Why Yale?
The first question we've gotten since our announcement of heading to Yale is, "why?" Why would a man from small town southern Virginia and a woman from Kansas want to move to Connecticut?
Trust me, we've asked ourselves that same question more times than we can count. But we keep coming back to a couple things.
- Yale is largely unreached.
Missiologists typically define a people group as unreached when less than 1% are Christian. Yale is just over that mark at approximately 1.25% Christian. Yale is home to 12,000 students and there are around 150 known followers of Jesus. New Haven/Hartford was recently named the 16th least churched city in America by a Barna Group study. There is a great need for Jesus to be made known in New Haven and at Yale. We believe that it is imperative that students at Yale have the opportunity to come to know Jesus. At this point, it is rare for a Yalie to meet a Christian let alone develop the depth of relationship with them to come to a decision about whether or not they will follow Jesus. It is our hope to go where the Gospel is not and share that good news with all who will hear. - Yale is highly influential.
It takes a cursory scan of Yale alumni to understand why it would be significant to reach Yale. From former Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush (both of them) to Ben Silbermann (co-founder of Pinterest) to Anderson Cooper (CNN anchor) to Indra Nooyi (CEO of PepsiCo.) to Supreme Court Justices Alito, Sotomayor, and Thomas to Oscar winners Meryl Streep and Lupita Nyong'o to Bob Woodward (journalist who broke the Watergate Scandal), Yale is filled with people who will influence the US and the world. There are a number of world leaders who have studied at Yale. So, the impact of the Gospel could be incredible both in the United States and around the world. We wonder what would happen if these people of this great influence came to know Jesus at Yale. How might our world be different? Who else might come to know Jesus as a result of our work at Yale?
Please be in prayer with us that God will transform a number of lives at Yale through the work we'll be doing.
