Austin's FOCUS Ministry Blog

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 ...

Midway through January Winter Break was over and our students returned! I had been thankful for the time that I had got to experience with my family and with some old friends over the break but I was so beyond ready to get together once again with the students that God has placed in our care and just glorify Him again together in our songs, and in our friendships, and in our lives. Which is why I was so glad when Winter Camp rolled around! It is difficult to make out faces but that is over 600 college students gathered together in one place to learn more about being the people of God. About being adopted into the family of God, being temples of the Holy Spirit, and being ambassadors of Christ. Winter Camp is a 4 day event when all of the different campuses of focus go together out to a retreat center called Sky Ranch in Van, Texas. We spend 4 days eating meals together, playing games together, worshiping together and learning together. The end result is often the same. Hundreds of ...

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog today! As I move into the new year I am reminded once more what a miracle it is that this year, through supporters like you, God has provided well enough for me to live and work full time as a campus missionary. That is a gift that I will never be able to thank you enough for helping to make happen. I'd love to share with you just a little bit of how your donation is affecting lives in the month of December. To start off with a little celebration, at the end of this semester we threw a Christmas party for our students to attend. We played games together, ate food together, worshiped God together and all around just had a really great night of fellowship. Together we thanked God for what he had done in the year thus far and also just enjoyed the company of one another. Below are a few pictures from that event. These are mainly students whom I have gotten to meet with and study scripture with and call them deeper in their relations...

Hey Everyone! It is so weird to even stop and think that in just two weeks the semester will be coming to a close. What an amazing past couple of months it has been. God has answered numerous prayers and I have gotten to meet and have some really amazing conversations about Jesus with students from all sorts of backgrounds. I wanted to write you this blog to update you on what I have been up to in the last month and all the ways I see God moving here at UT Arlington. The number one thing that I've gotten to do is spend a lot of time with new guys in our ministry. In the first several months of college ministry it is difficult to tell who will actually be sticking around and so as a campus pastor it becomes one of my main roles to get to know all of them that I can and let them know that they are cared about and are wanted. Last year what seemed as an initial setback was the small amount of male leaders that we had at the end of the year. For whatever reason when it came to pra...

Jared, the same student who I wrote to you about just a week ago is also a film student and he recently made a short video documenting his and others experience in Focus. I just found it so encouraging that I wanted to share it with all of you. Your investment is making a huge impact. I'm so thankful for all that you do. Please watch this video! I think the student did an incredible job capturing our community. https://youtu.be/Neo02WPHNFc In Christ, Austin

Last week I sent out a blog that I wanted to include some student sharing in, but the student that I asked couldn't get their thoughts to me on time. However he eventually sent it and I thought it was so powerful that I wanted to share it with all of you here. This is Jared, a freshman student at UTA studying film. This is his first semester in college and in Focus. I will let him speak for his self. Thank you for having an impact in Jared's life by providing a place where he can come and learn about God and make friends and a family at the same time. In Christ, Austin

Hello Everybody! I'm really glad once again to be able to update you on what God has been doing here at UTA this month. October is always a really exciting time in college ministry. It is typicall yby this point that students decide just how much they want to "buy in" to being a part of a college ministry. Many students begin to catch the vision for what God wants to do in their lives and in the lives of their peers. Every student that wants to in our ministry is being met with one on one by our student leaders and every week going through scripture together with them. The Christ centered community that develops out of that is very clearly seen in one of my favorite times of the year, Fall Camp. Fall Camp is a time in which the students from our campus take a 24 hour retreat in which they will spend time, playing games together, making connections with new friends, and connecting with God by spending time together in worship and prayer all for the glory of Him who is w...