Seeking God

Our Unity With Other Believers Matters More Than We Think

By Matt Bennett, Founder and CEO of Christian Union

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. - Acts 1:12-14 

A Summer Book Study Led to Community Transformation

By Isabella Campolattaro

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s seminal work on community, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christians in Community, has been inspiring believers since it was first published in 1939. What makes this classic all the more poignant and powerful is the fact that it was penned while Bonhoeffer was teaching at an underground seminary, just six years before being martyred by the Gestapo.

Freshmen Launched Prayer and Fasting Team 

By Tom Campisi

When two first-year Yale University students studied Christian Union’s Seeking God Lifestyle manual they put their faith into action and displayed exemplary leadership. In the spring semester, Yoska Guta and Zaneta Otoo, attendees of a Christian Lux Bible course, stepped up and launched a prayer and fasting team that had a passion for revival.

Why It Matters That Our Whole Lives Are Devoted to Jesus

By Anne Kerhoulas

What happened to Paul? This is the simple question that Church of the City pastor Jon Tyson asks in his sermon entitled, A Thorough Conversion. Yes, we know that Jesus met him on the road to Damascus and transformed his life from a murderous Pharisee to a super apostle. But what happened in his heart? In that encounter with Jesus, he was completely and radically changed. As Tyson says, Paul was thoroughly converted, there wasn’t an ounce left in him that hadn’t been completely given unto Christ. What happened to Paul? And can what happened to him happen to us?

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.
 

The CU Nova Ministry Team Begins the Semester Anticipating What the Lord Will Do 

By Leah M. Smith, Princeton ’22

In the spring semester, Christian Union Nova welcomed the addition of two staff members, pastor Chris Coppernoll and Princeton alumnus Mike Vincent ’10. Coppernoll will serve as Christian Union’s ministry director at Princeton, while Vincent, a former CU Nova intern, is a ministry fellow. Both of these new staff leaders share common desires for increased discipleship, close-knit community, and revival on Princeton’s campus.

How Hatred Poisons Community and Steals Our Joy

By Qwynn Gross

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. – Ephesians 4:31

When time is given to fast and pray for matters relating to our nation, our families, and ourselves, it should also be a time of reflection and repentance for sin, specifically for the sin of malice.
 

The Unity of The Triune God Is Our Hope

By Chris Coppernoll

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 15:5-7

The temperature dropped in Eden when the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord walking in the cool of the day, and hid among the trees. By taking a bite of the forbidden fruit, they'd torn the bond with their Creator apart and hid because they knew what they'd done was wrong. The couple's act of hiding brought their sin out into plain sight. Now, there would be no more walking with God in the cool of the day, only the cold reminiscence of their innocence lost. 

Jack Deere Speaks at Several Christian Union Universities

By Anne Kerhoulas

Almost forty years ago, Jack Deere found himself in an unexpected position. An esteemed professor of Hebrew and the Old Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS), Deere had signed a statement of beliefs for professors regarding the ongoing supernatural gifts of the Spirit. But through his teaching and study, he found his beliefs increasingly changing, becoming misaligned with the seminary’s stance.

How a Struggle with Addiction Led a Princeton Alum to Rediscover Faith and Launch Multiple Enterprises

By Chris Lumry 

New experiences of God and my own creativity arrived unexpectedly in a season of hopelessness and dissatisfaction shortly after finishing my MBA at Harvard. The day after the 2016 Super Bowl, I blacked out after drinking by myself and woke up around midnight on a street corner in San Francisco. 

Life took a sudden, undeserved turn for the better. 

A Letter from Founder and President Matt Bennett

Christian Union is entering its third decade of ministry; praise God and thanks to you! I thank God for the lives that have been changed and the honor the Lord has received over the past twenty years. 

Rivalry in the Body of Christ Dishonors the Lord

By Chuck Hetzler, PhD, Director, CU Day and Night

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?  – 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

All jealousy, pride, rivalry, and division must be repented of and put at the foot of the cross or Christian Unity will not be achieved. 

The American Church Needs Revival More Than Ever

By Anne Kerhoulas 

The American church needs revival. It’s fragmented and fractured, limping past scandal and hypocrisy, and lacking in zeal for the Lord. But as Russell Moore argues in his article for Christianity Today, revival does not simply mean church attendance rising without radical reformation of the ways the church has veered off course. The revival we need is one of repentance, reformation, and a powerful work of the Holy Spirit.

A Nationwide Fast from August 1-14 Calls Believers to Concerted Prayer

By Dr. Chuck Hetzler

Christian Union’s next extended period of prayer and fasting begins Monday, August 1, and runs for two weeks through Sunday, August 14, 2022. The spiritual condition of our day demands a serious and wholehearted response from the Church; The nation and the people of God in America need a fresh work of the Spirit of God. Please sign up today for our fourteen-day fast and join thousands of other Christians as we draw near to God for ourselves, for the Body of Christ, and for the lost.  

Christian Union Hosts Impactful Student Conference

By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor

At the conclusion of the academic year, Christian Union hosted Spiritus, a two-week-long, invitation-only conference that introduced students to Daniel Spirituality and inspired them to be transformative Christian leaders. Spiritus, held at the D.L. Moody Center in Northfield, Massachusetts, featured doctrinal teaching with an emphasis on prayer, fasting, and repentance.

Report Details ‘Pivotal Moment’ for Gen Z and Millennials

By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor

Editor's note: This Throwback Thursday article originally appeared in January of 2021.   

With its report, The Great Opportunity: The American Church in 2050, the Pinetops Foundation examines the fruitfulness, or lack thereof, when it comes to the engagement of today’s teens and young adults. According to its 2018 report, approximately one million young people are leaving the church each year—but a “great opportunity” exists if we can reverse the current trends assigned to Generation Z and younger Millennials. 

Christian Union Is Offering Hosting Opportunities

By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor

Christian Union will host its next CU Fire Retreat on October 14-15 in living rooms across America—it’s a small group experience designed for the rejuvenation and inspiration of Christians.

Reflections from a Christian Union Nova Leader

By Leah Smith, Princeton ’22

As a recent alumna of Princeton University, I have a lot to reflect on. These past four years have been quite a ride, and I can confidently say that my identity in God has been strengthened so much. Through seeking Him, I’ve gained a stronger sense of purpose and grown a softer and kinder heart in loving others. CU Nova was the one organization on campus that I considered my family, complete with close brothers and sisters in Christ, adult leaders who’ve acted as mothers, and father figures whose wisdom I could glean from. These are the people whose weddings I hope to be in and who I will be visiting with during the classic Princeton University Reunions.

Rest, Solitude, and Holding Fast to God's Promises

By Anne Kerhoulas, STAFF WRITER

The semester winds down, celebrations, endings, farewells, and fatigue sweep us into the early summer days. June always felt like a surprise. The summer had arrived. But the flash flood of the semester left me cleaned out, leaves and branches in my hair, and trying to reorient myself to where I had landed. 

CU Gloria Director: ‘We Want to See Christ Lifted High’

By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor

Christian Union Gloria and other ministries at Harvard Law School were recently featured on the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). The report, seen on major television stations and online, highlighted a strong Christian presence there and a unified desire to see God move mightily.