Cultural Engagement
The Loneliest Generation
How Can We Engage Them with the Good News?
Who is Generation Z? Yes, they are the individuals who were born between the early ’90s and mid-2010s, but for Christian Union, they represent one of our primary mission fields.
Scholar: The Equality Act Is a Threat to Religious Freedom
Q and A with Andrew T. Walker
Andrew T. Walker is Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the author of God and the Transgender Debate.
Christian Union: The Magazine Launches New Online Version
Digital Publication Continues Ministry's Long History of Reporting
Welcome to The Magazine, Christian Union's online publication of feature stories, ministry updates, commentary, and news.
Throwback Thursday: Revival Lessons from Fiji
Christian Union's 2019 Fact-Finding Trip
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7: 13, 14Law and Justice
Adewuyi ’20 Thankful for Christian Union’s Influence
By Catherine Elvy
A recent Harvard Law School alumnus plans to use his skills and talents to advocate for housing access and affordability. Yemi Adewuyi ’20 wants to play a role in initiatives that empower the disadvantaged to become self-sufficient.
“Justice is making sure that a person experiencing homelessness can escape poverty,” said Adewuyi.
Penn's Faith and Action Podcast
Watt ’22 Is a Gracious Host and Leader
By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor
The extraordinary leadership of Caleb Watt has helped Christian Union Martus stay connected and in community for the last year, especially during the uncertain times of the COVID-19 pandemic at the University of Pennsylvania.
Pursuing God, Pursuing Truth
Columbia Student Is a Leader with Christian Union, John Jay Society
By Luke Brown
In his Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas said, “There is no greater act of charity than to lead a neighbor to truth.” At Columbia University, Jonathan Tanaka ’23 is passionately seeking this greatest act of charity in a bold and wholehearted way.
“I believe that since God is the perfect, supreme arbiter of truth—He is truth. It is not only a good thing to pursue Him by pursuing truth, but it is my duty to do so,” said Tanaka, who serves on the executive team for Christian Union’s Lumine ministry at Columbia.
A Providential Head Start
Incoming First-Year Students Already in Bible Courses
by luke brown, dartmouth ’18
As the COVID-19 pandemic pushed Bible courses to Zoom and students and staff scrambled to adjust to the new normal, Christian Union Vox experienced an unexpected silver lining. A multitude of incoming freshmen from the class of 2024 began reaching out to the Vox team via social media, interested in being a part of the Christian community. A few months later, and through the boldness of the incoming freshmen and the openness of current students and staff, sixteen members of the Class of 2024 are already seeking the Lord in Christian Union Bible Courses.
Social Distancing from Sin
Christian Union Day and Night
by justin woyak
Editor’s Note: The following devotional was written to help Christians think about and respond biblically to the crisis of COVID-19. In March, Christian Union Day and Night organized a nationwide, 40-day initiative of prayer, fasting, and repentance to address the coronavirus pandemic, supported by daily devotionals.
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
—2 Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV)
“You Will Be My Witnesses”
Nova’s Sending Team Focuses on Evangelism Training
by catherine elvy, staff writer
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, students involved with Christian Union Nova at Princeton University took a deep dive into evangelism.
During April and May, about fifteen students participated in video conference calls to discover how to share the Good News more effectively in their everyday lives, both on campus and beyond.
“God is doing something on our campus. Our prayer leaders have been praying about how to reach the campus,” said Christopher Heslep, ministry director at Princeton University.
A Vessel in the Valley
Senior’s Faith Sustains Her during Abrupt End to On-Campus Semester
by francine barchett, cornell ’20
Nigerian-American. Singer/Blogger/Poet. Future physician/scientist. All are apt descriptors for Iyaniwura Olarewaju, a recent Cornell graduate in biological sciences who had an unexpected end to her senior year.
From reading and re-reading President Martha Pollack’s urgent email imploring students to leave campus, to completing her finals through “Zoom University,” Iyaniwura’s COVID-derived life has been at times “like an eerie dream.”
Q and A with Dr. Sam Kim
The Loneliness Epidemic among Young Adults
Dr. Sam Kim is a scholar at the Yale-Hasting Center, where he explores the crisis of professional burnout in academic medicine and health care. He is a recipient of the Lifelong Learning Fellowship at Yale Divinity School and Yale Medical School and worked as a research fellow in global health and social medicine at the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School.
The co-founder of 180 Church in New York City, which started with students from Columbia University, Kim earned a doctorate in ethical leadership at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is a regular contributor to Christianity TodayExchange and the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College.
You have previously written about a loneliness epidemic in society. Please elaborate on this in regards to today’s young adults.
A significant pattern related to the Cigna study of loneliness and social isolation is that Generation Z (ages 18-22) is now the loneliest generation in history. Although Gen Z is perhaps the generation that is most technologically connected, they scored the highest on the UCLA loneliness scale, an instrument that measures and assesses subjective feelings of loneliness by using a twenty-item questionnaire.
Let Us Hold Fast
Family is Thankful for Christian Union's Ministry at Columbia
At Columbia University, in the heart of one of the world’s most influential cities, academic rigor and the vibrant, rapid pace of life merge to form an exhilarating and often intimidating atmosphere for incoming freshmen. Establishing relationships and a sense of belonging are critical in the first weeks of college life. Michael was first introduced to Christian Union during freshman orientation when he was invited to a Christian Union jazz night. “From that point on, I’ve been involved in the ministry, helping out and volunteering in any capacity necessary,” Michael shared.‘Carpe Diem Redeemed’
Os Guinness Speaks at NYC Event
by catherine elvy, staff writer
In the midst of a fast-paced, often superficial world, believers are called to pause to reflect on the redemptive, purposeful nature of God. “Life is very short, fragile, and vulnerable,” said Os Guinness, prolific author and noted social scientist. “How do we live wisely and well and make the most of it?”
Center Stage Faith
Wyatt ’20 Pursuing a Career in Media Arts
by catherine elvy, staff writer
A Columbia University senior dreams of reflecting his faith while unleashing his passion for acting, storytelling, and triggering laughter.
In the fall, Nathaniel Wyatt ’20 plans to relocate to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment. “I want to communicate the beauty of God through art,” he said. “It’s part of being salt and light.”
At Columbia, Wyatt served on the executive team for Christian Union’s ministry and as editor-in-chief for The Columbia Witness: A Journal of Christian Perspectives (columbiawitness.org). Wyatt also was active in Chowdah, Columbia’s sketch comedy troupe that performs original material from student members.
A New Identity
Seniors Help Launch Program for Homeless
by anne kerhoulas, staff writer
Becoming a follower of Christ during college was not part of the plan. But for Penn senior Steffen Cornwell, finding community in Christian Union Martas reoriented his vision for his future. Part of the prestigious Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology,Cornwell has taken a newfound interest in social entrepreneurship and spearheaded a program that allows individuals experiencing homelessness to store important personal identification documents in a secure website.
‘Turning from Our Wicked Ways’
Christian Union Day and Night Leads National Fast
by catherine elvy, staff writer
Christian Union Day and Night recently called believers across the United States to an extended time of prayer, fasting, and repentance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the spring, 4,700-plus individuals signed up to fast and intercede in the wake of the global health crisis. Though the fast originally was scheduled to run for 40 days starting on March 18, Christian Union Day and Night extended instructional programming through May to support more concerted prayer.
The Urgent Need for Church Unity
A 35-Year Reflection from New York City
by dr. mac pier
When my wife Marya and I arrived in New York City in 1984 I used three adjectives to describe the city. The Big Apple was broke, violent, and under-churched in many communities. The front page of the October 30, 1975, Daily News read: “Ford to City: Drop Dead” after President Ford denied federal assistance to spare New York from bankruptcy.
In 1984, a decade of racial violence began when Bernard Goetz, a German, shot five unarmed African-American men on the subway. In 1994, the murder rate spiked at twenty-four hundred murders, or eight a day for a year. According to Jeffrey Burke, the NYPD chief forensic dentist, the city morgue simply ran out of room.
Blessed to Be a Blessing
Jade Thompson ’21 Leads Outreach Team
by tom campisi, managing editor
For Jade Thompson, co-directing a Text-4-Toasties outreach for Christian Union at Columbia this fall was just one of the many ways she has been challenged to grow as a leader.
Thompson, an Economics and Sustainability major from Westchester, New York, called her involvement with Lumine, Christian Union’s ministry at Columbia, “the best part of my college experience.”
Campus Kindness
Students Warm Locust Walk with Cider Outreach
by eileen scott, contributing writer
Christian Union at the University of Pennsylvania put “campus kindness” into action this fall by giving away hot cider to students on their way to class on Locust Walk, a centrally located pathway. There were no strings attached to receive the hot beverage. Yet, if students chose to sip their drink and discuss faith, leaders were there to engage. The outreach was part of the ministry’s on-going campus kindness effort, which also includes book giveaways and welcoming bags for freshmen.