October 2015
Dear Friends and Partners in Ministry,
"And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross." (Colossians 1:18-20 ESV)
In just a few days, roughly 400 Princeton University students will be reading these verses from Colossians, listening to them taught and applied, and considering their implications for the way they think about the identity and significance of Jesus Christ. This, to put it simply, is thrilling to me.
We are currently wrapping up our time of Freshman Welcoming at Princeton, where I have this year begun to serve as Christian Union Director of Undergraduate Ministry at Princeton. The ministry supports and resources Princeton Faith & Action (PFA). By God's grace, we have seen nearly 120 freshman students sign up for the ministry's Bible courses, each of which are taught and led by full-time Christian Union faculty. These Bible courses are the heart of our ministry, as groups of 8-10 students gather weekly to study God's Word, discuss it together, and consider its impact on their lives at Princeton and beyond.
To say that the students in our Bible Courses are coming from "all over the map" is an understatement. They are from all over the map geographically; we have students in our ministry from cities as far apart as New York City, Los Angeles, and London, as well countries like Jamaica, and Ethiopia. They are from all over the map theologically; my freshman Bible courses alone include young men from Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Episcopalian, Methodist, Lutheran, and generally unchurched backgrounds. They are from all over the map culturally and ethnically; we joyfully participate in what is, by far, the most ethnically and culturally diverse Christian ministry on Princeton's campus. Yet, our students gather to hear and learn God's Word, to share Christian fellowship with one another, and to be trained and equipped to lead well as faithful followers of Jesus in the years to come.
God is up to something at Princeton; this has been abundantly clear to me in my first few months in my role. PFA is not the only Christian ministry on campus, as PEF (Princeton Evangelical Fellowship), Manna Christian Fellowship, and AIA (Athletes in Action) continue alongside us with faithful and Christ-centered work. I have the great joy of meeting weekly with the directors of these three campus ministries each Thursday for an hour of prayer. As we consider the composite effect of these four ministries on the Princeton campus, it is difficult not to conclude that God has great plans for the Gospel of His Son continuing to permeate more parts of the campus, and more and more students' hearts. As I said earlier, it's thrilling to be a part of what God is doing here.
Would you pray with us? The excitement that we feel as we consider what God is doing, and all that He might do, does not mean that we face no challenges, frustrations, or hardships. To be a Christian, for a Princeton student, is to swim upstream socially in a major way. To share the gospel of Jesus Christ, at Princeton, is to present a drastically counter-cultural alternative to the "gospel" of self, success, autonomy, and various forms of idolatry. We need courage, as do the faithful students in our ministry. We welcome your prayers! As you do pray:
— Pray that God's Word will accomplish His work in the lives of young men and women, as so many of them are exposed to the Bible week after week.
— Pray that Christian students at Princeton will be even more bold and courageous to bear verbal witness — daily — to the life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ.
— Pray for the other Christian ministries on campus (PEF, Manna, AIA), and for our joyful partnership together and mutual encouragement in the gospel.
— Pray for our team of 8 full-time ministry faculty, that they would have energy, joy, and love for both Christ and the students we serve.
— Pray that God would see fit to bring some students in our Bible courses to repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ for the first time this year!
We press on with joy, convinced that God has called us to this work in this specific season. It's good to be here, and we remember all of you often in our prayers. Press on in Christ Jesus!
Jon Nielson
Christian Union Ministry Director
Princeton University
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Please note: if you would like to receive regular updates on how to pray for Christian Union's work at Princeton, please email prayer@christianunion.org.
