Equipping Bold Christian Leaders

Christian Union Hosts Nexus Student Conference  

By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer

The early apostles gained a reputation for boldly proclaiming the Word of God and upsetting the status quo. Acts 17:6 reveals how the authorities in Thessalonica were concerned that “the men who turned the world upside down have come here also.

In February, nearly 300 students from leading universities attended Christian Union’s Nexus 2018 Student Conference, where they were equipped and encouraged to take advantage of opportunities to shake the world, both on campus and upon entering the work force. Many of these gifted leaders will go on to positions of influence in various sectors of society.

The theme of the conference, held at the Hyatt in New Brunswick, New Jersey, was Turn the World Upside Down. {tweetme}Nexus featured plenary and breakout sessions, passionate worship and prayer times, and the annual Spoken Word competition.{/tweetme}

At the opening session on Friday evening, Matt Bennett, Christian Union’s founder and CEO, spoke about the true meaning of significance. Bennett, Cornell ’88, MBA ’89, stated that a life of significance always upends the social, political, and economic order. The presence of Christ never fails to cause transformation, and such change will inevitably lead to conflict in a secular world, he said.



Bennett told the students that seeking significance means following the Lord’s calling in their lives – a task that requires sacrifice and obedience.

“Significance is loving, following, and serving our Lord,” he said.

On Saturday morning, David Bryant, founder of Concerts of Prayer International and Proclaim Hope!, said the current atmosphere on campus and in society reminded him of the unrest during the Vietnam War. A pastor at a church adjacent to Kent State University, Bryant was on campus in 1970 when four students were killed.

He recalled how Christian leaders united and prayed through the book of Ephesians in response to the crisis.

“I can tell you that because of what happened in that prayer meeting, we experienced something of what we read about in Acts 17,” Bryant said. “We saw our world turned upside down. Over the ensuing years, we saw all the campus ministries come together like never before. We saw hundreds of students come to Christ over the next few years, and we knew it was a direct result of what went on in that prayer meeting.”

At Saturday evening’s plenary session, Roland Warren (Princeton ’83, Penn MBA ’96) received the Christian Leader of the Year Award for his work as CEO and president of Care Net, a national pregnancy resource organization. Warren reminded students of Jesus’ servant-leader mandate (see story on page 56).

Nancy Ortberg, a plenary speaker on Sunday morning, also challenged the students to reflect critically on their definition of leadership. The chief executive officer of Transforming the Bay with Christ argued that, contrary to cultural norms, Christian leaders should not merely pursue their own American Dream. Instead, they should channel their gifts toward magnifying Christ.

As for the breakout sessions, the seminars and panels included topics such as Bold Christians in the Workplace, Apologetics for Everyday Life, Transforming Culture, Essential Discipleship, and Responding to the Transgender Movement.

At the Evangelism and the Gifts of the Spirit seminar, David Taylor, an itinerant minister, encouraged students to pray for discernment, connection opportunities, and even physical and emotional healings as they reach out to non-Christians. “Signs and wonders tend to open up people to the Gospel,” he said.

Whether in the marketplace or on campus, believers should be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading when it comes to evangelism. “We are ordinary people doing ordinary things through an extraordinary God,” Taylor said.

Qwynn Gross, a Christian Union ministry fellow at Princeton, led a breakout session entitled Powerful Prayer.

“God sees and hears and intervenes in the affairs of man,” she said. As well, believers should enhance their prayer times by adding elements of worship, surrender, obedience, repentance, and fasting. The Lord is a “rewarder of those who diligently seek Him,” Gross said. “It all happens in the secret place.”

Students from nine different universities attended Nexus: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale. They were energized by gifted speakers, worshipping, praying, and enjoying fellowship and meals together.

Student feedback attested to a powerful weekend.

{tweetme}“Being with a large group of student believers from our campuses is so rare! It was incredibly encouraging to see the body of Christ worshipping together,” said one student.{/tweetme}