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Imagine the United States transformed by the leadership and values of Christians of wholehearted devotion to the Lord.

Vision

Christian Union seeks a spiritually vibrant nation marked by Christian values permeating every corner of society.

Mission

Christian Union develops and connects transformative Christian leaders.

Strategy

Christian Union’s two main emphases on select universities and professionals in key cities reflect our concern to reach people groups that exert disproportionate cultural influence in the United States. 

Outcome

If US society was transformed by the leadership and values of Christians of wholehearted devotion to the Lord we might expect to see some of the following implications: 

• If large numbers of business executives valued Christian ideals above all else, it would mean the spread of ethical business practices, concern that workers be treated fairly, and integrity in leadership.
• In the field of education, if large numbers of university presidents, faculty, and administrators were committed to Jesus Christ, careers, internal politics, and ideology would take a back seat to the education of our children.
• If the US government contained high numbers of developed Christian leaders, we would expect laws and the execution of laws in our country to more fully reflect a Christian worldview.
• If large numbers of top media executives reflected Christian values, we would expect more programs valuing marriage, parenthood, generosity, respect, courage, self-sacrifice, and compassion.
• There is a global impact to consider as well in the thousands of foreign students who study at these key universities. Consider the potential impact if a future president of Pakistan, China, or Russia were reached for Christ and trained to be a godly leader for their home country.

At present, the nation's most influential universities export spiritual darkness into our culture through secularized leadership.

It will take prayer, effort and financial resources to reach these future leaders for Christ. Please prayerfully consider how you might partner with Christian Union to make a difference.

 

God
God is Triune—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each an uncreated person, one in essence, equal in power and glory.

The Scriptures
The Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is the Word of God written and is therefore wholly truthful in the original manuscripts and authoritative for faith and practice.

Creation
God created all things out of nothing, and He has created all people in His image, equal in worth. However, because of sin, all people are alienated from God and one another and justly deserve God’s eternal judgment.

Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ, the only and eternal Son of God and His perfect image, took on human flesh to save us, in order that we might be restored in relationship with God and one another, rightly worship, and love God and love our neighbor as ourselves, and be freed from the power of sin and the just judgment of God.

Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, fully God and fully man. He lived a perfect and sinless life, loving others, teaching truth from God, and working miracles. He was crucified for us, died, and was buried. On the third day He rose from the dead with a glorified body. He ascended into heaven, and he now rules as Lord at the right hand of God the Father, where He intercedes for His people.

The Gospel
Because of the love of God and for the glory of God, Jesus died in the place of sinners in order to secure our salvation. All who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, repent of sin, believe in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, and confess Him as Lord receive God’s free gift of restored relationship with Him and eternal life.

Our good works do not earn salvation, but by God’s grace through the Holy Spirit good works always accompany salvation and make it manifest, for the glory of God and Christ. God gives to all believers the Holy Spirit who indwells, sanctifies, instructs, gifts, and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service, the unity of faith, and knowledge of the Son of God, through which we grow in the maturity and fullness of the image of Christ in us. The Spirit Himself is the down payment of our promised inheritance in Christ.

Jesus has commissioned His church to bring the gospel to all peoples, to make disciples of Him, and to celebrate baptism and communion until He returns. Jesus is coming back to earth personally, bodily, and gloriously to consummate His righteous rule. All who trust in Him will enjoy eternal, joyful fellowship with God and one another in resurrected and glorified bodies in a new heavens and new earth.

See also our Statement of Ethics

Christian Union

Matt Bennett

Founder and President, Christian Union
Cornell BS '88, Cornell MBA '89
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School MDiv '10

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 selective and 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.

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Ken Fish

Independent Board Member
Graduate of Princeton University
Masters of Divinity, Fuller Seminary
MBA, UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management

Ken Fish has more than 20 years of experience as a senior executive with Fortune 500 corporations specializing in corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, financial management and organizational transformation.

Throughout his life, Ken has worked with parachurch ministries, and in the 1980s he worked full-time for John Wimber for several years at Vineyard Ministries International (VMI). Among his duties at VMI, he worked on various aspects of the conferences that were a hallmark of the early Vineyard movement, including researching and ghost-writing for John Wimber. He has traveled extensively as a conference speaker, teaching on wide variety of topics ranging from leadership and spiritual formation, church growth and revival, biblical authority and exposition, to prophecy and healing and deliverance.

 

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Dian Naman

Independent Board Member
Alumna, Columbia University

Dian Naman is a wonderful woman of God and is a tremendous addition to the Board. She and her husband Vince first became acquainted with Christian Union through their children’s involvement. It started with Luke, a 2015 graduate of Dartmouth and an active participant in Christian Union activities, and then their youngest daughter Brianna, a 2017 graduate of Brown, who was also involved with Christian Union.

The Naman’s eldest daughters also attended Ivy League Schools but before Christian Union was fully formed and/or present at their respective universities. Natalia, the oldest, went to Princeton earning a BA in English, theater, and African-American Studies (2008). She also earned an MFA, Dramatic Writing from NYU in 2010. Julia attended Yale and graduated in 2012. Christian Union featured the all-Ivy family in CU: The Magazine in 2016.

While Vince is a proud Princetonian and is now a plastic surgeon, Dian attended Columbia University for nursing school and runs their medical clinic and spa, Chattahoochee Plastic Surgery. Dian and Vince have been generous advocates and financial supporters of CU over the years. They love the mission of Christian Union and enjoy the prayer and fasting initiatives from Day & Night. They have also hosted or been a key connector to CU events in Columbus, GA where they are pillars in their community.

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Winston Wu

Christian Union operates additional ministries to encourage renewal and revival, and equipped and networked Christian leaders.

The Christian Union Conference on Faith and Action

Nexus runs two parallel conferences, one for students from a select number of universities, and one for professionals. Each conference offers an inspiring weekend of dynamic worship and thought-provoking messages from world-class speakers. 


The 2017 Nexus student & professional conferences will be held in Stamford, Connecticut, April 7-9, 2017. 

Nexus for Students

Learn More & Register 

Nexus creates space for students from some of the world's leading universities to gather together and learn about Christian leadership and its potential for impact in culture today. Student attendees can look forward to:

Dynamic Worship || From gospel to contemporary to classic, draw closer to God with exciting worship, prayer, and music in diverse musical styles.

Engaging Speakers || Be encouraged from God's Word with talks by world-class speakers, pastors, and thought leaders.

Building Relationships || Get to know students from other campuses and develop a network of passionate Christians who desire to impact the world.

Nexus: Professional 

Learn More & Register

The Christian Union Conference for Professionals convenes influential professionals from across many industries for a life-changing weekend of dynamic worship and compelling ideas about faith and its relevance to our entire lives. Attendees will interact with recent graduates as well as seasoned professionals.

As Christian leaders in a broken world, it is important that we are unified in our mission to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and engage to transform our culture. This weekend will encourage you and equip you to be a part of God's redemptive plan in your workplace.

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." - Isaiah 2:3

To watch videos or listen to audio recordings of the Nexus 2016 plenary sessions, or to download and listen to audio recordings of breakoutsessions, please visit the Nexus 2016 website. 

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Christian Union Day and Night

 

Sharing a Vision to Transform Dartmouth

The alumni board is an alumni-led organization which will inevitably play a vital role in the future of the ministry at Dartmouth College. The alumni board is committed to furthering the development of programs focused on alumni as it furthers the following objectives: advance the work at Dartmouth College, transition graduates well, develop Christian leaders and bring revival.

 

Andrew Shuffer '18

Board Member

Kenneth Kvistad '63

Board Member

Elaine Lunsford '17

Board Member

 

Contact Us:

AlumniEngagement@ChristianUnion.org.

Sharing a Vision to Transform Yale

The alumni board is an alumni-led organization which will inevitably play a vital role in the future of the ministry at Yale University. The alumni board is committed to furthering the development of programs focused on alumni as it furthers the following objectives: advance the work at Yale University, transition graduates well, develop Christian leaders and bring revival.

Kia K. Quinlan '16

Chair

 
Edward Duffy '75

Board Member

 

Jin Li '21

Board Member

Stuart Monk '19

Board Member

 

George Taylor '68

Board Member

 

Contact Us:

AlumniEngagement@ChristianUnion.org.

Serving Christian Union's Financial Partners 

Contact the Christian Union development staff by email using: Firstname.Lastname@ChristianUnion.org

 

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Cheryl Ennis Self

Vice President of Development

Cheryl Ennis Self, ACFRE was the Founder and Chief Development Officer of the consultancy Funding for Change (FFC). Since 2016, FFC has provided expert guidance to both nonprofit and for profit corporations in the areas of creative visioning, innovative strategic planning, excellence in resource generation, and sustainable attainment of stated goals.

Prior to serving as a Business Consultant, Ms. Self was the Executive Director of Global Social Partnerships at World Vision (WV). Her prior roles at World Vision over 16 years included leadership of major donor, corporate and foundation development officers, while personally stewarding a strong portfolio of donor relationships. 

Her previous experience includes service as National Director of Advancement at Prison Fellowship Ministries, Washington, DC, and Interim Director of Development at The Stony Brook School, Long Island, NY. She began her early career as a teacher, then sales and sales management in Manhattan before moving into the nonprofit sector.

In 2013, The Association of Fundraising Professionals, the largest community of professional fundraisers in the world, awarded its highest professional certification, the Advanced Certified Fundraising Executive (ACFRE) to Ms. Self. Available only to senior-level fundraisers who have worked in the profession for 10 or more years, the ACFRE is a distinguished achievement earned by only 104 professionals since the inception of the program in 1992. 

Ms. Self holds a BA in French Language from Gettysburg College, PA, where she graduated cum laude. She and her husband of 30 years, Jim, live in Northern Virginia.

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Isabella Campolattaro

Development Writer

A longtime freelance writer and communications consultant, Isabella holds an MS in management and public relations, and BA in communications studies, both from the University of Maryland. Isabella is an active Christian blogger, author, and contributor to nearly twenty books, including several Guideposts devotionals. 

Born in Southern California and raised in Maryland, Isabella now lives on Florida’s lush and lovely Suncoast with her two amazing school-age sons, Pierce and Isaac.

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David Cole

Director of Technical Services

David brings over ten years of fundraising operations experience serving organizations across the religious, social service, and education sectors. David specializes in helping non-profits optimize donor databases, streamline processes, and enhance data-driven strategic planning efforts.

David is a native Texan, a devout Catholic, and an Eagle Scout. He lives in Dallas-Ft. Worth area with his wife, Jennifer, and two daughters. He earned a BA in Communications from the University of Texas in San Antonio.

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Landon Eckhardt

Director of Development

Landon represents Christian Union in the Northeast Region, working closely with ministry financial partners, including individuals, churches, and foundations. His role is to steward their participation in developing Christian leaders to impact culture across the country.

Born and raised in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas metroplex, Landon earned a BSBA in finance from Samford University in 2009, an MDiv from Palmer Theological Seminary in 2014, and an MBA from Eastern University in 2017. Prior to joining Christian Union, Landon worked in development at The Bowery Mission in New York City where he managed a team overseeing donor relations, donation processing and receipting, and various data and reporting mechanisms.   

Landon and his wife, Amanda, currently live in New York City and are avid foodies, coffee lovers, and enjoy spending quality time with family and friends.

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Patty Fillman

Administrative Assistant

Patty provides crucial administrative support to the development team. She graduated from Mansfield University with a degree in Early Childhood Education and has worked a variety of secretarial and managerial jobs while fulfilling her primary responsibility of raising her children.

Patty has three wonderful, grown children: Adam, Rachel, and Hannah. Between them, she and her husband, Jim, have four children and three grandchildren.

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Dave Magnuson

Associate VP Strategic Gifts

Dave directs the work of the directors of public affairs. He also works closely with financial partners in the Central Region and around the country.

Dave hails from Minnesota. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Business from Bethel University in 1983 and an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management in 1992. Prior to joining Christian Union, Dave served successfully as the Chief Development Officer at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Presbyterian Homes, and The Salvation Army in Chicago. Dave has also been active as a board member with several international social service ministries.

Dave and wife, Caryn, live in the Chicago area and are the proud parents of three adult sons, Trent, Caleb, and Nathan, and daughter, Grace, who is in college.


  

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Deborah Oladapo

Data Director

Deborah grew up in Auburn, Alabama. She attended the University of Alabama where she received her BA in International Studies and Spanish and her MBA. She spent eight years working as an IT professional with Rohm and Haas Company, The Dow Chemical Company, and with a non–profit community college before joining Christian Union.

Deborah is married to Abiola. They have two children and live in Columbus, Indiana.

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Edit Planas

Senior Development Associate

 

The Christian Union Difference

Four distinctives differentiate Christian Union. Each is a theme that runs through Christian Union's work in key cities and on strategic  university campuses:

 
 
 

 01  ||  A Lifestyle Marked by Seeking God

Christian Union promotes biblical Christianity's emphasis on frequent, fervent prayer; massive intake of Scripture; repentance; humility through fasting; perseverance; promptly obeying the Spirit; and extended times of gathering with believers.
Learn more > 

 02  ||  Networked & Engaged Christian Leaders

Christian leaders must engage culture in order to transform it, and Christians of influence must be well networked in order to maximize their godly impact on society. 
Learn more >

 03  ||  High-Caliber Faculty & Intellectual Rigor

This strategic focus requires curriculum and faculty suitable for men and women of exceptional intellectual caliber; proprietary Bible course and leadership training curriculum are combined with effective mentoring by ministry faculty of mature faith and advanced theological training. 
Learn more >

 04  ||  Disciplined Approach & Organizational Excellence

Christian Union seeks to honor the Lord, expand the ministry, and serve donors' intentions by maintaining a disciplined ministry model and a culture of strict accountability evidenced by detailed metrics, extensive evaluations, and continuous improvements to maximize ministry impact. 
Learn more >

A Process of Drawing Close to God 

Christian Union emphasizes a mindset and behaviors considered normative by Christians for centuries which have fallen out of practice in the US, save during periods of revival. These are characteristic of the international church, such as in Uganda, China and Korea, and include frequent prayer; large intake of Scripture; repentance; humility through fasting; perseverance; promptly obeying the Spirit; and extended times of gathering with fellow believers. Something as essential as seeking God entails attention, time, and energy.

Learn more about seven characteristics of a Seeking God Lifestyle.

Training Christian Leaders to Engage Culture

We need Christians to assume positions of leadership across many vocations and to take the part of (and continue to take up) issues of justice. Christians who are isolated in a "holy huddle" either socially or intellectually will not change culture.

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"What we want is not more little books about Christianity, but more little books by Christians on other subjects—with their Christianity latent...It is not the books written in direct defense of Materialism that make the modern man a materialist; it is the materialistic assumptions...he would be troubled if, whenever he wanted a cheap popular introduction to some science, the best work on the market was always by a Christian." —C.S. Lewis, "Christian Apologetics," God in the Dock

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There are numerous examples of Christian leaders whose lives inspire Christian Union to develop new generations of Christian leaders. C.S. Lewis himself is one of them.

The following five examples illustrate the range of social and cultural impact that Christians have when they submit their influence to God-honoring ends:

Five Examples of Inspiring Christian Leaders

C.S. Lewis (1898 – 1963)
The Oxford Scholar, novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, and Christian apologist wrote such classics as the Narnia Chronicles (The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe etc.), Mere Christianity, The Great Divorce, Surprised by Joy, and of course many other titles. He bridged academia and mass culture with popular works of fiction and non fiction, and compelling presentations of Christian worldview. We need many Christian to take the lead in academia, journalism, as essayists, cultural commentators, story tellers, filmmakers, and in many other fields, to impact our culture.

Dr. Ida Scudder (1870 –1960)
A third-generation American medical missionary in India, she was a graduate of Cornell Medical College, New York City, 1899; the first class at that school to accept women medical students. Ida had resolved not to become a medical missionary, but seeing women die in childbirth needlessly convinced her God wanted her to help as a physician. In 1918, she started one of Asia's foremost teaching hospitals, the Christian Medical College & Hospital, Vellore, India. She dedicated her skills to God. We need Christians in the medical fields, sciences, economy, and more, to do likewise.

George Gallup Jr. (1930 – 2011)
An American, George Gallup Jr. graduated with a degree in religion from Princeton, then worked at a ministry on Galveston Island in Texas. He considered becoming an Episcopal priest until he was drawn into work for his father's polling firm, where he worked from mid 1950s until 2004. He expanded the firm's surveys into religion, becoming one of the first pollsters to ask questions about organized religion and religious teachings and practice. Under Gallup Jr. the polling firm became a barometer of Americans' views on religion and politics. Late in life, he lamented that politicians had come to follow polls so closely; still he felt polling to be good for democracy. "It's removed power out of the hands of special interest groups...It's given people who wouldn't normally have a voice a voice."  We need Christians to lead in the social sciences, media, and more, to bring Christian values and perspective to bear on the pressing issues of our time.

Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 – 1968)
A Baptist minister, King is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. His efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. Remarkably, King balanced the tension between confrontation and nonviolence, and in 1964 he received the Nobel Peace Prize. Leading up to his death, he expanded his focus to include poverty and the Vietnam War. Just days after his assassination, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1968. We need Christians to lead on behalf of the oppressed, whether that means working to pass just laws, living and serving among those who suffer, or advocating for "the least of these."

Sandy McDonnell (1922 – 2012)
This engineer, businessman and philanthropist was the former chairman and chief executive officer of McDonnell Douglas Corporation, he also served as national president of the Boy Scouts of America and as chairman of Character Education Partnership. He became a Christian later in life and used his influence to institute a code of business ethics, one of the first of its kind. Following his retirement, he worked energetically to advance character training in public schools. We need many business leaders to implement Christian values in the marketplace and society.

Men and women poised to lead in their fields must be reached with the Gospel and equipped to serve effectively for God-honoring ends.

Networked Christian Leaders

Movements may be known by one leader, but it takes a network of high-level influencers to shift culture. 

One of the most successful examples of a modern network of Christians is the extraodinary group of believers who pooled their collective influence, resources, physical and spiritual energies together to form a group dubbed the Clapham Circle. In the 19th century, when a member of the British parliament, William Wilberforce, came to faith and dedicated his influence to abolishing slavery, these peers became a network - in fact, a community - of spiritual and practical encouragement. They leveraged their influence for God.

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Movements may be known by one leader, but it takes a network of high-level influencers to shift culture.

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After decades of toil, God used Wilberforce and this influential network of Christian believers working with him, to not only end slavery in the British empire, but also to usher in an era that honored virtue in a society that had fallen into deep darkness.

Together, the Clapham Circle—a small group that included writers, philanthropists, scholars, politicians, clergy and businessmen who were driven by their faith—literally changed the world. Their far-reaching impact included dramatic success in prison reform, education, integrity in politics, mission, medicine and cultural change.

Christian Union works to network together leaders of wholehearted devotion, who will have a greater impact together than they could ever have leading alone.

Please prayerfully consider how you can help.