It’s summer here in Rhode Island, which means late afternoons at the local beaches and eating far too many lobster rolls! Normally, campus is far too quiet this time of year as most students return home or spend their days as interns or working in labs. This year is a bit different, as we’re excited to have freshmen on campus for their second semester. We continue preparations for the fall and eagerly await transitioning to normal programming in the fall. Thankfully, it appears that Brown will be fully vaccinated and campus activities can resume with few, if any, restrictions!
I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.
—Philippians 4:10-14
Stanford students are comfortably in the cadence of summer, and of course I’d love to ask you to pray yet again for these cherished image bearers of God. May the Lamb of God rule in and through them, more and more, for his glory and for the joy of His people! But I want to focus this prayer letter on two non-students who are near and dear to our ministry.
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
His resurrection power is alive in our CU Lux community as our students are using the summer months to strengthen their relationship to God and each other. God is to be praised. Our summer Bible study on the gospel of John has been well attended, the students’ new initiative to memorize Scripture is catching on, and our student executive team is faithfully invested in planning for the 2021-2022 academic year.
This month I was reminded of how God is involved in the little details of our lives. One of our graduating seniors asked for an alumni mentor to walk beside her during this transition. Because she asked later than the mentor/mentee match period, I found myself scrambling to find a good match. At the same time, another young graduate had to step back from her already assigned partnership. Providentially, the mentor who was left without a partner lives in the city where our young graduate looking for a mentor is headed! A new pairing was made and this young woman has someone to walk beside her. God’s timing and plan is perfect!
As our ministries prepare for an exciting back-to-normal fall, please pray fervently for these priorities:
Revival, Reformation Are Preceded by a Return to God
By Chuck Hetzler
“We need to admit that there’s a problem,” said Matt Bennett as he addressed the need for widespread repentance to Christian Union Cornerstone Partners in a Zoom meeting, Monday evening, June 7, 2021.
Q and A with Dr. Vincent Naman
By Anne Kerhoulas, Staff Writer
Christian Union New York has teamed up with the ministry’s alumni engagement team to connect recent graduates and young professionals to mentors who work in the same field. Part of Christian Union’s mission is to transition college seniors into the workforce or graduate school well, linking them with a broad Christian network to support and sustain their faith while also networking professionally.
"God Weighs Nations in the Balance"
Judgment isn’t a topic most people want to talk about, but as Christian Union founder and CEO Matt Bennett argues on these two episodes of Forerunners of America INSIGHTS, it isn’t something we can afford to overlook. In light of the challenging past couple of years, many believers think they are being winsome by offering a watered-down gospel that shies away from the tough but beautiful reality of a just God. Yet, it is precisely God’s perfect justice and righteous judgment that our world and our culture are hungering after but attempting to find apart from Christ.
Amazing Dreams Led Him to the Truth
British author Paul Kingsnorth had tried it all in his search for “a truth he would surrender to.” He started with environmentalism, in hopes that saving the planet, educating people, and valuing creation and its limits would give him meaning. Later, Zen Buddhism offered the stillness he longed for and an attempt at communing with something bigger than himself.
CU Nova’s Tru Thursday Refocuses Outreach Efforts
By Anne Kerhoulas, Staff Writer
Prior to the current academic year, a handful of zealous Princeton University student leaders were given the reigns of TruThursday, the African, African American, and Caribbean culture leadership lecture series at Christian Union Nova. The team transformed the weekly gathering into one of the most popular events in the ministry.
The Pilgrimage to a Holy City
By Caleb King, Harvard ’23
Editor’s note: The following article was reprinted with permission from the Harvard Ichthus, a journal of Christian thought and expression produced by undergraduates at Harvard University.
Christian Fellowship
Christian Union Lux, Christian Union's ministry at Yale, hosted a virtual reunion on June 6 from 3:00 - 4:00pm EST. Christian Union Lux invited participants from all classes, all denominations, and all Christian ministries to this annual event. Thanks for joining us!
By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor
When Dr. Ben Pascut prepared to teach a workshop on organizational excellence for CU Lux at Yale University, he did not have to look very far for subject matter—it is one of Christian Union’s core values.
Christian Union Nova at Princeton
Andrew, a rising senior, believes the most impactful aspect of his experience with Christian Union Nova at Princeton has been stepping up into a leadership role within TruThursday. At Princeton, TruThursday's mission is to reveal and exemplify the Gospel while celebrating African, African America, and Caribbean cultures."Christian Union has definitely had a very impactful time on me during me time at Princeton and I definitely don't know where I would be without it." -Andrew Hama, Princeton '22
Prayer, Revival, and Societal Transformations
At Christian Union’s Cities Conference in Manhattan in 2018, George Otis, Jr. talked about the first Great Awakenings in the United States and the ensuing socioeconomical impact that followed in various cities and communities that were “overwhelmed by the grace and presence of God.”
Riley ’22 Leads Communal Scripture Reading Initiative
By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor
Spring had finally arrived in Hanover, New Hampshire. On a warm May afternoon, amidst the golden sunshine, a group of students from CU Vox were spread out on blankets, reading the Bible out loud on the Dartmouth Green.
Pilar Is Christian Union’s Minister of Music
By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor
Linnette Pilar has a heart for worship and a prayerful passion for New York City.
Pilar, executive assistant to Christian Union Founder and CEO Matt Bennett, is a member of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, a six-time Grammy-winning group of singers who minister in their home church and around the world.
Students Organize Worship Meetings, Easter Celebration
By Kelly Parks, Staff Writer
As COVID-19 regulations slowly lifted for churches and campus events this spring, a group of students with Christian Union’s ministry at Cornell hosted an in-person Easter sunrise service at the John R. Mott Center with a limited number of attendees.
Greetings from Providence! On May 2, Brown held commencement exercises celebrating this year’s graduating class. It’s always hard to say goodbye to the seniors we’ve come to know so well and love so much. This year was certainly no exception, but we praise the Lord that students were able to walk in person with family in attendance. These students have demonstrated remarkable perseverance, maturity beyond their years, and an abundance of grace over the last two years. We’re excited to see where the Lord leads them in the years to come and feel so grateful for the privilege we’ve been given to walk beside them during their time here on campus.
Dear CU Lumine Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,
“...Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” (John 2:10-11)
We are officially in the Summer A Semester and have restarted in-person and online Bible courses for students. We are studying the Gospel of John and the above passage is from John 2 after Jesus performs His first miracle at a wedding in Cana. This passage led to a fruitful discussion about Jesus bringing overwhelming joy to those who obey and follow Him. In the midst of so many changes and unknowns this past year, it was an encouraging and timely truth for the students to remind their own hearts of how Jesus seeks to bring and give eternal joy to His followers.
