Movement Must Be Concerted, United, and Sustained

The following article, by the late scholar and preacher of revival Dr. J. Edwin Orr (1912-1987), was reprinted with permission from www.jedwinorr.com.Dr. A. T. Pierson once said, “There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer.” Let me recount what God has done through concerted, united, sustained prayer.   

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• Intellectual Engagement

Christian Union Asks Student Body, "What is the Purpose of Your Life?"  

"God is moving mightily at Yale, and we are seeing students boldly proclaim the gospel like never before," said Jeffrey Walsh, the ministry director of Christian Union Lux. Night after night this semester, 20-25 students are walking across campus, sharing the good news of Jesus and praying with their peers. Just before Christian Union Lux's evangelism prayer and worship event at Battell Chapel on February 21-22, an email titled “What is the Purpose of Your Life?” was sent out to every student on campus. This email ignited a firestorm of discussion, going viral on Yale’s internal social media platform, Fizz, with 2,100 comments in a single day. "The curiosity and spiritual hunger this initiative sparked is overwhelming," Walsh said.

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• Intellectual Engagement
• Yale
• Cultural Engagement
• Faith and Work

Evangelism Campaigns at Some of Our Nation's Most Secular Schools

On March 3, Cliffe and Stuart Knechtle from the Give Me An Answer Ministry visited Stanford, boldly proclaiming Christ and engaging students in deep conversations about difficult questions of faith. The crowd grew to nearly 250 students toward the end, with still more stopping by throughout the four-hour event in White Plaza. "In the days since, I’ve heard several testimonies of how students have had many conversations with their non-believing friends about Christ, the gospel, and faith. Cliffe and Stuart’s example emboldened students in their faith, and we see clear evidence that God is at work in hearts on our campus," shared Justin Woyak, the ministry director at Christian Union Caritas, one of the ministries that helped to host this outreach event. Christian Union Caritas was honored to partner with other Christian ministries at Stanford to help proclaim the gospel in such a bold way.

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• Alumni
• Columbia
• Cornell
• Intellectual Engagement
• Princeton
• Stanford
• Cultural Engagement
• Faith and Work

Devotional from January 2025 Christian Union National Fast 

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.”-Psalm 33:12-15    Reflection:The opening verse of this passage, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,” is a profound declaration of divine favor. It reminds us that the true blessing of a nation, and indeed any people, comes not from wealth, power, or worldly success, but from recognizing and submitting to the sovereignty of the LORD. This recognition is not merely a matter of formal acknowledgment but requires a deep, heartfelt commitment to God as the ultimate authority and guide.   In the context of today’s world, where nations often seek prosperity through economic and military might, this psalm offers a counter-cultural truth: the real blessing lies in being chosen by God and walking in His ways. It’s not about the external markers of success but about aligning our hearts and lives with His will.  

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• Devotionals

Testimonies Reveal God is at Work in America's Most Influential Universities

Universities such as Brown, Cornell, Princeton, and Yale produce a disproportionate number of influential leaders across the nation, as these schools fall into the top ranking universities in America. In fact, almost seventy percent of America's most influential leaders graduate from just 20 of America's 3000+ undergraduate educational institutions. Across America, many believe that these schools are too secular to see a move of God, but others believe that these schools sit at the heart of a future national revival. Despite the increase in destructive ideologies that are pervasive in these types of institutions, God is on the move to demonstrate truth, love, and the way out of a secular culture and mindset of depavity, deception, and despair. 

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• Brown
• Cornell
• Princeton
• Yale

Student Leadership Ministry Equips Students to Share Christ 

As Christians around the world prepare their hearts this Lenten season to acknowledge Christ's death and resurrection, Christian Union is preparing student leaders to boldly proclaim the gospel.   Every spring, Christian Union holds an eight-week evangelism campaign across their ten ministries at some of our nation's most secular and influential schools, equipping students to share the gospel in multiple, meaningful ways. From social media ads to initiating conversations with strangers in the street to hosting highly visible, large group events on campus, student leaders are devoted to sharing the life-giving message of Jesus Christ to all who have ears to hear.  

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• Events
• Princeton
• Cultural Engagement
• Faith and Work

Devotional from January 2025 Christian Union National Fast 

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 3:13-14 ESV   I’ve participated in the Boston Marathon for a few years now—not as a runner, but as a volunteer, to be clear! Every year that I watch the elite runners run past the last water station towards the finish line—sweat pouring down their face, muscles burning, and exhaustion weighing heavily—I ask how they can run over 26 miles in less than 3 hours. I imagine their eyes are fixed on the tape ahead, not on the pain or the miles they’ve already covered. With every ounce of strength, that final push brings them to victory. This image echoes the message of Philippians 3:13-14: the Christian life is not a sprint but a marathon. It’s a journey of perseverance, focus, and pressing forward toward the prize.

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• Devotionals

Seeking a Spiritual Awakening in America

The following article by David Bryant is adapted from his essay in the 2004 updated edition of Jonathan Edwards’ influential book on prayer marked by a thirty-six word title that began with three famous words: An Humble Attempt. The modern version’s title is “A Call to United, Extraordinary Prayer…An Humble Attempt.”  

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• Intellectual Engagement
• Cultural Engagement
• Faith and Work

Brown and Columbia Student Leaders Reflect on Worship 

Christian  Union Universities, a Christian leadership development ministry at ten highly secular and influential educational institutions in America, aims to provide training and growth opportunities for students to lead others in devotion to God in their spheres of influence. One area of leadership that students develop during their time with Christian Union is worship. The following thoughts from Christian Union ministry team leaders at Brown and Columbia University reveal the power of worship on their campuses and in believers' lives. 

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• Brown
• Columbia

When God Woke Up Wales

  In an article published by Desiring God, Pastor Jeremy Walker writes a brief summary and analysis of the revival that took place in Wales, England in the  1700's. Walker notably writes that “the Lord was pleased to stir the listless and lethargic to liveliness and labor during the 18th Century in various parts of the world by various human instruments. In England, God raised up George Whitefield. In America… Jonathan Edwards, and in Wales… Daniel Rowland.” 

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• Brown
• Columbia
• Cornell
• Dartmouth
• Harvard
• Penn
• Princeton
• Yale
• Stanford
• Seeking God
• Harvard Law

Devotional from January 2025 Christian Union National Fast 

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."–James 1:2-4 ESV   God and the devil both recognize the incredible value and opportunity of suffering. In fact, we humans might be the only ones who do not! So many times, in the midst of suffering, our goal is simple: stop suffering. And we turn all our energy and attention to that task, desperate to be done with our trial.  But James 1:2-4 paints a different picture. “Count it all joy,” he writes, “when you meet trials of various kinds.” James does not call us to enjoy suffering—that would be masochism—but instead to count our suffering as joy. We are to view it not as something senseless, but as a trial of faith, a necessary testing ground which produces good fruit.

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• Devotionals

True Faith: Trusting and Aligning Our Desires with God's

  Ijeamaka Achebe, a senior at Yale University, recalls parts of her journey through her academic career, wondering, "What is my purpose?" While she has a clear goal of becoming a doctor, she realized that goals and existential purpose are not necessarily one and the same.Through Christian Union Lux's ministry at Yale, in part, Achebe began to realize that, above all, she wanted her career aspirations to be in alignment with God's will. After two years of participating in Christian Union Bible courses, she shared that her outlook on career is different than it once was. "Our secondary calling is career," she shared, recognizing that while a career is important, it is subordinate to her primary calling as a Christian.

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• Yale
• Seeking God