One Student Ministry's Unstoppable Heart to See God Transform Lives
by Erin conner, writer & communications associate
It's not easy or convenient to plan a weekend away. It is much easier to choose not to disrupt the pattern of life and to stay within the confines of routine. Disruption is not easy for anyone, but it is especially difficult for Ivy League college students. Their rigorous academic schedules are full of the demands and pressures of achievement at the highest level, so stepping away from it all during the school year is nothing short of revolutionary.
Stepping away to retreat with the Lord and with each other is a beautiful gateway into the freedom Christ came to give--freedom, in part, from the weight of the standards, values, and identity placed upon us by the world. The students of Christian Union are learning to live in this kind of freedom, and, as a result, they are sharing it in their spheres of influence with others.
Each year, hundreds of students, who are a part of Christian Union's leadership development ministry at ten of our nation's most secular and influential universities, step away from it all to attend fall, winter, and/or spring retreats. They do this to be in the presence of God and to recenter their lives on Christ and His standards and values. Insodoing, they are declaring that their worth, identity, and purpose is not found in their achievement or status (or anything else of this world,) but is found in Christ alone. 
Yoska Guta, '26 at Yale University, is a member of Christian Union Lux 's ministry and has attended many student retreats.
Most recently, she and 75 other Yale students attended a fall retreat at Douglas Camp Meeting in Massachusetts, a retreat center established in 1875 to worship God in the splendor of His holiness. Douglas Camp Meeting has hosted many significant Christian leaders in America, including the Second Great Awakening revivalist, Charles Finney.
Jeff Walsh, ministry director of Christian Union Lux, said, "It is amazing to know that just before Finney went on to be with the Lord that he preached from this very stage. And yet today God has continued to keep a remnant of believers worshiping his name, crying out yet again for God to do a work in New England among this generation from the very same place."
Another notable retreat held by Christian Union in 2024, entitled "CU Proclaim," was held at Cornell during spring break in March and hosted students from Cornell, Yale, Dartmouth, and Columbia. At this retreat, students held an evangelical worship event at Sage Chapel, during which many attendees accepted salvation in Christ, found freedom from afflictions, and/or came forward to confess their need for God's help and healing in their lives.
Regardless of the specifics of the retreat, students leave them carrying the demonstrative love of Christ back to their communities. To illustrate, this past spring semester, Christian Union students shared the gospel 46,654 times and held 601 evangelistic conversations with their peers across the campuses where CU serves.
CU Lux at Yale, in April, partnered with other Christian organizations to host an outdoor Worldwide Prayer Meeting entitled "Rekindle" held in the heart of their campus in Connecticut. This event hosted 500 people in person and invited more than 100,000 people around the world to submit prayer requests and join the live stream to proclaim and exalt the name of Jesus Christ.
In addition, at Stanford this past spring, students partnered with other Christian organizations to lead an outdoor worship event entitled "ONE" with Francis Chan in the heart of their Palo Alto, California campus.
From the New England region of the US to the west coast, retreats are transforming students' lives and the communities in which they live.
When reflecting on the opportunity to be a part of this type of strong Christian community, Guta shared, "I’m tremendously grateful for and blessed by the way God has brought this group of people together–each member belonging to all the others for the benefit of each other and for the glory of God."
Retreats are truly revolutionary, holding the power to transform and equip believers to change their communities and eternity with the love of Jesus Christ.
Watch this powerful four-minute Youtube video that recaps CU Lux at Yale's recent fall retreat.
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