Harvard student on an otherwise awkward topic. Another win.{/tweetme}
For the Christian student willing to deliver sandwiches and answers, I can think of at least four benefits: T4T affords the opportunity to 1] identify with Jesus; 2] converse with people that invited us in to talk about spiritual things; 3] tag along with a more experienced person (or vice versa), essentially doubling the knowledge and wisdom available; and 4] the whole experience will almost certainly inspire us to dig deeper, so that we might better develop our apologetic chops.”
It is a fact that the work of Christian Union is completely funded by gifts. Simply put, we are totally dependent upon the generosity and spiritual vision of our financial partners, which will lead to countless more stories of transformation!
There are many ways to support the ministry of Christian Union through gifts of cash, appreciated securities, recurring gifts, bequests and other planned gifts, and more. Your regional Director of Development is happy to discuss which giving vehicle makes the most sense for you and your family. Visit www.christianunion.org/representative.
