Manna Christian Fellowship

Dear Parents,

Greetings from Princeton, and welcome to Manna's website!

We understand how critical Christian fellowship is during these formative years and we want to assure you that Princeton is a wonderfully dynamic place for your child to mature both intellectually and spiritually. Our staff wants you to know that we are here to answer any questions you may have as you go through this time of transition. We are privileged to work with this remarkable group of students and we take great joy in our work. We wanted to give some background information so that you can have a better sense of our ministry.

Manna is a University affiliated evangelical chaplaincy which has been serving Princeton since 1995, ministering to students during this amazing and challenging time in their lives. We are committed to developing and engaging a Gospel worldview. Simply put, we believe the gospel has relevance in every area of life--both private and public--as Christ reigns sovereign over all. Everything we do reflects our faith that the truth and grace of the gospel transforms hearts, communities, and the world. Manna seeks to help individual students not only grow in their relationship with Christ but also to help students see the vast implications the gospel has in their academic life, their relationships, their future aspirations, everything...

Manna has a robust and holistic approach to spiritual formation balancing teaching, community, and service. Our main ministries consist of small group Bible studies, large group messages, public lecture series, daily prayer meetings, social events, service projects, and a campus journal, Revisions.  These programs are all held together by our three core values: gospel-centered, biblically-grounded, and community-minded. In weekly small groups, classes meet together to discuss application points of the gospel based upon the previous large group message. This year we will be studying the prophets. Students are able to purchase our curriculum to help them follow along during large group and small group. The curriculum includes large group notes, historical texts, background information, daily devotionals, and gospel projects in the area of the heart, community and the world. Our aim over four years is to cover Paul's letters, an Old Testament book from the Torah, a prophetic book and a gospel.  We addressed Paul's letters in 2009-2010 and preached through Genesis in 2010-2011. Our curriculum is designed to help students experience gospel renewal in their hearts, communities, and the world, as they examine the expansive implications of the death, resurrection, and glory of Christ.

Theologically, the ministry is evangelical, affirming the seven ecumenical creeds of the early church. Our teaching is grounded in the authority of the Bible and our gospel worldview flows from the rich resources of the Reformed theological tradition.

There are currently about 60-100 students who join us weekly for Large Group on Saturday evenings, and approximately the same number in weekly Small Groups. Most of our students come from Evangelical Protestant traditions, however, Roman Catholics actively participate and all are welcome. We believe that diversity brings out the glorious facets of the gospel, and without compromising sound doctrine, we strive to to find common ground in our love for Christ and His world.

It is hard to capture Manna in a letter, so we invite you to email us and let us know if you are going to be town. Our office is in Murray-Dodge Hall, the home of Princeton's Office of Religious Life and we welcome you to visit or contact us. We are always here for you, so please feel free to send us any particular concerns or prayer requests you may have. May our God grant you grace and peace as you and your son or daughter enter this exciting phase of life. It will be an amazing four years.

For His glory,