She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
— Matthew 1:21
"The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
- Philippians 4:6-7
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:14)
Blessings to you during this season of Advent! At this time, we and our students are reflecting on Christ’s incarnation that we might become like him and have eternal life. We trust that during this season you will also be able to reflect on this profound truth that God dwelled among us in the person of Christ.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I just listened to a sermon by the late, great pastor Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. He summed up Paul’s epistle to the Romans as “Soli Deo Gloria!” The summum bonum of the cosmos and all of redemptive history is the glory of God in Jesus Christ. As we near the completion of this fall semester, God’s glory is particularly evident on the campus of Penn.
Dear Prayer Partners,
I deeply appreciate you and all the prayers that you have offered to the Lord on our behalf in 2019!
As you may know, every Christian Union Bible Course on every campus studied Colossians this fall. The theme of Thanksgiving resounds throughout Paul’s letter. As this holiday season can easily be filled with unchecked expectations and the strangest of insecurities, I encourage all of you who know and love God to enter into the Christmas season “already full”. Full of joy with the good news that God has lifted the crushing burden of sin off our shoulders. Full of the abundant life Christ has given us in exchange. Full of many good moments with family, friends, and members of Christ’s body. Fully assured in all the will of God — that he is working out holiness in you and bringing to more maturity in Him.
Psalm 2 is a majestic description of Christ’s coming and rule. God gives the Psalmist the ability to look beyond earthly constraints and context to see a place of transcendent and righteous rule - whose kingdom reaches to the very ends of the earth. This vision of a righteous kingdom runs through the narratives of both old and new testaments, and motivates the events and initiatives we do in New York.
Our meditation as a ministry recently has been on Colossians 3:1-4:
Harvard Chaplains Pat and Tammy McLeod are sharing the account of their son’s traumatic brain injury and resulting disability in a new book entitled, Hit Hard: One Family’s Journey of Letting Go of What Was – and Learning to Live Well with What Is.
“Whose Are We?”
By Aidan Stoddart, Harvard ’21
Editor’s note: The following staff editorial is reprinted with permission from The Harvard Ichthus, a journal of Christian thought and expression produced by undergraduates at Harvard University. This editorial is part one in the journal’s three-part series (to read parts two and three, visit http://harvardichthus.org).
In an article published in October of last year, The Harvard Crimson explored the ramifications of a new study from Harvard Medical School Professor Cindy Hsin-Ju Liu. A national survey conducted by Liu and her colleagues found that 20 percent of college students reported suicidal thoughts, 25 percent reported diagnosis or treatment for a mental health disorder in the previous year, 20 percent reported self-harm, and 10 percent reported having attempted suicide.
Testifying in Song
By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer
Stanford Testimony Christian A Cappella kicked off the new academic year by welcoming members of the class of 2023 during a spirited performance on the opening evening of classes.
On September 23, Testimony joined with nine other student a cappella groups to stage the annual O-Show, Stanford University’s biggest a cappella event of the year. Each of the groups performed two songs during the 9 p.m. show at Memorial Auditorium.
Stanford’s largest indoor performance facility was nearly filled to its 1,705-seat capacity for the annual gathering. The a cappella organizations banded together to greet students, especially frosh, and to invite undergraduates to audition for the coveted slots in the celebrated choirs. Per tradition, alumni of the musical groups returned for the back-to-school event. The O-Show is “one of the best ways we reach out to the campus broadly,” said Nate Marshall, president of Testimony. “We bring together the larger community. It’s a big a cappella scene.”
'Go and Make Disciples'
By Shelby Brainard, Princeton ’22
Most Princeton students spend their summers engaged in activities such as internships, summer jobs, or backpacking trips, but undergraduates Jack Monaco and John Smith dedicated their long break to sharing the Gospel.
The students’ spiritual fervor on summer break was the direct result of an effort at advanced discipleship by then-Princeton senior Mikal Walcott. During the latter half of the 2019 spring semester, Walcott led a group of five underclassmen (including Monaco and Smith) in an intensive, seven-week spiritual “boot camp” that included an hour of morning prayer and two hours of afternoon instruction, Monday through Friday.
Walcott created this cohort after feeling called by God to pass along his knowledge and experience in advancing God’s kingdom to younger disciples. Although the commitment of nearly fifteen hours a week to prayer and instruction was difficult at a university like Princeton, the five young men immediately began to testify to incredible fruit and growth in their lives as a result of their commitment to the Lord and to each other during those six weeks.
Institute for Catholic Life Fosters Religious Discourse
By Jon Garaffa, Princeton ’20
The Aquinas Institute for Catholic Life is a new initiative that will focus on the faith formation of Princeton students. Directed by married couple Alexi Sargeant and Leah Libresco Sargeant, and coordinated by Dr. R.J. Snell, the initiative comes out of the Aquinas Institute, the Catholic campus ministry at Princeton. Focusing on members of the undergraduate community, the Institute for Catholic Life offers a variety of seminars and guest speakers and hopes to create new conversations on campus related to faith and religious scholarship.
“As we develop, the vision is to provide a full range of formation,” explained Dr. Snell. “This includes liturgy and sacraments, small groups, Bible study, mentoring and spiritual direction, prayer, and also solid intellectual offerings in theology, philosophy, arts, and literature dealing with perennial Christian themes, as well as responding to contemporary questions and topics.”
Ministry Leaders Seek to Foster Hope, Community
By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer
In the wake of the suicide of Gregory Eells, the University of Pennsylvania’s Executive Director of Counseling and Psychological Services, local campus ministry leaders pledged to actively support students battling depression.
Christians with ties to Penn also expressed a desire to help foster a better sense of community and to emulate the hope of Christ to their collegiate peers.
“Community is a big help. Welcoming people in and being especially attentive to those who are struggling is important,” said Patrick Travers, a director with the Penn Catholic Newman Community (newman.upenn.edu). In light of eternal matters, “the good news of the Gospel and the new life that Christ invites us to is quite different from the ‘successful life’ that Penn preaches.”
Penn for Jesus Hosts Edifying Event
By Avery Johnston, Penn ’23
Colossians 3:16 proclaims the fullness of joy and wisdom that can be gleaned from worshiping with other followers of the Lord: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (ESV)
The Scriptures make it clear how worship and fellowship will be used for building up one another. The All-Campus Worship Night at the University of Pennsylvania on September 28, 2019, certainly worked to rejuvenate the local community of Christians. The event, held at beautiful Christ Community Church, was hosted by Penn for Jesus, an organization with a mission of connecting and unifying all Christians on campus, irrespective of denomination, participation in any specific on-campus ministry, and church background.
Late Journalist Remembered for His “Gracious Spirit”
By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer
One of the nation’s leading newspapers recently shared the remarkable story of the Harvard-educated journalist behind one of its prestigious awards.
The New York Times highlighted the memory of Nathaniel Nash and the paper’s efforts to create an award in his honor for a business journalist who exemplifies professional excellence and exceptional character. The publication also designated a Nathaniel C. Nash room to pay tribute to the reporter who died in 1996 while traveling with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ronald Brown and his delegation of business leaders and government officials.
Prayer Room Is Open for Students, Ministries, and Churches
By Luke Brown, Dartmouth ’18
Empowered by the Prayer Room, Dartmouth students are interceding for each other, their campus, and the world.
Nestled among second floor apartments on Main Street in Hanover, New Hampshire, the Prayer Room stands humbly and boldly as a space to seek the Lord in silence and solitude or in praise. Started in 2009 by two community members, its mission is “to promote the expansion of God’s kingdom in Hanover by providing students and others a sacred space dedicated to enabling them to encounter Christ, equipping them in the work of intercession, and empowering them to be His ambassadors in this world.”
Campus Ministry Is Tight-Knit Community
By Luke Brown, Dartmouth ’18
Agape Christian Fellowship celebrated the seniors during their Senior Sendoff event in the spring.
Agape Christian Fellowship is providing a loving and welcoming place in which Dartmouth students can seek the Lord.
Agape, living out the meaning of its Greek name, seeks to shower the campus in God’s sacrificial love. The ministry’s vision proclaims that “even the slightest contact with agape love transforms... Knowing God’s love brings us gently toward a joyful surrender and commitment to sacrificial love for others. God’s love creates family, and that’s what we strive to be.”
Liz Choi, Dartmouth ’20, the student president of Agape, said, “When people enter our space, I want them to feel loved and I hope that, as Christians, we can be vessels for God to use on this campus.”
Dave Evans Lectures at Cornell
By Zachary Lee, Cornell ’20
In September, the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University hosted Stanford Professor and author Dave Evans, who spoke about how the application of design thinking can bring fulfillment and meaning. Evans, co-author of the New York Times’ bestseller, Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life, appeared as part of the Dyson Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series.
Featuring his signature rapid-fire wit and humor, Evans lit up a full Statler Auditorium with anecdotes and constructive advice, speaking right to Cornell students’ penchant for problem solving and strategy. Even though he did not share specifically about his faith, an astute ear could catch allusions to Christianity. Evans previously wrote a companion to Designing Your Life that dives deeper into the themes of the book and examines their place within the Christian worldview.
One-Man Show Comes to Columbia University
By Nathan Barlow, Columbia ’20
For students involved in campus evangelism, the life of C.S. Lewis offers an interesting case study as his path from apostasy to faith took place in the halls of the academy. On October 1, the Fellowship for Performing Arts brought its one-man play, C.S. Lewis: The Most Reluctant Convert, to the Roone Arledge Auditorium at Columbia University. The event was sponsored by several ministries, including Columbia Reformed University Fellowship, Christian Union at Columbia, and the Veritas Forum.
