‘Keep it simple, stupid’ was something I had never heard before I took a preaching class at seminary. I’m not sure if it qualifies to be one of the true “great” preaching mantras, or leadership mantras, but it gets its point across. Dr. Haddon Robinson, my preaching professor, used to say to us homiletical plebes, things like, “If it’s foggy in the pulpit, it’s cloudy in the pews!”, or “If you can’t say it in 25 minutes, you won’t know how to say it in 45.”
"Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.” 2 Corinthians 4:1-5
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Though Paul and the Colossian church were strangers, they still prayed for each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. So it is with us. As you pray for us, we are praying for you. And we are thankful for your partnership in this ministry. It is our joy to serve with you and alongside you for the sake of the Kingdom!
“… if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard …” Colossians 1:23
Dear Prayer Partners,
Praise be to Christ Jesus, the only sure foundation upon which we stand here at Yale! This semester, we're seeing in Colossians how the only way to continue in the Christian life is the same way that we began in the Christian life—by grace, through faith!
We’ve been encouraged with a full month of events, small group meetings and an array of initiatives both large and small. All of these reflect the on-going work of God in New York - a city not widely viewed as a hotbed of spiritual vibrancy, yet vibrant nonetheless with the Spirit working in individual’s lives, in and through churches, and with an increasing hunger for spiritual perspective and truth.
“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel” (Colossians 1:3-5)
What has struck me most this quarter as we revisit Colossians in Bible courses and one-on-one meetings is the relationship of faith and love to hope which Paul here describes.
We are thankful for the ministry of Lane and Michelle Young who moved back to the Midwest over the summer. Please join us in praying for a new Ministry Director for our Columbia team.
It has been a busy month here at Cornell, as we have been welcoming this year’s freshmen and transfer students. We have also been reconnecting with all those who have returned to Ithaca after the summer. Throughout this Freshmen Welcoming season, we have done a number of events, led by our students, to reach out to those who are looking to be connected to Christian community. We just started our Bible courses, as well as large group meetings, and we all look forward to what God will do this semester on campus.
I love to cook. I love cooking, not simply because I love food (as all inspiring chefs!), but I really like the process of creating something with ingredients that I have at my disposal. Once in a while, my wife, Melissa, will watch me prepare a meal, and notice that I’ve stopped following the recipe at one point in my preparation. “You’re not following the recipe anymore, are you?” she’ll ask. And my answer is, “Nope.” I’ll tell her that while I love my cookbooks and all its recipes, I get to a point that I know what the key ingredients I’ll need for a sauce, or a meal, or a recipe are.
Penn’s Freshmen Welcome is always intense: Intensely tiring, intensely exhilarating, intensely active, intensely fast. Penn’s 1st year students have already been here a month, and are only 3/12 weeks away from Fall Break. As a staff, we don’t want to take these days for granted. Meeting new students, re-connecting with returning students, and seeing Bible Courses form is a joy, even in the midst of the intensity. We appreciate and need your continued prayers!
Good afternoon prayer partners,
We are nearing the end of our 4-week freshmen outreach, and we have welcomed with great joy a new crop of young men and women who want to know, love and pursue God here.
This last month has been a season of testing and trial; a mixture of pangs of discouragement combined with moments of joy and delight. Looking back, we are thankful for each of the new students God has brought into the ministry and for each gospel exposure, touch of kindness, and warm welcome we’ve been able to extend to the class of 2023. It’s not lost on me that our strength for this task came daily through the ministry of prayer.
As the pressure of the semester begins to increase, I ask that you’d pray for protection over our community from any of Satan’s classic schemes of gossip, disunity, or grumbling. Rather, pray that we would “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience” - Colossians 3:12
I also ask that you pray for God to move and be glorified in our midst during our Fall Retreat at the Incarnation Center, 11-13 October. There’s an appropriately-high expectation amongst our students that God is on the move and desiring to give us more of himself.
Thank you for your prayers. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you all!
Warmly,
Clay Cromer
Ministry Director
Christian Union Lux
Please note: if you would like to receive regular updates on how to pray for Christian Union's work at Yale, please email prayer@christianunion.org.
This summer the CU New York and CU DC teams were able to connect with, and grow alongside recent graduates and young professionals, many of whom are transitioning into the workplace or graduate programs. These young professionals represent a number of esteemed universities and are eager to mature and step out boldly in faith - in cities which are enormously influential in shaping our culture and norms.
We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
(Romans 15:1-7).
This passage is our theme as we turn our efforts toward welcoming new students. As I write this 1700 freshmen from around the world are wrapping up several days of orientation and settling in for their first classes this week. We are excited to meet them and welcome them as Christ has received us!
Greetings from Providence,
We are grateful for a restful and joyful summer. As a staff, we feel energized and look forward to welcoming new freshmen to campus in just a few short weeks. We are also excited to announce the addition of Benjamin Pascut, our new men’s ministry fellow, who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the team!
Wednesdays, 8-9 PM EST
Thatʼs important to know. Iʼll tell you in a minute the reason why.
“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
Itʼs probably the most well-known revival verse in the Scriptures. This summer, itʼs been on our lips weekly, and itʼs on my mind constantly. “LORD, will you really?” I sat down with this passage for a couple hours this week, as I prepared to release the welcome campaign for the incoming class at Harvard Law School. As I was dwelling in the prescriptive and conditional promises of this particular verse, I found myself pausing and asking myself, “LORD, is that all it takes to bring revival?”
― Carl F.H. Henry
If there is a unique challenge in welcoming Harvard freshmen to pursue faith in Christ and immerse themselves into community, it is the issue of time. More specifically, it is a matter of timing. The clock begins ticking (next week) and all but expires within days. Countless decisions will rather quickly be made by members of 2023 regarding friend groups, classes and extracurricular activities. For a few weeks in September they will live in the happy illusion that they can do it all. This dream-like state, more often than not, evaporates in the chilly air of October.
After a summer of being far-flung around the world, Princeton students will be returning to campus in just over two weeks. In addition to welcoming returning students, we as a ministry are excited to be welcoming new freshmen on campus. This coming year is sure to be full of new things, and we strongly believe that God wants to do something new in our midst. In light of this, it is only fitting that our campus ministry is transitioning to the name of “Nova,” the Latin word for new.
Dear Friends and Partners of Christian Union at Penn,
Thank you for your continued prayers for our ministry, staff, and students. It was a restful, hopeful, prayerful summer for us here in Philadelphia. As a staff we are excited to begin our Freshmen Campaign, and our returning students share that excitement.
