The Daily 49er

We made the front page of the student newspaper. There has not been a more positive article about Christian Students Unite and I would like to thank those who made the decision to put the article in the paper. Here is the article verbatim. If you would like to see the paper in full, please visit The Daily 49er website.

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Christian student groups unite for rejuvenation

By Krystle Ralston
Daily Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer


Various organizations on campus provide guidance, peace and understanding about Christianity. All these groups came together for one night of music and teaching for students here at Cal State Long Beach Wednesday.

Different Christian groups on campus came together on Unity Night to inform new students about these ministries. There are eight groups involved in Christian Students Unite, the organization hosting the event: Campus Crusade for Christ, American Asian Christian Fellowship, Navigators at Long Beach State, Beach Student Ministries, Every Nation Ministries, Korea Campus Crusade for Christ, Impact and Chinese Christian Fellowship.

The theme for the night was John 12:32, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself.” This passage from the Bible reflected the mission the night hoped to accomplish: to bring people together, whether or not they were religious.

The evening featured live music by the Every Nation music team, games and a sermon given by Don Allen, a Navigators youth group leader. His speech was one many college students could relate to: searching for happiness.

Allen quoted Luke 2:10, frequently used at Christmas services in church: “I bring you good tidings of great joy. A savior has been born in the city of David who is Christ the Lord.” He touched on the fact that not many people use the word “joy” in their vocabularies. People use the words happy, pleasure and content, but don’t use the word that means pure and true happiness. He related the search to his own experiences as a freshman in college living a lifestyle that brought him further and further down.

“What the world wants is not at the bottom of a glass,” Allen said.
At the end of his sermon he offered the opportunity to pray and speak with youth group leaders, and many students responded.

Some students who attended the event viewed it as a positive experience for new and returning students who wish to find a church youth group.
“This is a good way to meet other Christians, it encourages everyone to get involved in different events,” said Kristina Santos, a sophomore nursing major.

Armando Aguilar, the director of Campus Ministries, is very optimistic about the upcoming year.

“This is a great way for Christian students to get plugged into a church and meet new people. We don’t want to hide our love for Christ, we glorify him and want more and more people every day to do the same,” he said.

At the end of the night, Christian Students Unite collected an offering that goes directly to a fund through the Salvation Army for Hurricane Katrina victims.

Unity Night shared a strong message about making friends, getting involved in helping others and becoming closer to God in a way in which every student could relate.

“This night has made me feel so connected and rejuvenated, like I’ve found the foundation that I’ve been looking for,” said Rilee Allen, a freshman child development major.

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--Armando
armando@csulb.net

Wrap Up: Christian Students Unite

I would like to thank each of you for coming out to Christian Students Unite. It was wonderful to see some familiar faces and even some new faces. I am looking forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for the Long Beach area in the upcoming years.

Unity creates revival. The goal is to start out with spiritual revival, which is believers that are active in spreading the Gospel through the study of scripture, street evangelism, & relational evangelism. It is my belief that spiritual revival will result in numerical revival, that is, people repenting and committing his or hers life to Jesus Christ.

I would like to encourage every person reading this blog to earnestly pray for where God is calling you. For some, God has already called those to serve Him in a particular ministry. For others, they may be wondering where God is calling them. Well all I can say is keep praying! Pray that God will have you used in a location where he can do the most damage...in a glorified way! Ask the Lord how you can be used in this time of revolution. Here is solid scripture:

"And when they [Peter & John] had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness!"
Acts 4:31

Our committment at Christian Students Unite is to make sure that you are plugged in, serving, & learning in a church or Christian organization. Feel free to contact us with how you would like to be used by God and we may be able to point you in a direction where the Lord can use you completely.

For more information, please visit www.csulb.net.

God Bless You Guys,
Armando
armando@csulb.net