WHAT WE DO
WEEKLY SERVICE: Every Tuesday at 8pm join us in the Union for a time of powerful worship, a relevant message, and an opportunity to connect with friends.
SMALL GROUPS: Our small groups meet together all around campus to discuss the Bible and talk about life. Small groups are where life happens and where you will likely meet some of your very best friends.
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AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY: We are more than a ministry - we are a family. We love to have fun, eat food, and do life together. Join us for a campus party, fall & winter retreats, post-service events, pickup sports, or a backyard bonfire.
INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY: Our campus is very diverse. We believe God is sending students to our campus from all over the world to meet Jesus. We love connecting with international friends.
MISSIONS ORIENTED: Missions are a big deal to us. We offer international and US missions trips option during our Spring Break and during early summer. We also support and send missionaries all over the world.
COMMUNITY FOCUSED: We love our campus and we love our city! We actively involve ourselves and volunteer on campus. From moving in freshmen to volunteering at the Big Event, we want to enhance campus anyway we can.
VISION
It is our desire to introduce UND students to a relationship with Jesus Christ by:
Prayer
Communication with God
Worship
Expressions of thanks through word, music, and service
Fellowship
Community of students developing quality relationships
Discipleship
Learning about Jesus and following His example
Mission
Living a life that reflects our relationship with God
“We are therefore ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us. We implore on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."
-2 Corinthians 5:20
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meet the
TEAM
JUDAH & MAY NEGRON
Director/Lead Pastor
Judah Negron is now stepping into his sixth year with UND Chi Alpha, and it is his second year as the director. Judah has a passion for people and a heart for people who feel lonely or worthless.
His favorite verse is Matthew 28:19 which says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” This is his favorite verse because it highlights God’s love for all nations, all cultures, and all people groups; this call to love and reach out to the nations is one of the main reasons Judah has given his life to missions. Judah’s dream is to see the lives of international students transformed by the love of God.
On top of that, Judah enjoys playing soccer, lifting weights, photography, and serving on the worship team on drums, piano, guitar, or vocally. Pictured is his wife, May Negron, who also volunteers in XA and has a heart to reach internationals for Jesus!
DAVID & COURTNEY KASEN
CMIT Director
David and his wife Courtney have been serving as missionaries with Chi Alpha for the past 9 years. They both were students at UND and were heavily involved with Chi Alpha during their undergrads at UND, which is where they met. They served full-time with Chi Alpha at the University of Minnesota Crookston for 4 years before being called back to work with UND in 2022.
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David and Courtney have three boys together: Alec (7), Noah (5), Leo, and Shiloh (newborn). Their third son Leo passed away unexpectedly at 13 months old in January of 2023, and God has been leading them in how to live life without him. Their days are filled with squirt gun fights, made up games, books, sports, and lots of wrestling. David loves volleyball, spike ball and most outdoor activities, and Courtney is an adept barista, chef, and artist. Besides their common passion for board games and their children, their united passion is for God, for discipling others to know Christ and make him known, and for seeing every tribe, tongue, demographic, and people group being united under the banner of Christ. As the CMIT Director, David is passionate about helping raise up the next generation to bring the Gospel wherever God may call them, whether to the Marketplace, the University, or the World.
PAUL MURRAY
Co-Director of Large Group, Co-Director of Small Groups
Paul and his wife, Cassidy, both hold a Master of Music degree in Performance. They met while pursuing their degrees at the University of North Dakota in the low brass studio. They moved to Chicago briefly for Paul to pursue his Master's at DePaul University. Before becoming a missionary, Paul toured with the professional Christian brass group, The King’s Brass, where he had the privilege to perform and share the gospel all over the country. He eventually felt God calling him more and more into full-time ministry. Making trombone his hobby and no longer his career, they decided to pursue working with Chi Alpha at UND to see more students know Christ and make Him known to all the nations.
Paul's favorite verse is 1 Corinthians 6:11, "And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by His Spirit of our God." Just as in his own testimony, he loves proclaiming power of Christ.
Paul and Cassidy also have a 2-year-old son named Jedidiah who loves anything that has wheels and playing with his two small dogs, Phineas and Sandy and cat Tchai! Paul is passionate about theology, teaching, discipleship, music theory, and coffee. While Cassidy is an avid crocheter, artist, musician, and mother.
LAUREN ROBERTS
Associate Staff
Lauren graduated from the University of Minnesota Crookston in 2020 where she became involved in Chi Alpha in her junior year. She had never before heard God’s voice or experienced intentional friendship and discipleship in the ways she did while in Chi Alpha. Lauren assisted with Chi Alpha in Crookston for two years before joining the Chi Alpha team at UND.
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She loves to help students seek God’s will for every aspect of their lives and learn to live it out. Pictured is her husband, Lukas, who works at Poppler’s Music in Grand Forks. Along with their new baby boy, Azariah. In their free time, they enjoy going out to eat, hosting dinners, and playing board games. Lauren and Lukas are expecting their first child in September.
meet the
CMITS
BEN PFEIFFER
CMIT II
Ben was introduced to Jesus and a life of discipleship for the first time as a freshman at UND in 2019. He saw the authenticity of Christianity and the beauty of a life surrendered to Jesus for the first time and became a born again Christian that fall. Through Chi Alpha small groups, he learned what it means to commit to God and live a life of faith and obedience. He is now happy to identify himself in the likeness of the apostle Paul: “a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God”.
During his sophomore year of college, God called Ben into full time ministry. Ben started the CMIT program this year and has not looked back! He has a passion for glorifying God and making disciples that
know and love the deep truths of the faith. In his free time Ben loves reading, board games, and coffee.
Mia, Ben’s wife, graduated from UND with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and currently works as a refugee health coordinator with Global Friends Coalition in Grand Forks. She is honored to serve refugees and help them feel welcome in the community of Grand Forks. She also was introduced to Christ and saved as a freshman and has been making disciples with Chi Alpha ever since. Mia is an avid cat lover, coffee drinker, and ping pong champion.
TRENTON DUFNER
CMIT II
Trenton came to college knowing about Jesus, but not knowing Jesus. The extent of his Bible knowledge was limited to Adam and Eve in the garden, Jesus dying on a cross, and some guy named Jonah getting swallowed by a whale. Fortunately for Trenton, his freshman year he lived with a Chi Alpha small group leader. One night at a Chi Alpha service, Trenton’s life was radically changed by Jesus. It was a complete turnaround! Trenton often likes to say that he was once one way, but now he is completely different. The thing that happened in between was Jesus. He eventually became a small group leader, graduated with a degree in Banking and Financial Economics, and is going through the CMIT program with Chi Alpha at the University of North Dakota.
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Trenton’s passion is to see God glorified and to help students find their God given purpose. He believes everyone brings a unique expression of the infinite God to the body of Christ, and longs to see the family of God grow. Trenton now waits for his glorious King to return and take His ransomed children home. On his free time, Trenton can be found playing guitar, reading a book, playing spikeball, or longboarding around campus. His most common greeting is “Shalomie Homie” and would love to get to know you more.
Rachael Erickson
Creative Associate
Rachael gave her life to Christ at a young age. Coming into college she prayed for a Christian community where she could continue to be challenged to look like Jesus. A couple weeks into her freshman year two girls on her floor invited her to Chi Alpha. She quickly became involved and fell in love with this ministry.
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While in the ministry she learned what it meant to live for Jesus and how to effectively disciple individuals. After graduating college she decided to give a year back to the ministry, and become onboarded as a creative associate and to learn what it looks like to work in full-time ministry. Rachael has a heart for students who are looking for authentic community and loves introducing them to the lifestyle of Jesus. She is passionate about reaching people for the gospel and seeing students through their mental health struggles. Her favorite passage in the Bible is Psalm 34 because it talks about God's goodness and invites people to "taste and see that the Lord is good!" (verse 8) .
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In her free time she enjoys baking and experimenting with new recipes. She also is slowly re-learning the art of pottery on her days off in order to unwind. She loves going on walks with friends and rollerblading when the weathers nice!
meet the
STUDENT OFFICERS
