40-Day Seasons

Christian Union invites Christians from around the country and world to join together in special seasons of prayer and fasting.  

Previous 40-days initiatives have made a tremendous impact in the lives of participants. Christian Union has heard from many of the hundreds who participated, encouraging the ministry to call and give leadership to ongoing 40 Day Initiatives.

During each of the 40 Days Initiatives, participants have shared wonderful stories about ways that God moved in their lives. These 40 Days Initiatives are now being run through Christian Union's new Day & Night ministry. To learn more, go to DayAndNight.org/moves. 

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

 

Join the Movement to Change Culture

Give

When you give to Christian Union, you help evangelize an unreached people group - the relatively small number of men and women whose leadership choices affect the daily lives of millions and who help to shape culture, from the economy, to entertainment, to the legal system.

Help develop men and women of wholehearted devotion to God, and help them to build relational and professional networks that will increase Christian cultural influence .

Donate >

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Advocate

Refer Others

For culture to be transformed by the Gospel, thousands of believers must learn about and come alongside to support Christian Union’s strategic approach. Christian Union's primary way of communicating is through the free quarterly Christian Union Magazine and monthly prayer e-mails (recipients select which of the Christian Union university ministries they wish to hear from).

Those you refer do not need to be affliated with the eight universities where Christian Union operates. Your friend with a heart burdened to see culture change may be an exciting match for the mission of this ministry.

Send the address and/or e-mail address of those you think may be interested to receive these communications. Please include a first and last name. 

Referrals could include:

• • Friends
  • Alumni
  • Staff & Faculty
  • Parents
  • Churches
  • Foundations

 
Send your referral >

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Connect Students to Ministry

Let Christian Union know about incoming and current students at Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Penn or Yale that would benefit from Christian leadership development. Christian Union faculty and student leaders are warmly welcoming of interested and curious students, inviting them to participate in the ministry in a variety of meaningful ways. 

Send student name >

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Engage with Your Alma Mater

If you are an alumni of Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Penn or Yale, you can have extraordinary influence with your alma mater. By being involved with your universities, you can have a powerful witness for Jesus Christ.

Some suggested ways to engage:

• Participate in alumni boards and activities
• Attend reunions
• Write respectfully to the administration or alumni magazine when Christian values need to be defended 

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Magazine Story Ideas

Christian Union seeks to inform readers about the spiritual activity at Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Penn and Yale through Christian Union: The Magazine. Let the ministry know of opportunities and challenges for the Gospel at these universities. Share encouraging stories of alumni who are Christian leaders in their respective fields.

Send stories >

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Share Your Story

If you would like to share about your experience as a student, parent, donor or friend of Christian Union, please send in your story. The ministry may ask for permission to share it as an encouragement to others who are learning about Christian Union.

Send stories >

Seeking God matters.

Thank you for your interest in seeking God with Christian Union and joining us in praying for Christian Union's various ministries. Prayer and fasting are at the core of everything that Christian Union does. We are excited to share with you the Three Spiritualities, annual fasts and times of prayer, fasting resources, and a wealth of devotional materials. Please pray that God is glorified and that His name is lifted up in all the ministry does.

The Three Spiritualites provide rich theological and biblical content to ground seeking God practices in the Word of God and spiritual exemplars like Paul or Daniel. The Three Spiritualities aim to cultivate a deep hunger for God, a commitment to spiritual disciplines, joyful obedience and repentance, and more. 

Fasting in particular is a powerful way of cultivating humility before God. Please consider joining in fasts or beginning your own to seek God for this nation. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

For more resources on prayer and fasting, as well as information on Christian Union's upcoming fasts and events, visit cuamerica.org 



There are a number of ways we'd invite you to consider praying: 

• • To pray at a high level for Christian Union, please subscribe to our eNewsletter. It will arrive in your email box every other week, and include prayer requests for Christian Union's various ministries.
  • If you'd like more detailed prayer emails from specific Christian Union ministries, there are two ways to get them. If you send an email prayer@christianunion.org with your email address and a list of which ministry prayer updates you'd like to receive, you will be subscribed. You can also scroll down and click on the cities or universities link to see the most recent prayer requests. You will also be able to subscribe to those pages.
  • Please join with other believers across America by signing up to pray for our nation at Christian Union America website.

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Christian Union Cities

Please pray that God would be glorified and move powerfully in and through the lives of each person involved in the ministry. Pray for those seeking to bring about cultural change in the city through their spheres of influence, that they would seek God with all of their hearts. Pray for laborers, as Jesus reminded us, because the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

Specific requests for Christian Union New York > 

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Christian Union Universities

Pray for Christian students, their non-Christian peers, Christian Union Bible courses, the various student organizations that Christian Union serves, and for God to move powerfully on these campuses in the hearts and minds of tomorrow's future leaders. 
 

Specific prayer requests >

Join Us in Asking God to Intervene

Psalm 127:1 reminds us that "unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain." We are profoundly aware how reliant we are on God as we seek to make a difference for Him. Any lasting fruit will be the result of His work in the lives of those to whom we minister.



We count it a privilege to be involved in the lives of others. Would you please join us in praying for our various ministries?

CHRISTIAN UNION'S UNIVERSITY MINISTRIES

Brown University	Prayer Requests
Columbia University	Prayer Requests
Cornell University	Prayer Requests
Dartmouth College	Prayer Requests
Harvard College	Prayer Requests
Harvard Law	Prayer Requests
Princeton University	Prayer Requests
Stanford University	Prayer Requests
University of Pennsylvania	Prayer Requests
Yale University	Prayer Requests

Help Transform Lives and Culture for the Glory of God

The Mission

The mission of Christian Union is to transform our nation and the world by developing and connecting bold Christian leaders.

The Need

Christian Union is growing and seeks talented and motivated individuals to join the ministry in a variety of capacities.

Currently open positions are listed on pages in the menu in the left column of this page.

If you'd prefer to download and mail the enrollment form, please download it here.

If  you are simply looking to make a one-time gift to Christian Union by mail (instead of credit card, above) please make it out to Christian Union and send it to 19 Vandeventer AVenue, Princeton, NJ 08542. 

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THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Christian Union is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. All donations are tax-deductible as to the extent allowed by applicable law. To learn more about the benefits, and rights and responsibilities, of Cornerstone Partners, please go to www.ChristianUnion.org/cp-benefitsandrights.

The ministry is a member of the Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability (ECFA) and has its finances audited annually. Charges to credit cards appear as “Christian Union 6098740040.”

If you have questions, please contact a partner representative at (609) 874-0040, or email us at giving@ChristianUnion.org.

Every day, millions of young women and men enter America’s universities searching for truth and knowledge. These students want to find meaning, not just for their lives, but for the world around them.

That’s why Christians started many of America’s finest universities more than a century ago. Did you know that Harvard, Yale, and Princeton—along with other influential schools in America—were created to be places where a student could discover a love for God and for his neighbor?

These schools were founded to develop and train Christian leaders, equipping them to help change the world for God’s glory.

Unfortunately, the Gospel that enables such radical transformation has long since been replaced with destructive ideologies that leave many students hopeless and helpless to confront the challenges facing our nation. As you know, these institutions, and the ideologies they promote, will shape American culture for decades to come.

We know that this concerns you.

Alumni of these schools play an enormously important role in our society, and now lead many of America’s most powerful companies, media organizations, academic institutions, and political campaigns. In fact, a Christian Union study of influential leaders in America showed that 67% are alumni of just 20 schools.

If we are going to bring change America, we need, by God's grace, to see these schools radically transformed. That’s why the Lord gave people like you a vision for dramatic spiritual revival at these very places. As a result, in 2002 Christian Union was launched at Princeton.

The goal? To bring sweeping spiritual transformation to the nation’s most influential universities and key cities that shape American culture.

Here’s the best part. This vision is becoming a reality. Since 2002, the ministry has expanded to Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Harvard Law, Penn, Stanford, and Yale. It is also working with Christian professionals in New York City.

Right now, Christians like you are engaging thousands of students in our most influential—and secular—universities with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the hope it brings. You can help make this happen.

Your donation today:

• Provides intellectually rigorous Bible courses that introduce students to the love of Jesus and strengthens their faith.
• Enables a network of mentors on every campus that walk alongside students through the difficult days of their college experience, discipling them and encouraging them to excel academically, relationally, and spiritually.
• Empowers emerging Christian leaders to transform business, the media, and our culture with the timeless truth of Christ.

You can help make America a nation in which the Gospel has penetrated every people group and where Christians, filled with the Holy Spirit, are seeking God as the defining characteristic of their lives.

By giving, you will become a Cornerstone Partner, and you will receive special Cornerstone Partner communications and occasional invitations to special events for Partners, free of charge.

Use the secure form below to make your gift and to help strategic universities and cities—and through them, America—return to God.





Christian Union is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. All donations are tax-deductible as to the extent allowed by applicable law. To learn more about the benefits, and rights and responsibilities, of Cornerstone Partners, please go to www.ChristianUnion.org/cp-benefitsandrights.