Princeton Christian Fellowship
![]() Murray-Dodge Hall, in which PCF has held meetings since the 1930s.[1] | |
Founder | Donald B. Fullerton |
---|---|
Registration no. | 22-1903095 |
Purpose | Religious instruction |
Headquarters | 24 Moore St., Princeton, NJ |
Coordinates | 40°20′53″N 74°39′29″W / 40.347940°N 74.657938°W |
Executive Secretary | Chris Sallade |
Website | pcfprinceton.org |
Formerly called | Princeton Evangelical Fellowship |
The Princeton Christian Fellowship (PCF), formerly the Princeton Evangelical Fellowship (PEF), is a
Early history
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Dr._Donald_B._Fullerton_%28right%29..jpg/220px-Dr._Donald_B._Fullerton_%28right%29..jpg)
From 1825 until its demise amid controversy in 1930
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Princeton_Evangelical_Fellowship.jpg/220px-Princeton_Evangelical_Fellowship.jpg)
This enabled Dr. Fullerton to respond to the request of his friend by starting to hold Bible classes on the campus, which replaced the defunct Philadelphian Society[8] and which he would continue for fifty years.[9] These informal Bible classes grew into a formal organization in 1937, with PCF's first undergraduate president, A.G. Fletcher Jr. a member of the Princeton Class of 1938, announcing:
A group of us have felt for a number of years the need on this Campus of a society with a fundamental Christian position ... [we] feel that the fine Christian tradition on which Princeton was founded is not entirely dead today and that there are still many undergraduates in the University whose senses are awake to the higher, eternal values in life, and who would welcome an opportunity to strengthen and reaffirm these convictions in a collective way through congenial fellowship with others holding similar views ... We wish to emphasize that the P. E. F. was not formed in opposition to any of the religious organizations already existing on the Campus. Our intention has never been to oppose, but rather to supplement these other programs by supplying elements which we feel have been neglected.[10]
A notable early member of PCF was
Another notable PCF alumnus from its early decades is the noted
Fullerton and PEF cared deeply about people, spending hours in mutual prayer, exhortation, counseling, gospel witness ... And they made me a much better follower of Jesus. I will never regret being part of this
biblicistic group called PEF. And the greatest part of that experience was the godly example of Donald B. Fullerton. He was not a perfect man, but I am yet today an imitator of his, since he imitated Jesus.[15]
Growth and Change
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/PEF_Winter_Retreat.jpg/220px-PEF_Winter_Retreat.jpg)
The fellowship has grown steadily over time, with under 30 members in 1959,[16] up to 70 by the 1978,[17] and 150 by the late 90s.[18] It now includes a dedicated graduate student ministry, the Graduate Princeton Christian Fellowship. PCF's members have included several Princeton University valedictorians,[19][20] salutatorians,[21][22] and two young alumni trustees[23][24] among recipients of many other university awards.[25] According to one source PCF's alumni include "prominent seminary professors, scientists, denominational leaders, influential authors, as well as missionaries in more than twenty-five countries. As an independent group from a single university, the PCF has contributed more leaders to the Christian world than probably any other Christian college group."[26]
PCF has a long tradition of baptizing students on Easter Sunday morning in conjunction with other campus ministries and under the authority of
Over its more than eighty years of existence the PCF has seen many changes. The
The Princeton Evangelical Fellowship was the reason I came to Princeton ... Now, four years later, PEF is most assuredly the best thing to happen to me at Princeton ... PEF has prepared me morally and spiritually for life after Princeton, much more so than any class I've taken here over the past four years.[32]
In the fall of 2017 the ministry changed its name to Princeton Christian Fellowship, due to the perception that the term 'evangelical' had too much of a political connotation rather than a theological one,[33] with Boyce stating "There might be certain assumptions that all evangelicals are Republicans".[34]
Notable alumni
References
- ^ "Princeton Evangelical Fellowship Will Hold Reception Tonight at 8". The Daily Princetonian. 14 October 1937.
- ^ "Beliefs". Princeton Christian Fellowship.
- ISBN 978-0195376050.
- ^ Just, Richard (22 April 1998). "Evangelical organizations strive to increase campus membership". The Daily Princetonian.
- ^ "Philadelphian Society Plans Suspension of All Activities for a Year, Wicks Announces". The Daily Princetonian. 15 April 1930.
- ^ Frame, John (24 May 2012). "Remembering Donald B. Fullerton". Frame & Poythress.
- ^ "Mauretania Sinks Car Float in Bay, Plates Bent, Ordered Back to Pier". The New York Times. November 28, 1929.
- ISBN 9780761838623.
- ISBN 9780890515488.
- ^ Fletcher Jr., A. G. (12 October 1937). "Announces Evangelical Fellowship". The Daily Princetonian.
- ISBN 9780890515457.
- ^ "Evangelical Dinner". Princeton Alumni Weekly. December 5, 1947. p. 3.
- ^ "'The God of Creation' Will be Shown Tonight". The Daily Princetonian. 29 April 1947.
- ISBN 9780226293219.
- ^ Frame, John (24 May 2012). "Remembering Donald B. Fullerton". Frame-poythress.org.
- ^ "Religious Activity at Princeton: A Cloudy Picture". The Daily Princetonian. October 6, 1959.
- ^ Grossman, Harman (July 24, 1978). "Disciples of numerous religions find ways of keeping God at Princeton". The Daily Princetonian.
- ^ "Evangelical organizations strive to increase campus membership". The Daily Princetonian. April 22, 1998.
- ^ Miller, Robert G. (May 28, 1954). "Rusch Named '54 Valedictorian; Bear to Give Salutatory Address". The Daily Princetonian.
- ^ Houck, Andrew (June 5, 2000). "All around us are giant majestic trees". Princeton Weekly Bulletin.
- ^ Altmann, Jennifer Greenstein (June 3, 2002). "Love of languages inspires salutatorian". Princeton Weekly Bulletin.
- ^ "Pomp, circumstance and a little levity". Princeton Weekly Bulletin. June 18, 2001.
- ^ "Board acquires six new members". Princeton Weekly Bulletin. October 21, 1985.
- ^ "Jackson Artis '20 elected Young Alumni Trustee". The Daily Princetonian. May 29, 2020.
- ^ "Hsia, Sierk win Pyne Prize". Princeton Weekly Bulletin. March 1, 1999.
- ^ Rusten, E. Michael (February 1, 2005). The Complete Book of When and Where In the Bible and Throughout History. Tyndale House Publishers.
- ^ Shamma, Tasnim (April 5, 2010). "Princeton students get baptized in Dillon Gym Pool". The Daily Princetonian.
- ^ Victor, Jason (November 26, 1996). "Rankin shares love for German, devotes time to students, teaching". The Daily Princetonian.
- ^ "Mixing it up: Rankin uses range of methods to pique interest in German". Princeton Weekly Bulletin. June 4, 2007.
- ^ "Religious Group Opposes Liberalism". The Daily Princetonian. February 21, 1966.
- ^ "Members of the Princeton Evangelical Fellowship sing and play the guitar during a worship service". The Daily Princetonian. July 20, 1998.
- ^ Hastings, Justin (May 16, 2001). "The Joys of Fellowship". The Daily Princetonian.
- ^ Ngu, Rebecca (October 1, 2017). "Princeton Christian Fellowship ditches the label 'evangelical'". The Daily Princetonian.
- ^ "The evangelical divide". The Economist. 12 October 2017.