Harvard Update; God Called Me to the Middle East — in a Dream; The Three Top SpokenWord Presentations from Nexus 2018; The Love Challenge; Bennett Builds Virginia Basketball on Pillars of Faith and more, in this issue of Christian Union's bi-monthly email brief.  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.— Romans 12:1-2

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Over the last weekend in February, nearly 300 students, from Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale, gathered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, for Christian Union's Nexus 2018 conference. On Saturday night, a team from each school competed in the Christian Union SpokenWord competition that required teams to memorize and present any selection of scripture passages in a spoken word style. The presentations were powerful, creative, and inspiring. A highly energetic audience spurred each team on, and after jubilantly celebrating the top performances, performers and audience together broke into a playful dance party to cap off the joyous celebration of the power of God's Word! Watch the top three finalists, below, as revealed at Nexus 2018:

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• Brown
• Columbia
• Cornell
• Dartmouth
• Harvard
• Penn
• Princeton
• Yale

Miller ’18 Excels in Faith, Theater Communities 

Undergraduate studies at Yale College have provided an extraordinary platform for a senior and his passion for storytelling, especially via the dramatic arts. Dillon Miller ’18, who serves as co-president of Christian Union’s ministry at Yale, has landed major roles in about a dozen productions and appeared in numerous more during his involvement in Yale’s artistic community.

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CU Hosts Trip to Oxford Analytica Conference 

A group of participants in Christian Union’s ministry for professionals recently ventured to the United Kingdom, where they enjoyed access to the renowned Oxford Analytica Conference.“It was absolutely fascinating,” said Scott Crosby, director of Christian Union New York. “The conference especially was intriguing in terms of the levels of discussion, connections made, and fellowship.”Six young professionals joined Crosby for the annual conference on global issues, which was held in September at Oxford University. During the event, about 250 chief executive officers, policymakers, and other leaders gathered to probe the implications of urgent geopolitical and macroeconomic issues.

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Film Director Exhorts Harvard Students

Christians in the film industry should strive to become creative forces in the arena of cinematic storytelling. That was one of the themes from Timothy Reckart when the award-winning director spoke to students at Christian Union’s weekly Leadership Lecture Series at Harvard College. In November, Reckart, Harvard ’09, discussed his passion for animated artistry, and explored the intersection of his visually stunning screen endeavors with his faith. Reckart’s return to his alma mater was especially timely as it occurred two weeks before the release of his first studio movie, The Star: The Story of the First Christmas.

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Christian Union Engages Campus with Various Outreaches   

Christian Union’s ministry at Columbia has a heart to create community and invite others.Given the nature of an urban campus, many students find themselves craving an enhanced sense of collegiate culture. “Community is the thing that has been most central,” said Lane Young, Christian Union’s new ministry director at Columbia. “A lot of what they’re trying to do is find ways to make community happen.”

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Hilliard-Arce ’20, Soccer Team Enjoy Historic Season

As an emerging student leader at Princeton University and member of the celebrated women’s soccer team, Emily Hilliard-Arce aims to reflect her faith across life’s playing fields. “You don’t have to be an official leader to love others – people notice,” said Hilliard-Arce ’20. “I try to make sure my teammates are OK if they are having a tough day at practice, or I send a text if they have an exam.” After matriculating into Princeton, the North Carolina native embraced a vibrant relationship with Christ as her personal savior. Since then, Hilliard-Arce has flourished in the mentorship and support she has received from Christian Union’s ministry at Princeton. “I started to find my identity in God. I just found this joy I never found before,” said Hilliard-Arce, a philosophy major. “It was life-changing.”

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Grace Lee ’20 Wholeheartedly Seeks God 

Grace Lee, a linguistics and Spanish major, is also a student of the Word at Dartmouth College.In the fall semester, the sophomore’s passion for the Bible inspired her to lead a group of freshmen in assembling online devotionals that sought to draw students in Christian Union’s ministry into a deeper walk with Jesus Christ. The devotionals were published and shared via social media in the week leading up to the ministry’s annual Thanksgiving celebration. Topics included: “Finding Peace in Trusting God,” “Feeling Grateful,” and “Responding to Grace in Faith.”

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Christian Union New York was delighted to welcome Paul Horrocks for a salon on March 6, 2018 titled, "Excellence in Technology: Leveraging Prayer and Biblical Examples to Build Great Products.TopicThis salon explored how Christians working in technology can use the power of the Holy Spirit to help them excel in building great products. Paul discussed how his faith has impacted his ability to build software for a heavily regulated industry and highlight how Joseph and Nehemiah leveraged their faith to excel in difficult circumstances.

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• New York Events
• Past Events

There are countless stories from our campuses that demonstrate how students involved in the ministry are impacting their campuses. Here is just one story from Christian Union at Harvard: Each year, Christian Union at Harvard facilitates “Texts 4 Toasties,” an initiative that has had great success. Upperclassman Bible course students partner with younger students to make and deliver warm sandwiches all over campus. Students text in a question about God, faith, and the Bible, and in return, representatives from Christian Union show up to their dorm rooms with a sandwich and an answer to their question.

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by Geoff Sackett Sensible people agree that giving and receiving love is crucial to a person’s emotional wellbeing and his or her general prospering. Some people, even some who are not religious, believe that loving your enemy is morally commendable and pursuit-worthy. The Christian scriptures also affirm this point of view. So what is the Christian difference in loving one’s enemies? Is there a Christian difference? Let’s turn to Paul’s words in Romans chapter 12 – specifically his words regarding how we are to treat our enemies – to find out.

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Stearns ’73 Announces Retirement from World Vision 

After two decades of ministry to orphans, refugees, and those impacted by AIDS, Richard Stearns announced that he will retire as president of World Vision U.S. at the end of the year.Stearns (Cornell ’73, Wharton School of Business ’75) joined the relief organization as its fifth president in 1998 after a successful, 23-year corporate career, including roles as CEO of both Parker Brothers Games and Lenox. Under his leadership, World Vision’s annual revenues grew to more than $1 billion and the organization expanded its work in serving children and other humanitarian causes.

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Stranger Stories; Billy Graham 1918-2018; Un-Masked: Lenten Musings; Christian Union at Columbia's New Home; Happiness and Man at Yale; Space Available for the 2018 Summer Getaway with Christian Union and more, in this issue of Christian Union's bi-monthly email brief.  Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.— Psalm 116:15

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Latest on probation of Harvard College Faith and Action (HCFA) a student organization at Harvard supported and resourced by Christian Union.Post starting at 6pm Tuesday, February 27th. To read the latest updates, click here.

The Christian Union Conference on Faith and Action

Nexus 2018 gathered nearly 300 students from nine of the United States' most influential universities for a challenging and inspiring weekend. Undergraduate attendees represented Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale. For one weekend, students worshiped and prayed together, heard from high-caliber speakers, experienced engaging breakout sessions, connected with one another in small groups, and built cross-campus ties around shared challenges and opportunities.

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• Brown
• Columbia
• Cornell
• Dartmouth
• Penn
• Princeton
• Yale
• Stanford

Today Christian Union Founder & CEO Matt Bennett released the following statement on Billy Graham’s passing into eternity: "Billy Graham was a spiritual giant whose leadership adorned the doctrines of Christ and brought salvation to thousands and perhaps millions. May God raise up countless others to expand his work as Dr. Graham enters into his reward with the Savior."

Christian Union New York was delighted to welcome Ken Fish for a second salon on February 20th titled, "Supernatural Christianity: What Is It? How Do I Live It?"

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• New York Events
• Past Events

Thank you for joining us on February 15th when CU New York was honored to host a salon with Ken Fish that explored why the Kingdom of God remains as relevant of a message in our day as it was in the time of Jesus.

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• New York Events
• Past Events

Lenten Musings

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:8,9“You can hide nothing from God. The mask you wear before men will do you no good before him. He wants to see you as you are, he wants to be gracious to you. You do not have to go on lying to yourself and your brothers, as if you were without sin; you can dare to be a sinner. Thank God for that; he loves the sinner but he hates sin.”[1] - Bonhoeffer The masks we wear, that I wear, are heavy and deceiving. Do you know these masks that I speak of?

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Christian Union Universities | Christian Union Cities | Day & Night

"Christian Union wants to see a spiritually vibrant United States of America," says Matt Bennett, the founder and CEO of Christian Union. Since 2002, the ministry has been working toward that end. The ministry has always been, says Bennett, "about the whole nation — seeing the whole nation transformed, and then from there, America blessing the whole world."  Christian Union: develops bold Christian leaders at the most strategic and disproportionately influential universities in America; builds networks of Christian leaders in cities; and promotes national revival through the Christian Union Day & Night online ministry. (4:58)