Winter Retreat 2023

This last weekend 400 college students from all across DFW gathered together to worship Jesus, and experience Christ centered community. It was an amazing weekend. Our students heard teaching each morning and evening over the book of 1st John. We talked in detail about living in truth, turning from sin, and loving one another with the love that God had shown us. And boy did God work.

Over the course of the weekend I saw so many students loving one another with the love that Jesus had for them. Featured above is just some of the guys from UT Arlington and TCC this year. All of these men were a source of fun and encouragement for those around them. I saw them including others and cheering on one another all weekend. After one of the talks from 1 John on the topic of sin one of the students asked if he and I could go for a walk together and during that time he shared with me a sin in his life that he said he had never told anyone else. Now he and I are going to start meeting together weekly to read a book on the topic and I'm so excited to see what God does through that friendship.

But that's just one story of many, please continue to pray for these students that the messages they heard from God's word and the love that they experienced from God's people this weekend would remain with them as they go into this new semester and that they would become men and women that are

"like Christ in this world" - 1 John 4:17

Thank you for supporting college ministry and for partnering with me in the mission to make and mature disciples of Jesus.

Comments

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

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

SICM, Staff Retreat, and Start of the Semester

Hello friends and partners in ministry, The summer is over! We are back into the full swing of things, and I got to tell you. God is good and I am so excited for what is to come in just the next few weeks of campus ministry. This last week we got to have our staff retreat in Bridgeport, Texas. The goal of staff retreat is to collectively as a team of ministers recenter ourselves on Jesus and his work in the world, reflect on why we do what we do, and spend time together relationally. Pictured below is our UTA Campus Missionary Team for 2021-2022. From left to right we have Jalen, Graham, Myself, Bailey, Emily, Sophie, Taylor, Emily, and Sarah. Myself, Jalen, Taylor, Emily, and Sarah are our returning campus ministers, while Sophie, Graham, Emily, and Bailey are our apprentices for this school year. If you don't know what an apprentice is, these are recent graduates from the ministry who are either interested in vocational ministry long term or just want to spend a year learning a

Austin's FOCUS Ministry Blog

Search This Blog