Denton TX College Missions

Hey friends, What a wild month. I've no doubt you feel similarly. The types of situations we have going on are unprecedented for at least the past many decades. I wanted to give you guys a quick hello and insight into how ministry has been looking the past few weeks. In a lot of ways, everything is the same, just online or over the phone instead of in person. I'm thankful that the bulk of our time before all of this was focused on ministry at a 1-1 level, so that is something we're still able to do albeit in the virtual format. So my days look similar, but instead of driving time I now have more time for learning and continued education in ministry, which is actually a huge blessing. For some official insight though, here's a letter from our director, Brandon, on how we're responding to all of this as a ministry. A Letter From Our Director On COVID-19 To the FOCUS Community: I want to update you on how FOCUS is responding to COVID-19, especially in...

I just wanted to take this post to extend a special thank you to those who support our ministry. I try to make it clear how thankful I/we are that you support this mission by investing in it continuously, but today I want to make a special post to say that again. I love that there's a community of people who believe in investing in college students and believe in the impact they can have in the kingdom if we push them to follow Jesus and become disciple making disciples. Here's a story from one of those students that shows the beginning of that journey for yet another student so I hope you enjoy hearing about this, but again, thank you so much.

This is the time of year that the community often starts to feel like family to each other. Winter Camp has come and gone, filled with so much of God working (which I'll get to shortly) and cores have been meeting together and sharing life in that group and 1-1 in Bible studies for half of a year now, and the relationships are deepening. It's a time to start looking more outward, to bring new students into what these students have been building with each other. Along with families though, as we all know, comes a fair share of challenges, which I'll share some of those in the prayer request section down below. But first, winter camp! Briefly, in case you don't know, Winter Camp is our yearly camp with all of our campuses together. It falls on the first weekend of school starting back up, and it's four days together worshiping God, learning about scripture, and having fun together. This year some 500+ students gathered from across DFW to learn about Psalms, and it w...

We've been doing a daily advent devotional through our social media for our students, with the goal of recapturing the essential part of the month every year, namely the amazing implications of the incarnation. God come down, making Himself vulnerable to fulfill His covenant with His people Israel, and to inaugurate the Kingdom of God being fulfilled on our earth. Week 1 is on hope , both the hope that Israel had and the hope we now have for the day when Heaven and earth are joined in a new creation. Week 2 is on peace . Biblical peace is more than a lack of conflict, but includes the added idea of wholeness and completeness, which is a much richer idea. Week 3 is on love , displayed in the character of God throughout scripture and the apex being the incarnation. Finally, week 4 is on j oy . The deep seated place of contentedness and comfort that God offers his people who choose his joy regardless of suffering and situational variables. I encourage you to join us and s...

Hey all, What's new? Send me a message with how you're doing and what's going on in your world, I'd love to hear from you! Wanted to share this at the beginning. Johnny's testimony is one of many not just in the minsitry, but around the world as people come to know who God is. They find Him to be a God of love and grace, despite all of our shortcomings. The Bible doesn't say that God was so angry with the world he had to lose his son for our sin, but rather God so loved the world that he gave his son. That is powerful. God being loving and merciful doesn't diminish our guilt, but rather how guilty we truly are only serves to highlight the profound inexplicable love it must take to do what God does for us all of the time. This month we're going into the time of year where we celebrate the incarnation. As you do remember that powerful message. It's one you've heard, but don't let that stop you from hearing it again fresh. God so loved ...

Practicing thankfulness is one of the most valuable antidotes to the parts of our lives that lead us to seasons of frustration, worry, and anxiety. Gratitude is a part of our worship, and it affects our disposition towards God, the people around us, and our outlook on the world tremendously. Gratitude within a community is particularly important. Communities that lack the proper amount of gratitude in the people's hearts are plagued with issues of disunity, selfishness, and cynicism. I've been feeling God speak to me through scripture, prayer, and some reading lately that I need to remember this aspect of spiritual discipline in my life and look to see where my heart is not practicing gratitude. I've found that I don't struggle often with complaining, or feeling cynical, as much as I just am neutral. I don't say complaints, but neither do I say thanks. So this past week or so I've been praying through different areas of my life where I can remember what Go...

I love summer. The days are long, the students that are around are usually more free to spend time with, my schedule is a little more flexible since the semester being over frees us up to plan things as we need to. Fundraising is a main priority, and if you're reading this you most likely are a part of the team of people that support me in college missions and have a heart for seeing students come to know Jesus through this ministry, so summer is a time to reflect on the gratitude I feel for you guys, and for what all God did in the year prior. We also get time to plan and strategize for the next year. Think through what was successful in our ministry this past year that we can keep or build on, and also try and discern what changes might need to be made in order to better serve the needs of ministry at our different campuses. This summer is also a time to bond as a staff team. Sounds like maybe a peripheral priority at first thought, but I'm recently reminded of the incredib...