Early Years of Christ's Life Marked By Suffering and Trauma

Christmas plays always end with Jesus in the manger, the heavenly host singing around Him, and the shepherds and wise men bowed at his feet. But that is hardly where the birth narrative ends in the gospel of Matthew. 

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• Seeking God

Caitlin Vera Is a Former Marine

Caitlin Vera didn’t have ministry on her mind when she left home to join the Marines. The eighteen-year-old enrolled in the service as a way to leave a small, rural town and be part of something bigger than herself. 

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• Penn

Simoni '23 Has a Passion for Evangelism

Many Christians get nervous when they think about evangelism. Thoughts of difficult questions they cannot answer well or the possibility of offending another often lead believers to say less than they ought, and often to say nothing at all of the riches of Christ. 

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• Cornell
• Seeking God

Slowing Down to Acknowledge "Endarkenment"

The Christmas season is upon us which means shoppers are shopping, homes are being decorated, city streets are filled with Christmas trees and garland, and a festive air seems to sparkle around us. But this kind of Christmas season stands in stark opposition to the Church’s season of advent. Advent is decidedly not about shopping and decorating. It is about waiting, watching, and hoping in the darkness of our world. And perhaps, that is the timbre of the season that we need most.

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• Cultural Engagement

The True Path to Freedom

The great promise of modern life is that you can be whatever you want to be. The world is your oyster. Your options are limitless. You can go out and make whatever you want of yourself and your life. The freedom to create your identity pulses through our culture shaping our politics, discipling our young people, and redefining the boundaries of humanity.

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• Intellectual Engagement
• Faith and Work

Columbia and Penn Alumni Discuss Films

Alumni from Columbia and Penn gathered in person and virtually to discuss religious themes in film. Spearheaded by Columbia alumnus Stephen Cone ’20, who was a Film and Media Studies major, the alumni recently gathered at the CU Lumine Ministry Center on the day of the Columbia vs. Penn football game for the discussion entitled, “Where Is God in the Movies?”

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• Alumni
• Columbia
• Penn

In-Person Ministry Returns

A core group of emerging student leaders and alumni who have returned to the area have helped Christian Union Vox reach incoming freshmen and launch into the new academic year with vitality. 

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• Alumni
• Dartmouth

"That None Would Perish"

As Jesus makes abundantly clear, the heart of God is never satisfied while even one soul is still lost, wandering in the darkness of sin:

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• Seeking God
• Cultural Engagement

A New Realm of Social Media 

When Facebook debuted in 2004 from a dorm room at Harvard, the world didn’t have any idea what the social media platform might become. Social media itself was still in its infancy, relegated to corners of the internet and certain affinity groups. But today, Facebook is preparing to enter an entirely new realm of its social media dominion—it’s called the metaverse.

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• Cultural Engagement

Our Complicated Relationship with Eating and Drinking 

As the holiday season approaches, most people begin to anticipate the culinary experience of feasting. Thanksgiving turkeys or Christmas hams, pies and frosted cookies, sparkling ciders, and holiday cocktails—they’re all part of our tradition of feasting with those we love during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s.

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• Seeking God
• Cultural Engagement

CU Lumine Introduces Student Leaders Via Social Media

Prior to hosting its Freshman Welcoming Campaign this fall, CU Lumine embarked on a social media campaign that introduced first-year students to the ministry and gave them practical wisdom and biblical insight before they even arrived on campus.

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• Columbia
• Cultural Engagement

CU Gloria Reaches Out to Freshmen, Returning Students

It’s easy to recall March of 2020. The growing alarm about the COVID-19 pandemic, cases emerging in various parts of the country, the uncertainty of what might happen, the beginning of lockdowns, working from home, and some hospitals overflowing with patients. It was a traumatic time for everyone and the beginning of what would be many losses for individuals, families, businesses, and our nation. 

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• Harvard

CBN Airs Segment on CU’s New York Conferences

In August, the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) highlighted some of the supernatural healings and manifestations that have happened at Christian Union’s Gospel of the Kingdom Conferences in New York City. Karen Hetzler, Assistant Ministry Director of Christian Union New York, was a guest on the CBN News Prayer Link program with hosts Wendy Griffith and Charlene Aaron.

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• New York
• Seeking God

Lotspeich, a Former Marine, Is Hungry for Revival

Christian Union’s new ministry director at Penn wants to change the world. Though many would scoff at such ambitions, former Marine Cory Lotspeich recognizes the immense potential of developing leaders at an institution like the University of Pennsylvania.

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• Penn

Christian Union Multi-Site Event Stirs, Strengthens Believers

Christian Union Day and Night hosted its first-ever, multi-site version of CU Fire on Friday, October 8 and Saturday, October 9.  

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• Alumni
• New York
• Seeking God

Foulke ’20 Was Founding Member of CU Caritas

Arthur Brooks argues that finding happiness in a job comes from two factors: a sense of accomplishment and professional efficacy as well as believing that your work is serving others and making a difference in the world. Recent Stanford grad and CU Caritas alumni Ryan Foulke has found both in his work for BibleProject, a non-profit organization that creates free Bible resources to “help make the biblical story accessible to everyone, everywhere.”

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• Alumni
• Stanford

Nothing Less Will Change Our nation and Its People

Planned Parenthood recently distributed information to eleven-year-olds advocating for them to have sex with anyone they liked who was under the age of thirteen. The pro-abortion organization also communicated to these children that their parents can't control if they take birth control or get tested for sexually transmitted diseases, and that, ultimately, their sex life was up to their discretion. How our culture understands sexuality has been changing for a couple of generations, but in the past decade, the sexual norms have changed drastically. 

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• Cultural Engagement

Dr. Anna Hampton Offers Insight, Clarification

Three weeks ago, a gang in Haiti kidnapped 17 North American missionaries as they were leaving an orphanage; the group who is taking responsibility is demanding a $17 million dollar ransom. Though Haiti has struggled to become a stable nation, the past several years have been particularly challenging and produced increasingly dangerous and unpredictable situations in the country. Because of this, the missionaries have received both praise and criticism for their willingness to remain in such dangerous circumstances rather than returning home to a safer place.

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• Cultural Engagement

 ‘I Am Deeply Grateful for How God Uses Christian Union to Engage Students’

I grew up attending Catholic mass most weekends with my family. When I enrolled at Harvard in 2010, my faith could best be described as moralistic deism–I felt compelled to attend mass, do my best to behave biblically, and label myself as a good Christian. Yet my faith was built on a weak foundation, rooted in a flawed belief system that I could somehow win God’s favor through church attendance or by occasionally behaving more biblically than my college peers. 

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• Alumni
• Harvard

Social Critic Speaks at Christian Union NY Forum

“America, who has bewitched you?” That was the question posed by English author and social critic Os Guinness when he spoke at a Christian Union New York virtual forum on September 21. The title of his lecture was “1776 versus 1789 — A tale of two revolutions and America’s present crisis.”

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• New York
• Cultural Engagement