Christian Union NY praises God for those who heeded the call to pray each day of the month of September specifically for Christian and secular leaders in New York!
Here is a testimony from a friend of the ministry, Candy Rice, describing some specific ways the Holy Spirit was leading her to pray! Hallelujah to the Great Shepherd who still speaks through His Spirit to those whom He knows, and whose sheep hear His voice and follow Him (John 10:27).
“And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.” Ezekiel 22:30
While Afghan Christians are choosing to receive the seats of honor in heaven as martyrs - spoken of in the book of Revelation - we kingdom bearers still have freedom to practice our faith on this earth and cry out to Jesus for godly leadership at every secular level and in the churches. What a gift we have at our fingertips, if we would only actuate it to its potential. As a Christian leadership development ministry, our charge this month to ourselves and our cherished brothers and sisters in the New York area is to pray fervently for our leaders, both secular and sacred. Do we believe God can turn our hearts back to Him and rescue us from this evil day? Let’s remember together that faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. Do we believe all things are possible with God? New York is on the cusp of monumental leadership shifts and transition in many areas. As believers, carrying the Spirit and authority of the High King Jesus, we are called to intercede for our cities, our governmental leaders, our pastors, and all those in positions of authority.
Does Jesus still perform signs, wonders, healings, miracles, and deliverance today as He did when He walked the Earth?
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” — John 14:12
If these words of Jesus were not recorded in the authoritative and inerrant Scriptures, preceded by a “truly, truly” from Jesus, we might otherwise call this idea of mere mortals doing even greater works than Jesus absolutely heretical. Stated as such, without crediting the power of the Holy Spirit, it would be heretical. Jesus promised just two verses later to give us another Helper, the Spirit of the Living God! So, in the grand scheme of things, it is the Helper, the Spirit of God Himself, doing these mighty works through his servants like you and me. Unfathomable!
Meet Dimas Salaberrios! We are BLESSED as a ministry to labor alongside him. In addition to being a NY pastor and the Ministry Associate for CU New York, he is the author of “Street God; The Explosive True Story of a Former Drug Boss,” and his new film “Chicago: America’s Hidden War” was recently nominated for an Oscar for “Best Documentary Feature”!
Enjoy this article about Dimas and our monthly pastor prayer initiative, his 40-day fast, and his acclaimed film!
https://www.christianunion.org/the-magazine/3007-spiritual-warfare-and-%E2%80%98chicago-america%E2%80%99s-hidden-war%E2%80%99
How can you best pray for Christian Union NY this month? Pray with us!
As we intercede for New York, and because you are a committed follower of Jesus, I want to let you know of a group that has formed to seek the Lord passionately for the welfare of NYC and for this nation to cry out to God, repent together, and return to the Lord. This inner core group is the Christian Union New York Cornerstone Partners.
Grow Deeper in Your Faith
Many in New York wish that they were stronger in their walks with God and want to be empowered to step out in faith to make a difference in their world. Christian Union New York exists to help. The ministry serves professionals in the city, plus Christian Union alumni and Christian Union Cornerstone Partners—and their peers.
The foundation for ministry is one's personal relationship with God, a relationship that requires an investment of time and constant cultivation. Christian Union has found that short, focused times of drawing near to God have an incredibly positive impact providing Christian strengthening and renewed vision. As a result, it has developed a series of simulcast events designed to provide this sort of opportunity for believers (and their friends) nationwide.
Introducing Christian Union Fire Retreats
Above: A small group that met in Manhattan as part of a recent national CU Fire Retreat.
A Christian Union Fire Retreat is a totally unique one-and-a-half-day simulcast gathering for the rejuvenation and inspiration of Christians. Typically, these retreats are offered several times per year.
Rather than convening in one large group in one location, CU Fire Retreats allow believers to invite friends over to enjoy the simulcast content — and small group interactions — in the comfort of their own homes or churches. During a CU Fire Retreat, these small groups will enjoy access to great teaching that will spur them to seek God, dig into (and discuss) God's word in an in-depth way, worship, and pray together for the duration of the 1.5 days.
A CU Fire Retreat is an investment in: learning what God is like; spiritual rejuvenation; and receiving a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit. Attendees experience an incredible spiritual strengthening to stand faithfully in Him and be used by Him to see their families, communities, and nation impacted for Christ. Relationships among attendees are profoundly deepened as they seek the Lord together for His purposes in their lives.
What Participants Are Saying
“I’ve been enriched beyond words. I am now looking to God to do the extraordinary in the lives of those around me through earnest prayer. The weekend raised my spiritual temperature and sharpened my senses. I am ready for battle.” - Olga S.
“The event was enormously impactful. I was deeply convicted of my sin and the need to live wholeheartedly for God.” - Reid W.
“ I was very inspired by the prophetic words and the prayers I have received during the event. I believe they have a life changing impact on me.” - Maria W.
“All I want to do is tell all of my Christian friends about this weekend so that they can go deeper as well.” - Julia S.
Specifics
- CU Fire Retreats are held in a home, church, or other comfortable location. Participants sleep in their own homes and travel to the location each morning.
- The group fasts together for increased closeness to God and spiritual power. The discipline of fasting has aided Christians in their walks with God since the beginning of the church. As a matter of fact, the common practice of Christians for the first five hundred years of the church was to fast Wednesdays and Fridays. If a particular CU Fire Retreat involves a meal, the small group will share the meal together.
- Because the group size is limited, the ministry asks that each participant commit to being present for the entire retreat from Friday evening through Saturday evening.
- There’s a minimal registration fee. Other expenses are paid by Christian Union and the host.
Learn More!
To learn more or to get involved, please visit CUFire.org or contact Karen Hetzler at Karen.Hetzler@christianunion.org.
Do you ever feel discouraged and hopeless looking at our nation and our culture’s hard turn toward secularism? It often feels like the voice of Christianity in this country is being muzzled and is soon to be silenced. Especially on our nation’s university campuses and in our major cities, we are seeing this trend becoming entrenched and starting other trends in the rest of the country. Whether we want to see it or not, it is becoming more apparent through “cancel culture” and governmental mandating of church closures, how quickly we could lose ground on freedoms to openly live as the Scriptures require us to live.
Do you believe that God can do another great work in NYC? Please enjoy this newly written article about the true story of an amazing revival in NYC. One of history’s greatest spiritual revivals began in 1857 in downtown Manhattan, with just one solitary, faithful businessman. It grew rapidly and spread around the world with tremendous and lasting impact. You can read this inspiring new telling of the Businessmen’s Revival on Christian Union’s Day and Night website, https://www.dayandnight.org/businessmens_revival.
We are so grateful that many of you attended our virtual Gospel of the Kingdom conference with Ken Fish this past weekend. Ken, a Princeton University alumni who transitioned from Wall Street to full-time ministry, packs a powerful punch with both his robust teaching of God’s word and his bold demonstration of the supernatural power of Jesus still operating amongst us today. In a conference titled “Signs and Wonders Beyond the Gospels,” Ken addressed the following topics:
The Eternal Covenant of Signs and Wonders
The Letters of the New Testament
Early Church Witnesses
Can Christians Be Demonized?
Praise be to God! You are making a tremendous difference in the lives of many through your prayers. As we partner together for God’s work in the NY area, Christian Union is focused on prayer. All of our full-time ministry faculty meet every single day, Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM-11:00 AM to seek the Lord together. Christian Union has been crying out to God because we recognize that it is not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord that anything impactful and lasting will happen. We are in desperate need of repentance and returning to God together so that God can mend us and heal our land. Your partnership in prayer is increasing the volume of our cries before the Lord and He is answering! We are so grateful for you.
Happy New Year! I want to begin by expressing our deep gratitude to the many of you who have participated in our ministry, attended our events, and have faithfully partnered with us financially to develop transformative Christian leaders. We serve a sovereign and yet merciful God who wants to break into our brokenness, and those of us who minister with Christian Union are blown away by the privilege of serving Jesus and His beloved people in this capacity.
Dear Christian Union New York Cornerstone Partners and other friends of the ministry,
What an eventful month it has been in NYC and across the country! Christian Union NYC is so incredibly grateful for your prayers for and support of the work we are doing to bring Jesus to bear in our own lives and in the lives of many other fellow New Yorkers; believers and non-believers!
As I write to you a few days pre-election, I realize this email will hit your inbox shortly after the election. Have we slept? Are we breaking a fast? Do we yet have a decisive answer? Are we devastated, elated, indifferent? One thing we know for sure is that our God sits enthroned above the earth and He is the one who “changes times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning” (Daniel 2:21). May we as the people of God, the Bride of Christ in this city, strive to be peacemakers, to pray for all of our leaders as is commanded in the scriptures, humble ourselves under the will of the Father, and be eager to share the hope that we have in Jesus. No matter who sits in our White House, we know that Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father and what a privilege that our salvation and hope are in Him!
As the city begins to slowly reopen and vacillates between opening further and closing yet again to non-essential business, the people of God are remaining strong and full of faith. Several of our Cornerstone Partners and dear friends of the ministry have gathered together in Times Square to worship the Lord in public, to preach and hear preaching of the Word, to pray and evangelize, and even to feed the poor. Praise be to God that in the toughest of times, Christians from many churches and ministries are gathering to call down the Kingdom of Heaven. Christians are unifying for the Lord’s work, and this past Sunday Three New Yorkers surrendered their lives to Jesus in Times Square. Our heart at Christian Union is to develop and connect transformative Christian leaders, and we are overjoyed to see empowered Christians impacting the city!
So I was out running the other day when a teenager rode up on a bike, stopped in front of me, and blurted out, “Do you know you look like Harrison Ford?”. I was surprised, to say the least, but am also realistic enough to suspect he was thinking Harrison Ford circa “Call of the Wild”, rather than “Indiana Jones”. I found myself gratified to be recognized (sort of), but I knew it wasn’t so. I reflected later that the incident reminded me of that deep desire to be noticed and to be of consequence at some level.
My thinking seems increasingly flat (clearly), but in the midst of this I nonetheless find Ephesians 3:20 to be an encouragement - because it pulls my imagination beyond my immediate circumstances toward what might be, or will be.
New York, as is true of much of the country, remains in lockdown for the 200th week - or so it feels. Days seem to run together and Zoom calls have long since lost their allure. Yet I find myself feeling a little fresher each morning as I spend some less hurried time in the Word reading familiar passages again and finding new nuggets all over. Whether I find myself in Ezekiel, or the Psalms, or the Epistles I am reminded that a) God and his promises are unchanging even though our world is, b) our calling to live faithfully, righteously and courageously remains the same regardless of my circumstances, and c) the world will be different because of his Spirit (mostly) and our efforts for his kingdom. All of these reminders renew my hope each day.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God.
-- Philippians 4:6
As chaotic a time as this, we are reminded to anchor ourselves to the hope of our faith - to rely not on our own devices, but dependent on the love and care of our Heavenly Father. Romans 5 and James 1 reveal to us that God consents to trials in our lives in part because of the fruits of patience, endurance, hope and faith that will spring from them. As a community we are intentionally holding fast to God’s promises through this time, choosing faith over fear.
CU New York has begun to participate in a 40 day fast with the Christian Union Day & Night team. As an organization we feel called to seek the Lord in prayer and fasting throughout this time. We desire His will to be done in our lives, our city, and our nation. We trust in His healing power and redemptive hand, that He is moving in this situation, ultimately bringing good from evil, and revealing His Glory through it all.
We have had a CU New York Forum planned for March 27 with Dr. Margaret Yoon on “Mental Health and the Holy Spirit”. While it is clear we cannot meet in the typical format of these events, we are working to move this to a virtual forum. This will still enable us to listen to and interact with Dr. Yoon on these important questions of how we, as Christians, wrestle with issues of burnout, anxiety, and depression at this time and in this busy city. More information on this will be sent separately, or you can check on our website.
For the financial services industry there are a few resources you might find helpful as you navigate this time both professionally and personally. The Ron Blue organization has developed Fearless: Market Turmoil and a Biblical Response, which has spiritual perspective, insights from industry leaders, and messaging points to help guide client conversations during this uncertain season. Please check it out if you’re looking for ideas.
We invite you to join us as we pray and fast in this season. Use this link to receive daily devotionals, and to participate in the CU Day & Night 40 day fast: (https://www.dayandnight.org/fast). We are praying for God’s protection, healing, mercy, peace, and authority to reign over our city and world. We invite His kingdom to come and His will to be done, in each of our lives. We submit our desires to control and to rely on our own understanding, but instead we will choose to submit to His authority, His wisdom as we trust in his peace.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
- Col 3:15
Scott Crosby
Ministry Director
&
Amanda Curtis
Administrative Assistant
Christian Union New York
Christian Union DC
For more information on New York City Christian Union Bible Courses and activities, or resources available to you please contact Scott Crosby.
Please note: if you would like to receive regular updates, via email, on how to pray for City Christian Union, please email prayer@christianunion.org.
“Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.”
-- C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
The above quote from Lewis’ remarkable sermon, given in Oxford in 1941, is part of the argument to raise our understanding and practice of what it means to live out the job description God gave us in Genesis 1 and 2: to honor God, steward creation, and bless others. It's not always obvious to us that we’re made in the very image of God, and we certainly struggle with seeing others in that way.
One of my perennial resolutions in every new year is to read more deeply and profoundly about both faith and the world around me. However, given my suggestion in an earlier letter, I am moving from resolutions to building habits - they tend to be much more permanent.
