Pictures of Cores and Good News about Ram! (Also help us protect religious liberties for college ministries)

Pictured above are two of our core groups at UTA. The first one is led by Ben and Ben and I'm told that their guys love going to arby's together after core most weeks. And the bottom is led by Ian and Taylor. I have recently been so encouraged by our mens ministry. Our guys genuinely seem to be growing in their maturity, their love for God, their willingness to participate in evangelism, and their care for one another. Sometimes it can be hard in the fall to identify all the good that God is doing through this ministry, but he always makes it clear in the spring. These are friendships, centered around Jesus, that are likely to last a lifetime. Thank you for providing a place for young men like this to know God more and to experience transformative community.

If you didn't read last months blog please do so! It's all about my friend Ram who came from India as a hindu but after experiencing visons of Jesus in his dreams he came to believe in Christ and was baptized in our church. Ram had to return to India on tuesday but he has told me that he arrived safely in Pune and even though he has been disowned by his family, he has been accepted and welcomed by a Christian church in Pune where I believe God will provide him a new family. Ram now has an instagram and if you want to watch his baptism or follow up with him you can do so here.

https://www.instagram.com/ramwaychal999/

And lastly, can I ask for your help?

The U.S Government is planning on making changes to language in the department of education that currently provides legal protection for college ministries. They want to remove this language, claiming that the 1st amendment is sufficient enough to provide college ministries the legal protection they need. But I'm not so sure that's the case. The removal of this language is bound to lead to universities being able to impede college ministry activity. We are asking our ministry partners that share this concern to make their thoughts heard by adding comments to the department of educations open response forum. If we can get enough responses, it's possible that they will reconsider. If you would like more information you can find it here.

https://anyfocus.org/campusaccess/

As always, don't forget to check out this months student testimony. Thank you for your partnership in ministry at UTA!

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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

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