Skip to main content

Summer Season

 

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 holding her while she sleeps, or making her laugh, or just looking right at her I'm consistently reminded of how good God is to me, and to all of us. My top prayer for her is that she would know Jesus, be filled with the spirit, and grow to be loving, kind, wise, joyful, and full of peace. A tall order, I know, but, 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.


Thank you for supporting campus ministry! Don't forget to check out this month's student testimony below. Also I'm 88% of the way to my current support raising goal. If you would consider increasing your partnership, you can edit your gift anytime here. 

https://anyfocus.churchcenter.com/giving



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

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 ...
2 comments
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more