Historical Background

The following videos are not directly about Christian Union's work, but rather provide context and historical background for those interested.

Part 1

An informative lecture on Christianity in the Ivy League, the first of two videos (6:24). 

Part 2

The conclusion of the lecture on Christianity in the Ivy League (7:26).

Lessons from History

Tim Keller has written that "over the last three centuries, revivals have had a great impact. Between 1730 and 1830 successive movements of the Holy Spirit brought a large proportion of the population into the churches. These awakenings are not ultimately the result of marketing or organization. They come, by God’s grace and in his time, in response to extraordinary prayer."

Christian Union, in addition to its work at nine strategic universities, in New York, and in Washington, DC,  encourages believers to pursue extraordinary prayer, asking God to once again pour out His Spirit powerfully and to bring sweeping spiritual change to America. We do this through the ministry of Christian Union Day and Night (DayAndNight.org). We will also be publishing videos from time to time to encourage and inspire believers. We will highlight several talks by Dr. J. Edwin Orr over the coming months, to help remind the church about ways God has moved powerfully in the past.

Dr. Orr earned a PhD at Oxford University in 1948, authored numerous books, and wrote and spoke often on ways God has moved in history to bring about revivals and awakenings in different parts of the world. "Dr. J. Edwin Orr, in my opinion, is one of the greatest authorities on the history of religious revivals in the Protestant world," Billy Graham wrote, in an introduction to one of Dr. Orr's books. 

The video above is a talk Dr. Orr gave on the First Great Awakening.