Skip to main content

Thanksgiving

Hello friends,

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog, and thank you for all of your prayers and support. I pray that in some way that what you read here will be as much of an encouragement to you as you have been to me. 

The semester is coming to a close here at UT Arlington. Many of the students are currently taking their finals, some will soon be graduating. So just the other evening we had our whole leader team together and took time to just give thanks to God and share stories of what he has done in the lives of college students this semester. There were students emphasizing how much they've been learning from scripture, students expressing how much they have benefited from the friendships that they have been experiencing in core, stories of students ministering to their peers about the truth and good news of Jesus. I'm so thankful for all that God has done. I'm specifically very grateful for each one of these student leaders. Every single one of them takes time out of their week to evangelize to their classmates, to read scripture with other students, and to generally just make Jesus known on their college campus. We could not do college ministry to the extent that we currently are without them volunteering their whole year to serving in ministry. Thank you for providing a place for so many of them to come and learn how to lead others to know Jesus. Through your investment the college campus is being transformed.
Another really exciting thing that happened this month was Pizza Theology! Every semester over 400 students from the different campuses will gather together for a four hour lecture on a different topic pertaining to christian theology. With a one hour break for pizza in between. I am always so encouraged by what God has done in the hearts of the students in our community. These are 400 college students voluntarily listening to a 4 hour lecture on "Telling The Whole Story of Scripture". God has proven to me through these students that this next generation of young men and women is absolutely capable of becoming Christlike leaders of our churches, of their homes, in their places of employment, and everywhere else that they may go. Be encouraged! God is lifting up a generation of young people who gladly desire to know their God!

Also just as a thank you to all of you and to the rest of the generous donors that support college ministry, FOCUS has hit our goal for our annual Keep FOCUS Growing Fundraiser. So a huge huge thank you to everyone who gave and contributed to that. Because of the success of that fundraiser FOCUS will be able to have access to the resources needed to reach the college campuses in DFW in the name of Jesus. So thank you thank you thank you. As always don't forget to read the student testimony down below! I pray that you all have a very merry Christmas with your friends and families. I hope to catch up with several of  you over the break. Never hesitate to reach out if you'd like to hear more from me in person about what God is doing at UT Arlington. I'm so grateful for your support and I would love to get dinner with you any time that you'd like so that I can more fully express that gratitude. In Christ, Austin.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Learning From the Wise

Dear Friends, Thank you for taking the time to read this ministry update. This winter season has been particularly encouraging and I am excited to tell you about what is coming up soon! The month of December began with a celebration. The school semester was coming to a close quickly so we threw our annual Focus Christmas party in the first week of the month. Talk about Christmas come early. The event was filled with sweet memories, worship, and funny skits put on by the various weekly core groups. Watching those skits is always a highlight of the year as everyone in the core often participates and everyone gets to see each others silly sides. A couple of guys at the UTA Focus Christmas Party. In the bottom picture, one of the roommates couldn't make the event so the rest of the guys thoughtfully chose to find a way to include him in the picture, no matter what.  Once the semester was over and the students went home for the holidays, I had a lot of time to read. Over the ...
2 comments
Read more

More Winter Retreat and Lucy Update!

  The fruit of winter retreat is evident! God really used that time to bond our guys together and point them more collectively towards following Jesus. Since winter retreat we have been able to identify several guys that we are excited to invite to be leaders next year in the ministry from Austen, to Josh, to Manny, to Chris (who's testimony is below) God is raising up young men who are eager to not only know Him but to share him with their peers. I couldn't be more grateful for you who helps to make that kind of heart transformation possible! One of our core groups, led by Ian and Crew has been in a particularly healthy place. These guys look forward to spending time together, reading God's word, praying for one another, and sharing their lives. Here they are hanging out an arcade together recently. But every week they are learning about Jesus together and growing as disciples! Speaking of Growing, Lucy is getting bigger. This photo above was from her first wedding recentl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Disciple Means Student

Two of the things that I have been most grateful for in the last month is the fact that God gifts us with so much fun in this life, and secondly, how God blesses us by giving us the ability to learn. At our online TNF's we have been hosting after events for our students where we try to do something that helps everyone feel connected. At one of our most recent after events we decided to host "show and tell" where everyone finds one or two objects that they are most proud of owning or they consider to be the most interesting thing they own. It was such a blast to see what the students loved and wanted to show off. In the bottom right Taylor Bass, one of our student leaders, was showing off the set of armor that he and some friends had crafted from cardboard. And 2 blocks above him Nathan Baugh, another one of our student leaders, shows off his autographed pictures of Ariana Grande that he got when he was in middle school. It was so sweet to laugh with those in attendance...
Post a Comment
Read more