Most Exciting Year of Ministry

Wow, I have loved the school year so far. God is doing such great things in the lives of these college students. I can tangibly see signs of a generation seeking after Jesus, and it's only been the first month!

Every Thursday Night students are gathering on campus to worship Jesus and to learn more together about his word. This year we've been going through the sermon on the mount during our teaching times and the students really seem to be responding. I'm excited about the prospect of a community of people living out the teachings of the sermon on the mount together and it seems our students are too. We've as part of this also had a scripture memorization challenge each week and it's been so exciting to hear students repeat the words of Jesus back to me as they learn to write his word on their heart and dwell on it throughout the week. I think that practice will end up having a positive effect on our community in ways that we can't even see yet, as students are more equipped to use the word of God to minister to their peers.

Giving our students more and more opportunities to engage with scripture has been a big part of our goals for our community this year. And one of the ways we've been offering that is "Public Reading of Scripture". At these events we will just read a book of the bible from front to back and then engage in a time of discussion. So it's less of a teaching time and more a time of open sharing and communication. But it has been so uplifting to see 20+ students stay on campus from 9:30pm-11:30pm just to read Galatians out loud with their peers and reflect on what God may be wanting to teach us or our community through his word. I'm excited for this month's public reading of scripture!

This upcoming weekend we have our fall camp! Above is a picture of fall camp from two years ago. The ministry was more female predominant back then lol. This year we've had a lot of young men join the ministry and be genuinely eager to learn about God! I can't wait to share with you stories of how God has been working in our whole student body over the course of fall camp this year. Every year when our students have a whole weekend set aside to spend time together and to worship Jesus our students always express feeling more connected to God and moving from feeling like FOCUS was something that they attended, to something that they were a part of, and that they belonged to. Would you pray with me that God would do all that and more in the lives of the students who come with us this weekend? Thank you for your partnership in ministry and don't forget to check out the student testimony below!

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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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