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Summer Days

Hello friends and family,

I just wanted to update y'all on some exciting things going on over the summer as well as give you an update on my current support raising goals. Thank you as always for your generous partnership in college ministry. I hope you're as excited about some of this news as I am.

The summer is definitely a tonal shift, our small groups don't meet, and a lot of students go home. But for those that are still in town, and invested in community, God is working in some really neat ways. Even though summer is a time when some things go on pause it is also a time when new things get to start. One of those new things happening over the summer are our new summer small groups called PACCS.
Paccs differ from our usual core groups that meet over the school year. In a core there is usually around 7-12 people in the core and there is a discussion over a particular topic addressed in scripture. The questions are brought by our corefas and the other students have an opportunity to learn, engage, and ask questions. But PACCS are VERY small groups, of no more than 2-3 people in one at a time. When meeting for PACCS the students will include all of these components into their time together. So they will Pray for one another and those around them. Then they will spend time in Adoration of God through worship of all sorts. The students will also spend time confessing ways that they "missed the mark" that week. The greek word for Sin is Hamartia which means "to miss the mark." So in PACCS they not only have an opportunity to confess the things they usually would acknowledge as sinful, but they also have ways to reflect on how they have not yet fully looked like Christ in their relationships with those around them. Then the other students in their group can spend time encouraging them and sharing with them the good news of our Lord's grace and mercy. Then they address how is commission happening in their life, who are they intentionally befriending, who are they disciplining, who are they sharing Jesus with? And lastly they spend time in scripture, reading 14 chapters of scripture every week. For those that have been a part of a PACCS group from the beginning of the summer they get to read a lot of scripture. And even for those that have just recently joined one I am hearing all of our students attest to the blessing it has been to their life, and how they are continuing to develop into a deeper love relationship with God because of their time in those groups.I love that God's work isn't bound to our structures and specific strategies, but that He is faithful to reveal Himself whenever we seek Him.One student that has recently found Jesus after seeking Him is Jacob!



Jacob made the decision to be baptized in the name of Jesus this week! Jacob joined our community at the beginning of the spring semester and one of our student leaders, Austin Nelson, began studying scripture with Jacob one on one. A few months later as summer started Jacob started coming to the church that I attend called Arlington Central Church and meeting with the pastor Tom and his wife to ask more questions about his faith. Jacob was also a part of a PACCS group and eventually through all of the relationships he formed in these spiritual communities, and through all of his exposure to scripture and prayer, Jacob made the decision that he wanted to follow Jesus with his whole life. I couldn't be happier for him, or more grateful to God for the addition of another brother into the family. I look forward to personally getting to know Jacob and his story more in the years to come!

Below is the student testimony from this month, but I also in the meantime wanted to update you with my support raising goal and where I am in that process. I have only $300 a month left to raise in order to hit my goal. Doing so would allow me to continue to work full time as a college missionary, fully dedicated to making and maturing disciple of Jesus on the campus of UT Arlington. I'm still looking for a team of people to help me reach that $300 a month goal. If you would like to give an additional gift to help me reach that goal, or if you know someone who would please let me know. Thank you so much for your generosity! Please never hesitate to let me know if there is any way that I can be praying for you.

In Christ,
Austin Gage

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