Christian Union: The Magazine Summer 2017 | Page 9

Unlock Yale’s Potential
Christian Union’s James W.C. Penning-
ton Center has been significantly strength-
ening Christian witness and influence at
Yale since 2014. Located at 31 Whitney
Avenue, the property is one block from
Timothy Dwight Hall and two blocks from
Cross campus. Currently, the ministry rents
out the first floor to offset the mortgage
costs on the facility. A campaign to make
full use of the Center is underway, includ-
ing renovating two of the center’s floors to
make space for Bible courses, speakers,
prayer meetings, and alumni gatheri ngs.
With the full use of the Pennington Center,
Christian Union will not need to use cam-
pus facilities for many events and will not
be hindered if the university should dis-
criminate, as in 2012 when it stripped the
Christian Union is actively seeking gifts
to secure a Columbia Ministry Center. For
the first time since Christian Union
launched at Columbia, a building has be-
come available, ideally situated near cam-
pus, just one block from Butler Library.
The proposed property is one of only three
privately owned buildings suitable for a
Christian Union ministry center; the oth-
er two are not for sale. The opportunity
likely will not last long. Columbia Uni-
versity owns most of the buildings proxi-
mate to campus and routinely buys any
that come on the market. This is a unique
opportunity to position Columbia as a
strategic center for Christian intellectual,
social, and even global influence. If you
would like to make a ministry center for
Columbia a reality, Christian Union offers
naming rights to the building and key
rooms in the center. The Bridgehead Foun-
dation is generously matching donations,
up to $700,000, to gifts made to this cam-
paign. The total goal for the campaign is
$2,400,000.
2
Rare Opportunity at Columbia
The James W.C. Pennington Center at Yale University
mium. Christian Union ministry fellows
open their homes to students, but they too
are constrained by NYC housing sizes. It is
not uncommon for the Columbia ministry
director and his family to host an outreach
in their very small apartment that is attend-
ed by more than 100 students over the
course of the evening.
Beyond logistics, the reality is that even
recognized Christian student organiza-
tions face uncertain times. In recent years,
some leading universities have “derecog-
nized” Christian ministries. This would
not dissuade Christian Union from con-
tinuing to offer Christian leadership de-
velopment to students at these schools,
but it would make it more difficult to
secure accessible meeting locations for
many programs.
Ministry centers at Columbia, Dart-
mouth, Harvard, Stanford, and the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania would amplify
Christian influence in the spiritual, aca-
demic, and social spheres. An effective
ministry center would be within easy walk-
ing distance of campus. It would be spa-
cious enough to host Bible courses, daily
prayer meetings, student leadership team
meetings, and a host of activities to serve
students and the university community. It
would provide office space for ministry
faculty and when alumni returned to cam-
pus, they would have a place to connect
and learn about what God is doing at their
alma mater.
7