Mele Kalikimaka and HUGE Thank You!

I want to start by saying thank you! Thank you to everyone who regularly partners with me in college ministry. And a double thank you to everyone who chose out of their generous hearts to give even further to our annual Keep Focus Growing Campaign. Because of you, we were able to raise $100,000. Because of your generosity this ministry will continue to be able to operate on college campuses with equipped campus pastors for years to come. God's ability and continued willingness to provide for this work never ceases to amaze me. I'm humbled and thrilled to have such supportive ministry partners who see the need and continue to meet it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

You may be wondering why I wrote Mele Kalikimaka in the title above. Well, if you don't know, that means Merry Christmas in Hawaii. And Christmas in Hawaii was this years theme for our UTA Focus Christmas Party.

Pictured above is just a few of the guys in this ministry that I get to spend time with regularly. I'm so excited by their desire to learn more about Jesus and continue to figure out what it looks like to reflect him in their daily lives. In the top picture is one of our several core groups, this one is facilitated by two Ben's. Ben Erickson and Ben Roesche. Meeting with Ben and Ben weekly has been one of the highlights of my year so far. They are both eager to learn, humble, inquisitive, go getters. But they also have been the example this year for the rest of our ministry of what it looks like to facilitate friendship between the guys in their core. Bernard, Aaron, Crew, Lyndon, and Cole are all regular friends even when Core isn't technically meeting. They will hang out and play racquetball together, or just get together for lunch in the UC. I think one of Jesus primary methods of making disciples was to spend regular time with everyone in his "small group", knowing that through their exposure to him, they would learn about and catch glimpses of his kingdom. I love that Ben and Ben are following in the footsteps of Jesus in their approach to ministry.

Thank you again for your partnership in ministry. If you aren't fully encouraged yet, please feel free to check out this months student testimony below!

In Christ,

Austin Gage

Comments

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

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

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

Austin's FOCUS Ministry Blog

Search This Blog