Greetings from Stanford!
On September 17, over 1,700 freshmen will begin their Stanford career. For many of them, it will be the most significant transition thus far in their lives. Please join us in praying that the body of Christ at Stanford will make a loving impact on every single one of these freshmen in the weeks and months to come!
Greetings from New York City!
We are off and running for the semester here at Christian Union Lumine. Columbia University's campus has come to life and the surrounding streets are buzzing with activity as usual. We have the opportunity to share the gospel with over 9,761 students, which includes a freshman class of 1,500.
Christian Union New York is a hive of activity, as young professionals who graduated this spring have officially moved to New York City to start their new careers.
Regular dinners are happening at Christian Union New York to gather rising Christian leaders for encouragement and spiritual strengthening. We are enjoying meeting new brothers- and sisters-in-Christ for the first time, finding profound things in common that serve to unite us far greater than anything the world can offer.
Greetings from Harvard Law School!
If you’ve ever visited Harvard, any time during the year, you can go on a guided tour of the campus led at times by current students. One of the stops on the tour is the famous “John Harvard” statue in Harvard Yard. The question is then asked if anyone knows the “3 LIES” of the John Harvard statue with the inscription of “Founder” and the date 1638. This was highlighted in a well known scene in the film, The Social Network, when some men were being tested on this very question in the dead of winter. The three lies that they are referring to are these:
Greetings from Cambridge!
September always brings with it a frenetic energy, especially around Harvard Square. Students return in the late weeks of August to reconnect with one another and begin to welcome the new class. Labor Day Weekend is packed with events that lead into the start of a new academic year and a new semester. We at CU Gloria are always so excited and expectant at this time of year, with the many hours spent planning to welcome students back over the summer converting back into the fast-paced schedule of the semester. We believe that God wants to move at Harvard among our students this year, and we are setting ourselves as watchmen to guard and await His move!
Greetings from Penn! We've been working around the clock to welcome freshmen to Penn and to find a strong, loving Christian community at Christian Union Martus! One outreach event we recently held was a trip to Citizens Bank Park to see a Phillies game. We had a blast!
Christian Union National Fast, August 2024, "America Returning to God"
by Dr. Marcus Buckley, Ministry Director at Christian Union Vita at Cornell
"Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way,and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." -Isaiah 55:6, 7, ESV
Prayer is a marvelous gift that the Lord has given to us, allowing us the privilege of entering into His presence for the purpose of thanksgiving, praise, and petition. As followers of Christ we know we can pray anywhere, anytime, and be assured that the Father is aware of our cries.
2024 Bible Course Engagement Explodes
by erin conner, writer and communications associate
In 2021, Christian Union Gloria Law and other ministries at Harvard Law School (HLS) were featured on the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). The report, seen on major television stations and online, highlighted a strong Christian presence and a unified desire to see God move mightily at HLS.
Speaking and Living Boldly for the Lord in a Pluralistic Society
by erin conner, writer and communications associate
The Book of Acts shows a people living boldly.
In regard to the church in the Book of Acts, Author Jonathan Parnell in his article, "Why Boldness Matters Now" writes, "The bewildering reality at work in Peter’s and John’s testimony in Acts 4 is what they say about Jesus. These two fishermen had become messengers of God’s salvation, heralds for a new age in human history. They were now spokesmen of the risen and reigning Lord over all. So yes, they spoke with passion. But the point Luke drives home is not their style, but their substance. Not their homiletics, but their hermeneutics. It was all centered on Christ — how he is the One to whom the whole Old Testament points, how his work has changed the world forever. The heart of Peter’s and John’s boldness was how they spoke clearly about the identity and significance of Jesus. The picture Luke gives us of the early Christian mission is that the church was not without words when it came to the question of their King."
from Christian Union America's National Fast, August 2024
by christine foster, director of mentoring
"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’" -Jeremiah 7:3-4
I grew up in a family with roots in the military. My father worked as an engineer on satellite systems for the Air Force during the Vietnam War, and his father spent his whole career in the service, flying B-52 bombers over the Aleutian Islands during World War II and then commanding a wing of C-130 cargo planes during Vietnam. When troops do their own thing, people die. We are, as a result, fundamentally rule-following people.
But I have also raised my children in the 21st-century—a time when so much of the culture says that anything goes. The idea of authority and limits and rules seems foreign in so many places now. It is fundamentally countercultural to put aside what we want to do and do what God asks of us. So much of our world actively works against this notion, spewing “deceptive words” about who is King and how we can stay connected to Him.
Religious Engagement on the Rise at Yale
by Erin conner, writer & communications associate
Christian Union's leadership development ministry serving students at Yale University was recently featured in a Yale Daily News article written by Ada Perlman. In the article, Perman reported that, "according to a Yale Daily News’ survey distributed to the class of 2028, on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being “extremely religious,” 4 percent of the 535 respondents said 5, 12 percent responded 4 and 22 percent responded 3. Last year, University Chaplain Maytal Saltiel told the News that she has seen a considerable increase in interest in religious communities at Yale."
How Does Jesus Teach Us to Compute?
by Erin conner, writer & communications associate
In a recent article entitled "To Gain the World and Lose Your Soul," published by Desiring God, writer Greg Morse powerfully illustrates the problem of ignoring the soul as a result of the distractions and deceptions of our modern world.
Morse writes, "One great feature of modernity, from Satan’s standpoint, is the sheer rejection of the soul. We live in a world stupefied by the material. Ask ten people on the street about their souls — if they don’t wonder aloud, 'What does this babbler wish to say?' (Acts 17:18), they will tell you that if they do have a soul, they have not thought much about it. Even ancient pagan philosophers wrote dense treatises on the soul, but the mass of men today live as though they are soulless. And yet these same people investigate the silliest things under the sun. If anything is worth thought, is it not your soul? 'Claiming to be wise, they became fools'” (Romans 1:22).
Reaching Freshmen at Our Nation's Most Secular Schools with the Love of Christ
by Erin conner, writer & communications associate
Student leaders at Christian Union such as Foster Cardinale and Teddy Taylor, seniors at Cornell University, are generously and joyfully giving their time and effort to warmly welcome the incoming class of students on their campus. Cardinale and Taylor were both involved in Christian Union Bible Courses last year and will be leading freshman Bible Courses this upcoming academic year. Both had the idea to take pizzas to the freshman quad during the first week of classes, as Cornell's dining staff members were on strike and students were only being served bagged meals. Both are selflessly serving others as higher than themselves.
A Closer Look at Episodes 2 and 3 of a Newly Launched Christian Podcast
By Erin conner, writer and communications associate
51 million Americans listen to podcasts at least once a month, making it a powerful platform for Matt Bennett, Founder and President of Christian Union and the Heritage Pastors Association, to use to deliver messages about national revival and reformation.
In two episodes of his newly launched podcast, Bennett explores ideas in Megan Basham's best selling book Shepherds for Sale; a book that investigates how deeply secular billionaires have infiltrated America’s churches. Shepherds for Sale "documents how progressive powerbrokers set out to change the American church… and warns of what happens when the church trusts the world’s wisdom instead of Scripture" (Amazon.com). In review of the book, Os Guinness shares, "Some will quibble over details, but no one should miss the powerful warning in this book. We face a gathering storm, as Winston Churchill warned a century ago, but this time the enemy is inside as well as outside the gates. Every convinced and unashamed Evangelical should read, ponder, and pray over this important book."
Christian Union National Fast: America Returning to God, August 1-14, 2024
by peter ahlin, coo/CFO at christian union
“But when he came to himself, he said, “How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” -Luke 15:17-20
Jesus loved to tell stories of heaven’s rejoicing at the salvation of lost souls. He depicted a widow exulting over a found coin or a shepherd delighting as he held a recovered sheep; He spoke in terms that resonated with all. But no story ever became as iconic as that of a loving father whose son rejected him, plundered him, and left him, and how that father watched for him, waited for him, and wept for him. The story captured perfectly how great the father’s love and how hopeful those may be who trust wholly in it.
Many of us also watch, wait, and weep for beloved children or others who wander without hope and without God in the world. We want to follow Scripture’s clarion call to “pour out [our] hearts like water to the Lord, [to] lift up [our] hands to him in prayer, pleading for [our] children” (Lamentations 2:19). So how do we pray for the prodigal?
Host a CU Fire Retreat This October in Your Own Home or Church
by Christian union america
"Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord."-Romans 12:11
Over ten thousand people joined Christian Union to fast and pray for America to Return to God through the CU National Fast this August. As Americans continue to seek God for the nation's return, Christian Union is offering an opportunity for believers across the country to host an in-home retreat this fall to keep the fire of our faith burning.
Join Christian Union for a powerful simulcast retreat on October 4-5 to build on the spiritual momentum from the fast, strengthen your walk with the Lord and deepen your friendships with others who are passionate about revival in your own lives, as well as in the lives of your families, churches, and communities.
Mentorship Pair Shares Insight into Christian Union's Alumni Program
by Christian union america
Part of Christian Union’s mission is to transition alumni into the workforce or into graduate school well, linking them with a broad Christian network to support and sustain their faith for life through a meaningful mentorship program. In this program, mentors and mentees, paired largely based on common career paths, meet monthly to discuss topics such as seeking God, developing a bold faith, connecting to a local church, and navigating the workplace as a believer.
Ann Brooks is among the dozens of accomplished and faithful mentors with whom Christian Union America collaborates. After joyfully attending her mentee's wedding, she and her mentee, Delaney Thull, sat down to share some insights in the interview below:
Christian Union National Fast: America Returning to God, August 1-14, 2024
by michael racine, writer and ministry fellow for cu lux at yale
If you want to see a miracle, what should you do? It’s a question that children in Sunday school could readily answer: Ask God, and have faith. This message runs all throughout the gospels, in the numerous healing accounts in which Jesus says, “Your faith has made you well,” “Be it done to you according to your faith,” or something similar, and in His explicit and repeated teaching on the subject to His disciples. “Ask, and you shall receive” (Matt 7:7; Luke 11:9). “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24).
All too often, though, we find ourselves crying out like the afflicted boy’s father, “Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief!” (see Mark 9:24). How can we remove the nagging doubt that chokes our mustard seed of faith and keeps it from bearing fruit? First, it helps to understand what exactly “faith” is, as defined by the Scriptures. Faith is not, as many would suggest today, willful belief without evidence. It is, quite simply, that which underlies our expectations and convinces us of things we haven’t seen (Heb 11:1). All of us believe a million different things beyond what we’ve personally seen, and quite rationally. Why? Because we’ve been told, and we deemed the source reliable. “So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of the Anointed” (Romans 10:17).
The Bennett Broadcast Launches First Episode August 6, 2024
by Erin conner, writer and communications associate
Matt Bennett, founder and president of Christian Union and Heritage Pastors Association, is launching a new podcast to stir the hearts of Americans to seek God wholeheartedly and pray for revival. This podcast comes at a critical time in our nation's history, as many across the country long for renewal and revival, knowing that while political and cultural engagement is important, spiritual renewal must come first. God has done this in America's history and is currently transforming nations around the world. He can do it again. Bennett seeks to convey this hope in his weekly podcast, pointing the nation to God as the source of true help and healing.
Christian Union National Fast: America Returning to God, August 1-14, 2024
by grace ann arvey, director of christian union america
"Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust… All the nations are yet as nothing before Him, they are accounted by Him as less than nothingness and emptiness." - Isaiah 40:15,17
In these verses, the prophet Isaiah magnifies the incomparable greatness of our God, putting the importance of our nation into a right perspective. The nations, with all of their pomp, power, and multitudes, are yet as nothing before Him. They are but a drop in the bucket, insignificant and easily lost. The coastlands, lifted like fine dust, signify the ease with which God can govern the greatest of a nation’s endeavors.
