Pizza Theology and Turning Thirty

I turned 30 a little earlier this month and got to spend my birthday with several of my dearest friends. Colton Benge an architecture student and one of our FOCUS Apprentices for this next year, and all 3 of the Bass brothers, Nathan who was my roommate when I was a student in college, Bryan who graduated a few years ago and is now a middle school band director and a leader in the church I attend, and Taylor who is going to be doing our FOCUS apprenticeship this year as well. I don't have much to say about that other than I am so grateful God brought me into this ministry as a student one decade ago. I have immense gratitude to God for all the mercy he has shown me over the years and how he has blessed me immensely with dear friends, a wonderful wife, and incredible ministry partners like yourself. Thank you for your investment in college students. Everyone pictured above has now gone through FOCUS as students, and all of us are committed Christ followers today because you helped provide an environment where we could learn to live for Jesus in our daily lives.

Oduwa, pictured above, is one of the newest students in our ministry and it's been so exciting to get to know him. Here Oduwa is sharing during our weekly large group gathering about why students should invest in the vision of Focus. This is how he described what God has done for him since entering Focus just a little over one semester ago. "When I first started college my heart felt like a dying plant in the middle of a desert. But since joining focus, not only is that plant blooming into a flower, but my whole soul feels like a garden." Wow! I was blown away by Oduwa's words. I always prayed when I first started ministry that if God would do for one student what he did for me through my time in college ministry, it would be worth it. God showed, through Oduwa, that he is doing that and more! Thank you for your investment in Oduwa's life.

You can't tell from this photo but this group of guys were gathered together to watch our annual Pizza Theology. Typically we are gathered in a huge lecture hall with 400 plus students but with Covid we had to do smaller watch parties. But this semesters topic was "Entertainment: What would Jesus watch?" Our students found it so helpful to their life and faith to think critically about the media that they consume and to think of ways that they can use their "free time" to both rest, but also, bless others. If you want to learn what our students are learning you can do so here by watching this semester's pizza theology. https://www.twitch.tv/videos/923544967?filter=all&sort=time

As always don't forget to check out the student testimony below. Thank you for all that you do for this ministry. In Christ, Austin.

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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 ...

Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again; Rejoice!

A lot has been happening this month, in the ministry, in the lives of our students, and in my own heart as I continue to learn what it means to be a missionary and a minister of the Lord. I can't wait to share all of it with you. I pray that you find it encouraging and ultimately that God is praised and exalted because of it. Ephesians 3:20-21 " Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." These are just a few of the guys in my core group that I get to lead every week! Peter, Jacob, and Saurav. I love each one of these guys dearly and I so enjoy getting to meet with them every week and hearing their heart. I meet one on one every week with Jacob, we've been reading through a book called "Experiencing God" this semester recently and it has been very helpful in aligning our ...

When Miracles Are Common and Pizza Theology

A student shared this at our most recent Thursday Night Fellowship and I thought it was so beautiful that I wanted to share it with you. "In Focus, Miracles are happening all the time. People are becoming saved, like I was a year ago, through this community, and equally miraculously people are becoming more like Jesus, like I'm still learning to do. But God is using this community to bring about those miracles. And I know that this all can feel common to us, especially those of us who have been around for a while, but if we are in a community where the miraculous is common , we should thank God for that community." That was shared by a student named Josh Krause who I have the pleasure of studying the bible with over the duration of this school year. I have been so encouraged by his willingness to keep learning about the grace of God and respond by living out of that reality. And I was doubly encouraged when he shared such a beautiful and praise filled sentiment with th...

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