Praise God! Our students have returned safely to campus after Summer Break and our Freshman Campaign is off to an excellent start. We kicked the school year off with our Pre-retreat, for our returning leaders. I have to say it was one of our best retreats to date. The students reunited and had a wonderful time of teaching and training. We are thankful that God’s Spirit is moving among the students, bringing a sense of unity and hunger for God’s Word. Please pray that our students would have an increasing affection for Jesus and would translate that passion for Christ’s glory to tangible action on Penn’s campus.
As I am writing you today, it is a beautiful day in Princeton. The weather is becoming cooler—a clear sign that that summer is coming to a close. Our staff recently returned from our annual “Christian Union Faculty and Staff Conference.” This was a conference for all Christian Union’s ministry faculty as well as our support staff. We had a wonderful, encouraging time of seeking God together through prayer, as well as a time of training and equipping.
As I write this update, Clay and the Yale team are in the midst of their pre-retreat with student leaders! Before classes start, the student leaders and the CU staff come together to reconnect with each other, the Lord, and the mission to reach Yale's campus with the gospel of Christ Jesus. In particular, they'll be strategically focusing on hospitality and outreach to the first-year students. Join me in praying that this time would be fruitful in terms of their relationships with each other, the Lord, and in stirring up these leaders to boldly proclaim the Lord and minister to their classmates.
I hope this finds you well, trusting in the Lord. I am grateful for our partnership of prayer in the gospel. As I remember you with thanksgiving, I want to give you a few updates to inform your prayers as the new academic year begins.
As a novice parent trying to figure out how to raise three young children (and making many more mistakes than I thought I would!), I often find myself saying inside my head, “What matters most in my relationship with my kids is that I love them, and that they know it.” Until recently, I found myself focusing on that first element: that I love my kids. After all, that’s the element in my control, right?
Invigorating Godliness in The Nation’s Capital
In 2024, Christian Union once again began working to develop networks of transformative Christian leaders in Washington, DC.The ministry provides special attention to helping alumni from the schools where Christian Union operates to transition from college to the marketplace (or graduate school) well, which includes participating in a local church and Christian community, and continuing to grow, both spiritually and intellectually.
Whether you were involved with a Christian Union ministry in college or not, if you live, work, or pursue graduate studies in the DC area, you are invited to attend Christian Union DC events. Connect to a community of dynamic Christians who are devoted to Jesus Christ and desire to bring a godly influence to their fields.
Get Involved
Plans for CU Washington, DC include:- Industry-specific networking, and cross-industry community-building opportunities
- An excellent speaker series on topics ranging from Christian growth to godly leadership in various fields
- Small and large group get-togethers and outings.
Contact
If you have questions or want to learn more about getting involved in DC, please email us at cudc@christianunion.org.
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
I pray your summer has been full of fun, rest and, most of all, Christ. Campus here at Brown has been quiet since graduation back on Memorial Day weekend. Outside of a few students who have remained in Providence for internships, research and/or work, the majority of our students are dispersed around the globe. Matt Woodard, Ministry Director of Christian Union at Brown University, Laurel Copp, Ministry Fellow, and I have been busy catching up on some professional development and preparing for the fall semester. Additionally, we have gathered the few remaining students for a study of the book of Revelation. Though we haven’t been able to gather as often as we had hoped, the times we’ve gotten together have been fun times of catching up and trying to wrap our minds and hearts around this crazy book of the Bible. We’d love your prayers as we meet a few more times between now and the beginning of August. Please pray that God would not only enlighten our minds but encourage our hearts and empower obedience as we finish up this final book of the Bible.
Summer casts students far and wide, while a handful remain on campus to conduct research or fill in a class or two. Irrespective of their specific job or responsibility this summer, we’re thankful that they belong to Christ and that he holds them fast.
Hello from Dartmouth,
There’s not too much to report from here. We as staff have been taking turns going on vacation, which has been good for the soul. We are excited to be back together to start brainstorming and dreaming about this next year.
Thank you for remembering us and the Lord’s work here in your prayers. And to inform your prayers, I want to give you a few updates.
We are two-thirds of the way through the summer, Philadelphia has experienced a heatwave and the summer Bible course discussion on Tim Keller’s The Prodigal God has come to a fruitful close. Vacationing and visiting the sites of some early churches in Turkey were rejuvenating (a ten year wedding promise fulfilled by God’s provision). Professional development has been positively challenging (more below). Working remotely the last few weeks have increased the value of an assortment of Starbucks. I miss Tucker, Kelly and Mae, the Penn team.
As I am writing you, it is a beautiful summer day here in Princeton. As you might expect, our ministry schedule looks somewhat different during the summer months. As a ministry staff, we take this opportunity to continue building relationships with students and also to prepare and recharge for next year. In this letter, I want to specifically highlight several of our summer initiatives and ask for your prayers for those initiatives which are still ongoing.
We are so grateful for your prayers always. This past Sunday, I was reminded of a profound truth in Hebrews 7:25 — “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” Jesus Christ, who is alive at the Father’s right hand is himself praying for us. He maintains a fervent and faithful prayer watch, talking to the Almighty Father on our behalf who is able to do anything. Thank you for the prayers you lift up to the living Savior concerning us, our students, and our campus.
Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five/two talents came forward, bringing five/two talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five/two talents; here, I have made five/two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ – Matthew 25:19-23
Dear Friends and Family of HCFA,
Imbedded in the parables surrounding Jesus’ teaching concerning His return and the final judgment (Matthew 24 & 25) lies a verdict that far surpasses any report card, performance review or earthly accomplishment we could obtain or imagine: Well done, good and faithful servant.
As we settle into different rhythms for the summer, I reflect on our students spread around the world: New York City, Dominican Republic, Kenya, India, among other locales. It is encouraging to think of these students being challenged in so many ways, exploring their faith in new contexts, sharing the hope of Jesus with others. Yet we also miss the daily interaction with our Christian Union students and look forward to reconnecting in a couple of months.
Friends,
It’s June and nearly all our students have left Brown’s campus, including our first-ever graduating class. As I’ve said in past prayer emails, this senior class that has just graduated was the first class of Brown students that Matt Woodard, Ministry Director, and I gathered together in the fall of 2014. In those first few months of their freshman year, these students trusted God with a vision of a community that was yet to be formed. They risked their time, energy and resources to gather friends for Bible Courses, retreats, campus outreach events and so much more. And you know what? God rewarded their faith. Over the course of their four years at Brown, God used these students to form a Christ-centered community on campus to help encourage Christian students while also witnessing to the hope of the gospel to the wider Brown community. If it weren’t for these students, these recently graduated seniors, and their love for Jesus and others, we definitely wouldn’t be the ministry we are today. Praise be to God for these young men and women that He so faithfully raised up for such a time as this!
The summertime is in full swing here at Columbia and our ministry staff is already hard at work preparing for the fall semester. Please join us in prayer for the following:
We are planning for our annual pre-retreat in August. The pre-retreat is a great opportunity for students to spiritually recalibrate after a long summer and build greater community with each other right before the hustle of the semester begins. Please pray that we can recruit many of our students to attend.
Where has the time gone?
The school year has ended, our seniors have graduated, and summer is here. God’s grace to his beloved, thankfully, remains the same. Our Lord Jesus Christ reigns now as much as he reigned throughout the school year, whether that’s here in Ithaca, in San Francisco, in Johannesburg, or in Uganda.
