Austin's FOCUS Ministry Blog

  Pizza Theology was a hit! Every year, twice a year, several hundred college students from around DFW come to hear a 4 hour lecture on a biblical topic. This years topic was about helping scripture come alive and being able to make sense of biblical narrative. Our speaker, seminary professor Rikk Watts, walked us through the first 11 chapters of 1 Kings, not worrying about finishing the story per se, but rather helping our students engage with the depth of the story as they read along. Some of the things he helped bring to life for our students were the importance of listening to God rather than to ourselves, the dignity of a desperate cry to God, the role of the office of leader being honored by God even when the leader is of a corrupt character, and the importance of honesty and ownership of our mistakes. It was really such a neat experience and our students walked away with lots of questions and an excitement to read more of the old testament. They also ate lots of pizza. Thank...

  We just got back from our annual fall camp. We had 100 students (our largest turnout ever) join for a whole Saturday and half a Sunday. We spent the weekend worshiping Jesus, learning more about his word from some sermons, eating burgers, laughing, and having a great time making new friends. A couple of the guys after a round of ultimate frisbee. Fall camp is always a pivotal point in the school year. The tone we set there carries over to our wider community for the rest of the year. It was so encouraging to me to see this many students connecting with Jesus and loving their peers all weekend. Some of the fruit is probably yet to be seen but here's some encouraging photos of our core groups wrapping up their time at fall camp. Thank you for investing in campus ministry. These kinds of weekends can be catalysts for serious decisions about Jesus and the kinds of lives these students will lead. My first fall camp is when I knew I wanted to be seriously involved in this community. I...

 Maverick Stampede is over and we have officially started our Thursday Night Fellowships and our Core Groups for the 2024-2025 school year. Already the students at both TNF and in Core have been evidence of God's goodness and faithfulness. I wanted to thank you for praying and share with you exciting pictures and testimonies from our students on the week and their experience in Core. Lawn games at Brazos Park was our first event of Maverick Stampede. There was easily 100 students there playing 9 square and volleyball and frisbee and football and plastic axe throwing. It was  great way to start off the week. Our core leaders did a great job meeting new students and inviting them further into community! There were 150 students at our first Thursday Night Fellowship. Our largest turnout in all 10 years here at UTA. The sermon was on the topic of being completely devoted to Jesus and a lot of students responded. Afterwards our church paid for all the students to go to an arcade to...

 Move in day is tomorrow. Later this afternoon we will be getting together with our leader team for the first time all together. We will pray over the campus, and do some training on how best to meet people, make friends, and invite them into Christian community. There are 40,000 college students on UTA's campus. That is a lot of opportunity for divine appointments! Would you please join me, and the rest of our staff and student leaders in praying for those who might meet. We want the light of Jesus to shine through us so that many many young men and women will be interested in knowing Him more. We promise to be present and active on campus, there's multiple events every day of the week for the next two weeks. It can be intimidating and exhausting, but since God is with us, we know that he will both sustain us, empower us, and use every moment to spread his Kingdom on this campus. But we so would appreciate your prayers. And we aren't the only campus. This photo represents ...

 Hello friends, we are only 6 weeks away before the beginning of the new semester! So, how am I spending my time over the summer?  Raising up leaders, reading books that sharpen and encourage me, spending time with students in worship, preaching, and spending a little extra time with Hayli and Lucy. Raising up leaders right now looks like studying the bible one on one with a few of the guys that I'll have the pleasure of doing ministry alongside in the fall. Namely Josh Krause, Austen Nash, and Chris Mwerma. These are all guys that have shown a serious interest in knowing God and becoming like Jesus. I'm so excited for them to be a witness for Christ on their college campus as they lead core! Chris is the guy in blue above, he's a great connector and really gifted at making people feel included. He also sets the pace for the rest of our students in being an avid learner. Austen and Josh are the guys on the left in the pictures above. Earnest young men, strong of character, ...

  300 college students gathering together, on Thursday Nights, every week, all summer. Not to get drunk, or attend a protest or a political rally. But to praise God with their peers and learn how to walk as a disciple of Jesus. Our sermon series for the summer is about Embracing what God has given us. Embracing the difficulty of life. Embracing friendship. Embracing intimacy with God. In short, I think it's a way to address maturity. But this word embrace is so visceral. God embraces us. Jesus embraced the cross. I'm excited to see what God does as these students learn to embrace God in response and embrace the cross in their own life, as they embrace their friends and peers on behalf of Jesus. Speaking of embracing. The slower summer pace has given me more time to be around my daughter, Lucy a little more than usual and I'm so grateful. She truly is the greatest gift God has given me, second to his mercy. But what a sweet reminder she is of that mercy! Whether I'm just...