Dear CU Vita Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,
Greetings from Ithaca!
Classes are back in full swing at Cornell University, and that means that Christian Union Vita is back to work for the Lord here on campus!
Club Fest, the massive gathering of all the clubs at Cornell, took place on Sunday, February 2, and was another great opportunity to expose students to the vibrant ministry of Christian Union. We handed out 50 copies of The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel, as well as dozens of flyers attached to Kit Kat candy bars to students. Several of those who stopped by our table have already engaged with us on our CU Vita Group Me, so pray that we continue to expand our reach into the Cornell student community. Our student leaders also engaged with the other groups around us, demonstrating their own personal leadership skills by interacting with others in warm, meaningful (and fun) ways.
Greetings from Princeton!
The second semester is well underway, and students have been busy adding and dropping classes, joining eating clubs, and seniors have the added stress of job applications while writing their Senior Theses. Yet in the midst of the stress of student life, God is on the move!
Grace to you in Christ! As we move into the latter half of winter quarter, we thank God for the ways He has been at work in our community and for your continued partnership and prayer.
January Retreat: A Time of Growth and Encouragement
We are grateful for the wonderful retreat we had in January! Over four worship, discussion, and prayer sessions, we immersed ourselves in Paul’s letter to the Galatians and the story of Abraham in Genesis, which Paul powerfully draws upon in Galatians. Through our time in the Word, students were encouraged to grow strong in their faith, recognizing more deeply the freedom and grace we have through faith in Christ.
Greetings from New Haven! We have so many amazing testimonies to share of what God has been doing here that I can’t possibly share them all in this email, but let me begin by saying this: God is gathering students together and setting their hearts on fire in a way I haven’t seen before in my seven and a half years with Christian Union.
"The Lord is exalted over all the nations,
his glory above the heavens.
Who is like the Lord our God,
the One who sits enthroned on high,
who stoops down to look
on the heavens and the earth?"
-Psalm 113:4-6
True Faith: Trusting and Aligning Our Desires with God's
By erin conner, writer & communications associate
Ijeamaka Achebe, a senior at Yale University, recalls parts of her journey through her academic career, wondering, "What is my purpose?" While she has a clear goal of becoming a doctor, she realized that goals and existential purpose are not necessarily one and the same.
Through Christian Union Lux's ministry at Yale, in part, Achebe began to realize that, above all, she wanted her career aspirations to be in alignment with God's will. After two years of participating in Christian Union Bible courses, she shared that her outlook on career is different than it once was. "Our secondary calling is career," she shared, recognizing that while a career is important, it is subordinate to her primary calling as a Christian.
We are so grateful for your continued prayers and support for CU Gloria Law. As we step into this new semester, we wanted to share a special update from a milestone moment for our ministry—our very first Winter Retreat at the end of January!
This retreat was a much-needed time for our community to step away from the intensity of law school and refocus our hearts on Christ and His calling for us. Our theme, “Refocus,” guided us through a weekend of renewing our commitment to Jesus, recalling the purpose He has given us, and refreshing our passion to share the Gospel with those around us. From the moment we arrived, there was an undeniable sense that God had something special in store. We were blessed by sweet times of worship, honest and moving student testimonies, deep times of prayer, and messages from the Word of God that challenged and encouraged us.
“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” -2 Timothy 1:6-7
The spring semester at Harvard has officially begun! We are solidly into the second week of the semester and the energy has returned as students flooded our Ministry Center in the heart of Harvard Square. It is such a privilege to minister to these students and walk with them as they walk with Jesus.
Devotional from January 2025 Christian Union National Fast
By Sadie Sasser, Ministry Fellow at Christian Union Gloria at Harvard
“But the one who endures to the end will be saved." -Matthew 24:13 ESV
The context of these words from Jesus is somewhat stark. He has just told his disciples about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, simultaneously an event that was literally fulfilled in Jerusalem in 70 AD but also a figurative event in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As he continues explaining what accompanies these events, the tone becomes alarming: Christians will be led astray, wars will occur, and famines and earthquakes will ail the earth. False prophets will come and lead many astray, with results that would make any one of us worried: “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (v. 12).
Christian Union Hosts Ken Fish at Recent Biannual Conference in NYC
By christian union
God is not simply a concept or theory. So often in the Western Church, Christians read the stories of the Bible and assume that signs and wonders were events that occurred in biblical times and simply don’t happen today. Ken Fish is one Christian leader in America who is here to explain otherwise. His 2023 book, On the Road with The Holy Spirit: A Modern Day Diary of Signs and Wonders, is based on a diary he kept over the course of five years while he was traveling extensively around the world. Fish spent time almost daily writing down the healings and miracles that the Lord was doing through hundreds of journal entries.
Oscar-Nominated Film Discussion Set to Unite Students and Alumni
By erin conner, writer and communications associate
In 2021, Christian Union alumni from Columbia and Penn gathered to discuss religious themes in film. This event was spearheaded by Columbia alumnus and Film and Media Studies major Stephen Cone ’20. Participants of the event gathered, in part, at Christian Union's Ministry Center at Columbia for a discussion entitled, “Where Is God in the Movies?”
Attendees enjoyed a presentation from Cone that examined the role of religion in Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven (1978). The discussion that followed focused on how Christian artists can represent and convey their faith through their chosen medium. Megan Foo, '19 alumna of Penn who currently works in Hong Kong, was in attendance that day. She enjoyed the event so much that she decided to help Cone plan a similar event on Jane Campion's 'The Power of the Dog' in 2022.
Devotional from January 2025 Christian Union National Fast
By Qwynn gross, ministry fellow at christian union nova at Princeton
“But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!”- 2 Chronicles 15:7 (ESV)
The world around us is not changing apart from God’s intervention. As Americans, we are living in the degradation of society, where everyone seems to do what is right in their own eyes. Righteousness and moral corruption are indistinguishable for far too many, as culture challenges the authority of God and embraces ethical decay. Meanwhile, believers who are called to pray for the world around them often appear paralyzed. Charles Finney aptly said, "If the presence of God is in the church, the church will draw the world in. If the presence of God is not in the church, the world will draw the church out." His sentiments resonate deeply as we observe the growing distance between godly standards and the prevailing norms of society.
Greetings from Stanford! As we begin a new quarter, we are reminded of God’s faithfulness and the privilege we have to witness His work on this campus. Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and generous support, which enable us to serve these students that God loves dearly!
So far this year we’ve seen God work in profound ways. This fall, a number of students prayed together nearly every day in small groups of two or three, coming all together weekly to pray as a larger group. As you can imagine, seeking after God in this way has brought about a turning point in many of their lives!
Christian Union New York believes that leaders matter—and even more so—Christian leaders matter! Leonard Ravenhill famously stated, "The church is waiting for the world to change, but the world is waiting for the church to lead. Revival tarries because we lack leaders who are fully surrendered to God, broken over sin, and burdened for souls.".
Ministry Leader at Harvard Law School Shares Vision and Hope
By justin yim, ministry director of christian union gloria law
Greetings from Harvard Law School!
As we begin 2025, I want to take a moment to reflect on all that God accomplished in 2024. In my six-plus years with Christian Union Gloria Law, I can confidently say that this past year has been the most fruitful and exciting season of ministry yet.
Inspiring Imagination and Adventure in Young Adults
By erin conner, writer & communications associate
"God has been in this quite literally since the very beginning," said Cassandra James, Princeton '23, as she reflected on her professional writing career.
"As a child, I was an absolute bookworm, and I would max out my library card. I aged out of kids' literature and wanted to read more stories but couldn't find the kind of stories I desired to read, so my mother dared me, 'If you can't find it, write it.'"
So, she did.
Dear CU Lumine Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,
Greetings and Happy New Year from New York City! We are excited about kicking off the spring semester. We just completed a several-day retreat with the Christian Union faculty at Camp of the Woods in NY. We had an opportunity to seek God, pray, participate in individual and group scripture reading, and come together in praise and worship to prepare for the upcoming spring semester.
Greetings from Princeton!
As I look back on 2024, I’m thankful for the power of God at work among Princeton students. Some highlights have included a great Freshman Welcoming Campaign, a powerful fall retreat, and some record turnouts at our Friday night Leadership Lecture Series. I’m personally blessed to have an amazing student leadership team that has stepped up in critical ways to take this ministry forward from difficult times after the pandemic. The culture and passion among our students have improved dramatically this past year, and our student leaders have had a large part to play in this regard.
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” - Acts 1:8
Greetings from CU Libertas!
Happy New Year to you and your family!
As I reflect on Jesus’s last words before His ascension, I’m reminded of the power He has bestowed on believers everywhere to be effective witnesses of the gospel. Here at CU Libertas, we are gearing up for the spring semester and humbly relying on this same power, through the working of the Holy Spirit, to engage the campus at Brown in hearing the life-saving message of the gospel.
Dear CU Vita Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,
Greetings from Ithaca!
It’s been a quiet few weeks on the campus of Cornell University, but all of that is about to change as students start heading back to Ithaca from their holiday breaks. With over 16,000 undergraduates returning, the surge is always exciting to see, but it can also present some challenges. Please pray for all of these students as they travel.
