Students that love God!

Hey friends, God is still at work at UTA leading college students to love him more fully and empowering them to love their campus and one another more as well. If you click this link, you'll get to hear our students at One of our most recent worship nights! declaring that they have decided to follow Jesus, the world behind them, the cross before them, and they won't turn back. It warms my heart to see so many gather each week to say these things to one another.

Here's some of our UTA students, Cade, Sonnie, Kamal, Hart, Juan, Oscar, Helen, and Garrett spending time together after attending a revival event at SMU. These students love God and are seeking opportunities to know him better every chance they get.

Perhaps most encouraging of all has been our senior epistles. At the end of every year we ask our graduating seniors to share with the rest of our student body a word of encouragement, passing along the things they've learned about following Jesus with their whole lives. We as pastors have been blown away by the depth of wisdom and conviction these students possess. We knew God was at work, but hearing these students makes us even more assured that lives are being transformed in Jesus name on the college campus. You can listen to one of those here. Although you may need headphones to hear what she's saying!

Lucy meanwhile continues to grow into a beautiful little girl. She's smart and strong and sweet in equal measure. Hayli and I couldn't be more grateful to God for her life.

Thank you for contributing to all of these things. When I reflect on 10 years of campus ministry it is not lost on me how little of this would be possible without you and your generous hearts. I certainly praise God for each of you today! Don't forget to check out the student testimony below from one of our students at UT Dallas!

Comments

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 ...

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...

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...

Austin's FOCUS Ministry Blog

Search This Blog