Core, Church, and the growth of Christianity.

Hello again dear friends and ministry partners. I'm excited to share with you both what I see God doing and what I hear he's doing around the world.

I got to do several core visits last month and that was such a blessing to my heart and faith. Two weeks in a row I watched young men, study the scriptures, share their lives, pray for one another, praise God, and even spend time memorizing scripture passages to write on their hearts. Thank you for making it possible for young guys like these to learn to love Jesus in a community of peers who are also set on growing as disciples! On the far right of this particular picture is Zui. Zui is from China and was an atheist when he came to UTA but since finding so many Christian friends who loved him so well and learning about Jesus, Zui now wants to follow Jesus and will be getting baptized very soon. Praise God!

Another really neat thing that I'm so grateful for this last month is that our church members decided to treat all our college students to lunch. Any student that wanted to join us after church on Sunday was taken to a free meal by some of our working families. It was such a neat opportunity to bless and connect with the younger generation and modeling to them a vibrant church community that they can remain in once their time in FOCUS is through.

And lastly I wanted to share a recent article from the New York Times. It was reporting on that the decrease in spirituality and in Christianity has halted and even in the case of the youngest generations, Z and Alpha, has reversed. Couldn't agree more wholeheartedly that that is exactly what we are seeing on the college campus. Young people choosing to engage with God and even make firm decisions about discipleship to Jesus. Thank you for letting me be here to reach those students as they step foot on the college campus ready to know God!

New York Times Article on Christian Growth

Here's a couple recent pictures of Lucy and our student testimony for this month. Thank you again for all your partnership. The gospel is literally going forth into all the nations because of your generosity.

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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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