Events

Christian Union Lux' Second Annual Worship and Prayer Event 

By erin conner, writer and communication associate 

Christian Union Lux is a spiritual force of light at Yale University by God's grace and power. A leader of this force is Reverend Jeffrey Walsh. Walsh is a retired U.S. Army Master Sergeant with over 23 years of experience as a Military Police Soldier, Educator, and National Director of Police. He is also an ordained Christian minister with a lifetime of experience in pastoral ministry. 

Walsh has served in various assignments and attachments worldwide with the U.S. Army National Guard Bureau, the 5th Special Forces Group, and the 169th Regional Training Institute. Jeffrey spent the last ten years in senior leadership positions, including National Director and Subject Matter Expert of Military Police Education and Leadership and Senior Leader of Advanced Leadership Training Programs. He has trained military leaders across North America in his former roles as the National Military Law Enforcement Subject Matter Expert and Connecticut State Equal Opportunity and Sexual Assault Program Coordinator. Walsh's combat experience has earned him numerous service awards, including the Bronze Star Medal with Valor and four presidential unit awards. And for the last two years, Walsh has served as the ministry director of Christian Union Lux at Yale.

His passion for serving others stems from a personal journey of healing and transformation through the Spirit of God.

Walsh is joined at Christian Union (CU) Lux by his wife, Beth, who serves as the administrative assistant, and two expert ministry fellows, Michael Racine and Chitra Kovoor as well as CU Lux's intern, Luke Bell. This team is currently equipping faithful and dedicated student leaders to plan a large group, faith-based event this Saturday, April 13, 2024, entitled "Rekindle" that will be held in the public square of the New Haven Green behind Center Church from 6-8:30 pm. 

CU Lux hosted their first event like this, a Worldwide Prayer Meeting, last April. The Worldwide Prayer Meeting, led by Times Square Church's Dr. Carter Conlon in cooperation with Summit International School of Ministry, allows people to submit prayer requests and join the livestream event from around the world. The prayer gathering broadcasts to more than 100,000 people across 240 countries. Dr. Conlon is no stranger to Ivy League campuses, having recently spoken at an evangelical event hosted by Christian Union Vita at Cornell last month at Sage Chapel.

Yale's upcoming event will feature powerful student-led worship, testimonies, and prayer with the hope of rekindling a passion to see the name of Jesus lifted high at Yale. It is estimated that approximately 1,000 people attended last year. And there is simply no way to track how far the Word of God traveled that evening last April through the open windows of the freshman dorms and the open hearts of the many attendees. 

This year, Christian Union is hoping to expand its reach by hosting this worship and prayer meeting again. Students have decorated the sidewalks of Yale's campus with details of the event in colorful chalk, informing all who walk the campus of Yale University that they are warmly invited to attend.



This event represents a collaborative effort among Yale students from Christian Union and various other ministries across campus, showcasing the unity and diversity within Yale's faith community. The event provides an opportunity for attendees to connect with fellow believers, engage in meaningful conversations, and/or deepen their understanding of the Christian faith. 

Ministry Director Jeffrey Walsh invites all to "come together to celebrate our faith, learn from one another, and be moved by the powerful message that Dr. Conlon has to share." 

When asked about the significance of this type of event, Luke Bell, former co-president of Christian Union Lux and alumnus of Yale's class of 2023, quoted Charles Spurgeon: "Faith is a cumulative force. 'According to thy faith, so be it done unto thee' is true to one, to two, to twenty, to twenty thousand; and twenty thousand times the force will be the result of twenty thousand times the faith. Rest assured that while two or three have power with God in their measure, two or three hundred have still more. If great results are to come, they will be accompanied by the prayers of many; nay, the brightest days of all will never come except by the unanimous prayer of the entire church." 

Bell, who currently serves as a CU Lux intern, continued, "as Spurgeon said, there is inestimable power when the Church unifies to pray. At Rekindle, we will unite students from Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell as well as churches across the northeast, to publicly worship Jesus, intercede for our campuses, and invite nonbelievers to hear a presentation of the gospel. This is an incredible time to pray for souls across New England to be rekindled with the love of Christ; we look forward to praying for and co-laboring towards building Christ's kingdom here on our campuses, as it is in heaven."  

Join Christian Union in seeking God wholeheartedly and praying with relentless perseverance for God's Kingdom of Light to come and His will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven at Yale and beyond. 

Watch or share this 90-second video: Rekindle 2024 Trailer

Christian Union's April 2024 Retreat on the Christian View of Fear

By erin conner, writer and communication associate 

This month, Christian Union America will be hosting another powerful CU Fire Retreat to help equip Christians around the country to draw close to the Lord with friends and family through a weekend retreat. It is not too late to join, as registration is still open. 

One participant recently shared, "The CU Fire Retreat was a great time! It’s not often you get the opportunity to do a group fast with so many amazing people. I’ve also met one of my current best friends through the alumni group. She went to a different school, so I probably would have never met her without the group!"  
 

Who: You and your small group, friends, or family 

What: A 1.5 day simulcast retreat featuring Scripture-based teaching, worship, prayer, and fasting 

When: April 19-20, 2024

Where: easily host in your own home or church

Why:  grow strong in the Lord and grow closer to each other 

April 2024 Theme: The Christian View of Fear: Understanding the Fear of Man and the Fear of God 

This 3.5 minute video offers a glimpse of the purpose and power of taking one and a half days to seek the Lord in community with others. 

The speakers for the April 2024 retreat are Christopher White,  Trevon Gross, and Matt Bennett: 

Christopher White

Chris White is an evangelist with the UEC-Fresh Springs Association and is a member of the Global Network of Evangelists (GNE) of the Luis Palau Association. He met the Lord at age 14, growing up as a New England pastor’s son, and entered Yale University in 1971 by the Lord’s leading. He served thereafter in campus ministry for decades speaking at Yale, Columbia, MIT, RPI, Rutgers, Johns Hopkins, and many other campuses. He also speaks in churches, and in public outreaches, including concerts in NYC's Central Park and at Long Island’s Jones Beach Bandshell. Earning his M.A. at Columbia, he worked for 20 years as a teacher, and then entered full-time ministry in 2007. 

Mr. White has been working in the U.S., Colombia, Cuba, southern Asia, and elsewhere ever since. His first book, Discipleship and the Body of Christ, is also available in Spanish (Ven y sígueme). Additional books include: God and Man and Monkey at Yale, The Passion of the Evangelist, and Judgment or Revival, Which Will It Be? He has also released his first original music album, How Glad the Morning. The UEC-FSA’s ministry website is located at: www.cnwhite.org. He has a Facebook ministry page at facebook.com/EvangelistChrisWhite. Mr. White has been married for more than 30 years to Pilar Hernandez White and together they have four sons.

Trevon Gross

Trevon Gross is a veteran pastor and church pioneer who has a passion for practical, Biblical teaching and developing leaders. With an unapologetic conviction that the local church is the hope of the world, he enjoys training those who will help to reach those who are far from God.

With a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and a minor in Classics from the University of Virginia, a Master of Theological Studies from Duke University and further graduate study at Harvard University in the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Department, Trevon has a commitment to solid Biblical interpretation and proclamation. He holds a PhD from Regent University in Organizational Leadership with an ecclesial concentration. 

Having served almost 20 years in denominational ministry, he, along with his wife, pioneered an independent church in 2002 called Hope Cathedral. With a growing, multicultural congregation that translates the Great Commission into 21st-century ministry his emphasis is on communicating a clear vision, and offering practical processes to accomplish God’s call.

Matt Bennett

Matt Bennett is Founder and President of Christian Union, a Christian leadership development organization with the mission to bring sweeping spiritual and cultural transformation to our nation and the world by developing and networking Christian leaders to make an impact for Christ. Christian Union focuses its activity on America's most influential universities and on professionals in the nation's key cities.

A native of Houston, Texas, Matt earned BS and MBA degrees from Cornell University and holds a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He worked for Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru) at Princeton University for 12 years, and developed the ministry into one of the largest in the history of the Ivy League. In 2002, he founded Christian Union. The ministry has been featured in The New York Times, PBS, NPR, Christianity Today,and World Magazine. Matt currently resides in New York City.

Register for or learn more about April's CU Fire Retreat. 

Experience the Power of a CU Fire Retreat — without Leaving Your Town!

By Erin Conner, Writer and communications associate

What is the significance of meeting together in a community to seek the Lord? Why are followers of Christ encouraged in the New Testament to "not give up meeting together?" (Hebrews 10: 25). 

Throughout the Scriptures, we find patterns of regularly seeking God in community with others. For example, daily morning and evening gatherings when the sun rises and the sun sets are found in Numbers 28:1-8. Weekly meetings are held Sunday (originally Saturday) in Exodus 20:8-11; Leviticus 23:3; Numbers 28:9, 10; Deuteronomy 5:12-15 and in the first century Church, as recorded in Acts. Monthly or "new moon” gatherings are found in Numbers 28:11-15, and annual special gatherings are held several times per year, especially with seven-day gatherings every six months in the spring and the fall, as shown in Leviticus 23:1-44. 

Join Our 21-Day Fast 

By chuck hetzler, PhD, vice president of biblical theology 

 
Is Israel’s current war a sign of the end times? How should we, as Christians, think about the war? What can and should we do?

Christian Union is calling all American Christians to start the year with a 21-day fast, Tuesday, January 2, through Monday, January 22, 2024, to humble ourselves and seek God in light of the current events in the Middle East.

The upcoming CU National Fast is titled "Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace for All Nations." Christian Union faculty and staff will write devotionals based on Scripture, which will be sent to all signed-up participants by email each day of the fast. 

CU Fire Retreats Continue to Blaze Across America

By erin conner

“Once again CU Fire Retreats Delivered! Amazing!,” claimed one participant following the past Christian Union America Retreat held on October 13-14.  CU Fire Retreats are multi-site, two-day simulcast retreats focusing on spiritual strengthening through prayer, fasting, repentance, and seeking the Lord. CU Fire Retreats are a part of Christian Union America’s efforts to bring sweeping change to our nation for God’s glory through the development and connection of transformative Christian leaders.    

Don't-Miss 2024 Events 

October CU Fire Retreat Elicits Powerful Responses As Holy Spirit Moves in Power

By Chuck Hetzler

“This was my first CU Fire Retreat. It's hard to put into words what I experienced this weekend.  I have been challenged to examine my walk with the Lord, to address areas where I am not walking in obedience. With regard to revival, I have a better understanding as to what is required of us collectively and myself individually.  This is a new beginning for me. I don't think I will ever be the same again. The teachings were the most memorable part for me but our small group discussions and prayer times were also wonderful.”

Fasting, Bible Studies, Mentorship, Retreats, and More Will Be Available Through CU America

By Tom Campisi

Christian Union recently announced the formation of CU America, which will focus on inspiring, encouraging, and networking adults across the country to wholeheartedly seek the Lord, repent of sins, grow bold in their faith, and pray diligently for national revival.