Christian Union Fire Retreats
Upcoming Retreat: April 19-20, 2024
A CU Fire Retreat is a 1.5-day nationwide simulcast retreat. Experience spiritual rejuvenation and encouragement with your friends—or any other Christian community you are a part of—from the comfort of your own home! All groups are led by local volunteers. In fact, you are invited to become a host yourself to bring a CU Fire Retreat to your community. Hosting a CU Fire Retreat is easy‚ and we will provide with everything you need to make it happen.
The Next Fire Retreat Details
Theme: Christian View of Fear: Understanding Fear of Man and Fear of God
Dates: April 19-20, 2024Sign Up Now!
If you are interested in possibly hosting an CU Fire Retreat, keep reading, or jump down the page to learn more about how easy it is to host a Fire Retreat in your home, church, or other location.
Why CU Fire Retreats?
Are you hungry to experience God in a deeper and fuller way? Are you longing for a closer relationship with the God who loves you? Have you considered that taking more time to seek the Lord and draw close to Him will have a dramatic impact on your closeness to God and make you a person who changes others’ lives for all of eternity? CU Fire Retreats are a way to intentionally draw close to Him, providing a space for seeking God in a guided fashion.
Anyone can seek God in their own time, but doing so with friends and people you’re wanting to get to know helps deepen bonding and creates powerful camaraderie. You will join with like-minded Christians to pursue God together.
Christian Union founder and president, Matt Bennett, said, "Focused times of drawing near to God have an incredibly positive impact on Christians. Such times provide powerful spiritual strengthening and renewed vision. Please join us by attending or by bringing a CU Fire Retreat to your community." You can view Matt Bennett’s bio here and an interview with Matt by CBN here (5:21).
As more and more Christians take time to seek God and grow stronger in Him, God draws near to us with His increased power and presence in our churches, communities, and nation. Many are frustrated with the spiritual decline in their communities and the nation, but seeking the Lord is the answer.
As believers grow strong in the Lord, their vibrant faith will bring a supernatural change.
Sign Up Now!
Comments about Past CU Fire Retreats:
"The two retreats I’ve attended so far have been monumental. They have grown my spiritual walk like nothing else!"
– Emily
"This was our first retreat… It was so awesome to meet with, pray with, and hear from other’s hearts and encourage each other toward a more impactful walk with the Lord!”
– Keith
“This retreat makes the space for development of deep relationships with other Christians through vulnerability and prayer. This was FANTASTIC.”
– Marshall
"This is the spiritual reset I needed.”
– Reine
What is Required to Be an Attendee?
Because of the purpose and focus of this designated time, CU Fire Retreats are designed for participants who can be present for the entirety of the time. If schedules prohibit someone from being present, then participants are encouraged to wait and to attend the next CU Fire Retreat, which takes place every three months.
We ask that everyone fast during the day of CU Fire Retreat by refraining from food up until dinner on Saturday. Fasting facilitates humility, closeness with God and spiritual power that will amplify our time together. Groups will break their fast by eating dinner together on Saturday. If fasting is unfamiliar to you, you can read about why we fast and how to fast. If attendees do not or cannot fast they are still encouraged to attend, although a whole group fasting together is the ideal.
What is the Cost to Join a CU Fire Retreat?
Registration fees for the upcoming CU Fire Retreat are as follows:
- $19 - Early Bird Ticket (Until March 31)
- $29 - Regular Ticket (April 1 - April 19)
"We are so thankful to have watched God use CU Fire Retreats to make a difference in the lives of so many. Even though these retreats are only 1.5 days in length, the impact they've had in the lives of participants has been extraordinary. To God be all glory for the reports of believers across America being strengthened in the Lord through these events.”
– Grace Ann Arvey, Director, Christian Union America
Speakers for the April 2024 CU Fire Retreat
Matt Bennett
Matt Bennett is founder and CEO 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.
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 https://www.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.
CU Fire Retreat Typical Schedule
Friday : 6-9pm Local Time
Friday Evening
| Welcome and Orientation |
| Group Sharing or Testimonies |
| Message (streamed) |
| Group Prayer |
Saturday : 7am - 8pm Local Time
Saturday Morning
| Group Prayer |
| Bible Reading |
| Worship (Streamed or On-site) |
| Message and Q&A (Streamed) |
Saturday Midday
| Group Discussion |
| Group Prayer |
| Message and Q&A (Streamed) |
Saturday Evening
| Meal |
| Teaching (Streamed) |
| Group Prayer |
Perspectives:
“CU Fire was amazing. The way I was able to meet with God and connect to others has broken some chains off of my heart!! The experience was invaluable.”
– Kimberly
"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
– Hebrews 10:24
My first experience as a participant of a CU fire retreat connected me with like minded believers seeking the Lord for revival. Our time praying together and seeking God in the scriptures was powerful. When given the opportunity to host during the next CU fire retreat I was all in.
– Guy
You Can (Easily) Host a Fire Retreat!
Anyone can be a CU Fire Retreat Host. Christian Union provides event hosts with everything they need to lead a group, including how to invite 4-12 friends, and what is needed to host a group in your home or virtually. Each group has a Primary Host, and a Primary Host can have a Co-Host if you'd like.
See also CU Fire FAQ.
If you are interested in learning more about hosting or attending a retreat in your home, church, or online, please call Grace Ann at (646) 350-4123.
More Testimonials
“It was so rich and deep, so nourishing to my spirit and soul. The love I felt was indescribable, priceless!!! This might sound like an exaggeration, but I honestly believe that I have been raised from the dead. I hope this revival in my life will be mirrored by a revival in the city."
“I’ve been enriched beyond words.”
“This whole concept is brilliant. The teaching was so rich and transforming. And the prayer session was probably the most amazing experience of my whole life time🙏🙏🙏 I’m new to CU. But have been a follower of Christ my whole life. And involved in ministry. A lot to process. God bless you!”
“Wow. The Holy Spirit continues to ricochet around in me because of the last 24 hours with CU Fire!”
“I am still so blown away. My intimacy with God has been amazing.”
“I mean this is so awesome. I can't believe SOME PEOPLE FASTED AND PRAYED FOR ME. But I do believe now. This is sheer ecstasy.”
“I will still be talking about this 1,000 years from now.”
“During our extended intense prayer, God exceeded my expectations by providing times of close communion, wisdom, conviction, repentance, forgiveness and love. This was absolutely the best time of seeking God in my entire life!”
“Absolutely amazing retreat! Looking at the history of revival and traditions have really helped me to see God's power and what He can do in my life today if I am faithful to seek Him.”
“It was very helpful to take a day and a half completely away to focus on the Lord. My heart was greatly challenged to seek revival in my own heart. May I strive to spend more time in prayer each day.”
“Last week was like a spiritual volcano explosion - that is how it feels for me! God always does so much more than we can imagine and think possible! So glad that I was able to be there for the prayer and the retreat - I was blessed by both so much!”
“This past weekend was absolutely transformative for me. It opened up my prayer/spiritual life in unbelievable ways! If someone had told me a week ago that I’d be praying the way I am now, I would have been incredibly dubious, to put it mildly. I’ll tell you all about it when we talk.”
“If this was on a scale from 1-10, CU Fire definitely gets a 10 on all of the above! 🔥 I will be “unpacking” everything for quite some time. The Lord has given a great deal of clarity for direction in ministry through this fast/retreat!! So thankful!!”
“I’ve gained a certain spiritual tool each time I’ve been to CU Fire. Over time, with nurturing, the tools are shifting the direction of my spiritual life. I especially loved the fellowship and the way our small group was able to bond so quickly and take on each other’s burdens.”
“Truly so thankful for this weekend. It was life changing. I’m not kidding. I feel like I have access to God in a way I didn’t know how to access before.”
“Yesterday I felt I was lighter/ as if some weight has been lifted off of me. I know that there was some deliverance that happened even during the time of reading scripture.”
“One of the main things I came away with is that if we want to be closer to God then we have to talk to Him. There is such great power in prayer and when we pray together we can move mountains!”
“What stands out to me is the tangible presence of God that was so evident.”
“We were starving. You poured yourself out for us and we feel so full. And that, in turn, will spill into the lives of others, God willing.”
“I am fired up to bring the same message to other communities in which I participate.”
“The retreat was such the refreshment that I needed! Jesus was very present with us all weekend and in the intercessory times leading up to the retreat! I am encouraged, in tune with the Spirit, and blessed by all the teaching and deep fellowship. God has met me afresh, visited closely, and renewed my zeal.”
“I feel revitalized and fed because of being with other Christians … I have needed replenishment. … Just gratitude and expectation for how God will use this time in my life. I came into this time parched. I know this was a time of replenishment.”
“This was absolutely amazing. I loved praying with my group, the Bible study and the conversations in the group about it. … I have grown deeper in my faith and understanding of God.”
“I don’t think I realized the extent to which God had been working on my heart, and preparing me for the next season, until this weekend. It was like all of these puzzle pieces that I had been trying to fit together just found their place.”
“It was a weekend of stepping into God’s presence, remembering His kindness and heart for restoration, and being absolutely humbled by how He speaks to me so personally.”
About Christian Union
Christian Union develops Christian leaders to transform culture. Watch the video below or learn more about the ministry here.
Over the last three centuries, revivals have had a great impact. Between 1730 and 1830 successive movements of the Holy Spirit brought a large proportion of the population into the churches. These awakenings are not ultimately the result of marketing or organization. They come, by God’s grace and in his time, in response to extraordinary prayer. Christian Union is making a serious attempt to spark this kind of prayer and devotion. I welcome it, and I’m very encouraged by it.”Tim Keller
“I'm thankful to God for the biblically faithful ministry of Christian Union.”
Wayne Grudem,
AB Harvard '70; M.Div. Westminster Seminary '73; Ph.D. Cambridge '79
Distinguished Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies, Phoenix Seminary, Scottsdale, Arizona
“Christian Union is nothing less than an answer to many prayers over the decades, not least my own.”
Eric Metaxas
New York Times #1 bestselling author, and
Host of the Eric Metaxas Show, a nationally syndicated radio program
“Christian Union, through its inspired and dedicated efforts, is doing much to prepare young people for the future by giving them a faith to live by.”
George Gallup, Jr.
Founding Chairman, The George H. Gallup International Institute