February Fun!

The spring semester is well underway, and God is at work on our many campuses!  There are three special events that I'd like to share with you: Winter Camp, SMU Kickoff, and Open House.

Winter Camp

The UTA crew at Winter Camp!

Our annual Winter Camp gets better every year!  This year we had over 600 people in attendance for a long weekend at Sky Ranch.  The weekend was packed with worship, games, food, friendship, talks by the FOCUS staff (myself included) and others, and most importantly, an opportunity to experience God together as a community.

One of the most memorable parts of this Winter Camp was dancing together during worship as Leeann and Renee, two of our UTA Corefas, led the group in some simple movements inspired by the words of the worship songs.  Most of us looked a little silly as we tried to follow along, but I think this activity helped us to quit thinking about how we looked and enjoy the chance to praise our God together.

If you're interested in hearing any of the talks from Winter Camp, they are available by clicking here.

SMU Kickoff

I don't have any pictures, but we had our very first FOCUS meeting at SMU!  God brought a handful of interested students to that meeting, and we keep finding more connections with people at SMU who want to be a part of what God is doing on that campus.  Please keep SMU and the students there in your prayers as we plan for the future of FOCUS there.  And if you know any students or staff there who would be interested, please let me know!

UTA Open House

The room is University Hall 121 - Please join us!

This coming Saturday, you are invited to Open House at UTA!  We will have a special event to invite students' families, professors, and other community members to see what FOCUS at UTA is all about.  You are invited to this fun time!  Please let me know if you plan to attend.

God is at work on our campuses.  Please keep us in your prayers, and thank you for your support of FOCUS!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you!  This is a time of fresh starts and new beginnings for many people as we turn the calendar to 2017.  I pray that God would bless you richly in the new year, as He has generously blessed me in 2016.  If you're thinking about goals for the coming year, I encourage you to include this one: to experience and love Jesus Christ more deeply in the next year, allowing yourself to be changed by His presence in your life.

I'd like to share with you this testimony from Chiazo, one of the UNT girls I spent time with last year:

"Before college, I spent a vast majority of my time at church, from volunteering to mission trips. After graduating, I was nervous about what Christian community would look like now that I had to find it for myself. I prayed for a group of friends who cared about me. I was at the gym six weeks into my freshman year and while I was working out on the treadmill, something made me turn around (while running 80% speed) and I saw a banner for FOCUS. I visited that Friday night and stayed because people sought out His Word, ways to practice His teachings and made Christ-likeness a lifestyle- specifically, Autumn Priestley, a senior at the time I joined FOCUS. I constantly asked myself “why would someone who’s about to leave college want to spend time with me”? She spent time with me because of the lessons she learned through FOCUS. As I make my transition into the “real world” and becoming a teacher, I will remember to seek to understand then be understood when working with students, parents, and other teachers. I will look at my students and love them. I will consider their needs and provide for them, whether that means that I attend their sporting events or support them through tough times. I will show them who Jesus is through my teaching, patience, and discipline on and off the podium. It’s because of my involvement in FOCUS that I am able to know what it looks like to be a disciple in the “real world”."

Chiazo is about to begin student-teaching as a middle school choir director for the last semester of her degree.  I know that she will bring her passion for serving the Lord into her classroom and bless her students tremendously.  Please pray for her and all the students who are nearing the end of their degree programs and the start of their careers.

Over the Christmas break, while our students were away with their families, the FOCUS staff have read The Signature of Jesus by Brennan Manning.  The following section from this book touched me deeply, and I hope it does the same for you:

"My futile attempts at self-improvement, the sadness that I am not yet perfect, the boasting about my victories in the vineyard, my sensitivity to criticism, and the lack of self-acceptance belie my profession of faith that Jesus is Lord - lip service from a shackled servant still in bondage to the insecurity that wears a thousand masks, still lacking the courage to risk all on him who is all, still thrashing about trying to fix myself, still struggling for that elusive achievement that will make me presentable to God... I resist the saving truth that I am lovable simply and solely because he loves me."

These words remind me that nothing I can say, do, or believe will change God's love toward me.  I can't, by hard work and discipline, earn any more of His love; I can't, through selfishness and wanton sin, dampen the strength of His affection for me.  God's perfect act of love was shown to us by Jesus on the cross; He waits only for us to accept it.  I pray that you would accept the love that God so graciously extends to you, and that you would be comforted by the knowledge that your own efforts won't change it.

As we enter the new year and prepare for the spring semester, please pray for the many exciting things coming up in the life of our FOCUS community:

- Pray for the Keep FOCUS Growing fundraiser.  We have raised over $40,000 and are still asking for your help to get to our goal of $55,000.  Please pray for us, and also please consider giving if you haven't already: anyfocus.org/next20

- Pray for Winter Camp.  This event is where many new students will catch the vision of what God is doing through FOCUS for the first time.  Pray that our students who haven't decided yet would choose to go, and pray that they would be prepared to experience God there.

- Pray for SMU.  We are planning our first outreach events at SMU this semester.  FOCUS has been blessed with a special opportunity to reach this campus, so please pray that we would connect with students who are ready to hear from God.

- Pray for leaders.  We are already thinking about which students will be ready to lead their peers next school year.  Please pray for wisdom for the FOCUS staff as we make decisions about whom to invite to SICM, our annual leadership training conference that prepares many of our future Corefas.

Thank you for your donations and prayers!  I wish you all the best in 2017.

Keep FOCUS Growing

I hope you are keeping warm on this blustery December day!  The students are anxiously studying for finals, the FOCUS staff are putting the finishing touches on our Christmas party preparations, and I am here to tell you about one of the most important things we ask you to participate in each year: the annual Keep FOCUS Growing Fund!

Each year around this time, we ask our students, alumni, donors, and friends of the community to make a special gift to the Keep FOCUS Growing fund.  The money we raised last year as part of Keep FOCUS Growing helped us bring on more staff to minister to students, purchase useful equipment to keep our office functioning efficiently, and pay for events like Pizza Theology to help students engage with their faith on a deeper level.  We couldn't do those things without your generous gifts.  THANK YOU!

This year, we hope to expand to another campus in the DFW area.  Check out this video to see more:

Would you consider making an investment to Keep FOCUS Growing? Please go to anyfocus.org/next20 to donate. 

Fall Fellowship

October is here, which means the students in FOCUS at UTA are making new friends, learning and growing together in Core, and getting ready for our annual Fall Camp!  Here are just a few of the exciting things God has been doing on our campus:

Core

Renee and I are co-leading a Core group this semester.  The beautiful ladies in the picture below (and a few more who have joined after we took that picture) gather together each Wednesday evening to share lives, pray and worship together, and learn about God through the Bible.

Our Core!

We believe in doing ministry through Core because it reflects the example set for us by Jesus.  He gathered around himself twelve men who were willing to spend time with him and learn from him.  When his time with them came to an end, he sent them out to go and make more disciples.  In FOCUS, we hope that the structure of a Core helps us to do the same thing.  The women in our Core are not just people I see once a week for an hour of Bible study.  They are my friends.  As I share my life with them this school year, I hope that we can grow together as disciples of Jesus.

Questions on Display

After the excitement of the first few weeks of school wears off, it can be hard to meet new people on campus.  In order to continue meeting people and building new relationships, FOCUS at UTA does outreach events called Questions on Display.  We set up a display in a heavily trafficked part of campus and ask people walking by to answer a question.  For those who seem interested, we initiate deeper conversations based on those questions.

This time around, we asked people, "What makes you afraid?"  Some of the answers people gave were silly (spiders, bees, dry skin), but some were deeper or more thoughtful (failure, losing a loved one, rejection).  I and the FOCUS students who came to help got to have encouraging conversations with many of the people who stopped and gave an answer.  I believe that God was honored through those conversations and that people got to hear the good news about Jesus!

Arlington Church

Arlington is an exciting city with a diverse, multicultural population, many famous sports and entertainment destinations, and a university that is growing rapidly and may soon become the largest in Texas.  As part of a larger community of churches around DFW, FOCUS has received tremendous support and help from those churches.  One of our goals, however, is that FOCUS at UTA would have a church in Arlington to support our students and welcome them into its ministries after graduation.  This past weekend we took the first step in that direction by meeting on a Sunday morning.  Check out who came in the photo below:

First meeting of Arlington Church

Please pray for the following needs:

- Fall Camp - Pray that students attending our upcoming Fall Camp would deepen their relationship with God during that time.

- Leaders - Pray that God would help us find and develop young men and women at UTA who are ready and willing to go and make disciples for Jesus.

- Arlington Church - Pray that we would be sensitive to the Spirit as we move forward with plans to establish a church in Arlington.

And please don't forget this upcoming event!  You are all invited:

WOW!

WOW!  It's Labor Day, and that means I and the rest of the UTA team are finally catching our breath.  We just finished the Maverick Stampede (two weeks jam-packed with welcome events, including the first day of classes and our first FOCUS meeting of the semester) and God has shown that He is working at this campus.  I wish I could tell you about all the amazing things I've seen and heard in the past couple of weeks, but I would have to write a novel!  I'll just give you a few highlights:

UTA Student Leaders ready to help with move in

Our UTA students have shown a tremendous enthusiasm and dedication for campus ministry this past month. They helped new students move into the dorms, invited them to play games and eat together, and some have already had the opportunity to share about their faith in Jesus!  FOCUS wouldn't function without student leaders who take on the responsibility of ministering to their peers, and I am in awe of the incredible young people who have chosen to take on that responsibility this year.

Cooling off with water balloon dodgeball on the second day of class

Much of our outreach during the first few weeks of school is making new friends and having fun together.  The other staff and our student leaders attended many dance parties, BBQs, and other campus events with the goal of meeting lots of new people.  We made connections, got phone numbers, and invited people into our community throughout the week.

Girls' Game Night

This year, I will be a Corefa again!  It's been a few years since I've had the chance to facilitate a Core, and I'm excited to see how God works in the girls who will be gathering together every Wednesday night.  Pictured above are the girls who came to a game night hosted by me and Renee (my Co-Fa).  I'm praying that they will come back this Wednesday night for our first Core and that they would be open to learning what God wants to teach them!

Our first Thursday Night Fellowship

Last Thursday, we celebrated our first Thursday Night Fellowship (TNF) of the semester.  Over 100 students packed into a meeting room in the University Center to worship Jesus together and hear preaching from the scripture!  Some of those students signed up for FOCUS at their orientation, some saw a poster or sign on the campus advertising our organization, but most were invited personally by someone who purposefully met and befriended them this week.  God worked through those one-on-one interactions to bring this group of students together in His name.  Please pray with me that these students would come back to TNF and join Cores so that we can continue to call them to become disciples of Jesus.

Finally, I would like to invite you to our 20 Year Celebration!  FOCUS has been making disciples on campuses around DFW for 20 years now, and I think that's worthy of a celebration!  If you are excited about the work God is doing on our campuses through FOCUS, please plan to join us on October 8 for this celebration!  And please let me know if you plan to come.

As always, thank you for your prayers and support!  I am so encouraged to know I have a team like you supporting FOCUS at UTA.

It's time to "Mav Up!"

Now that I live in Arlington, I get to see the roller coasters at Six Flags almost every day as I drive around town.  It reminds me of a perfect analogy for my work in ministry: at this point in August, I and my fellow campus ministers feel like we're sitting in a roller coaster car at the very top of the Titan, the ratcheting sounds below us have slowed, and we're about to plunge screaming with delight into loops, twists, and turns on a wild ride.  Summer is almost over, new students are about to arrive, and we're ready to hit the ground running and "Mav up"!  That's what we say here to show our school spirit because we're the UTA Mavericks!

"So what do campus ministers do all summer?"

If you've wondered that question, let me tell you the answer: a lot!

Evangelism displays on campus

UTA has surprised me with the number of students who are on campus over the summer!  There are crowds of new students attending orientations once or twice a week all summer.  We've met hundreds of those new students at the "Involvement Fair," which is the portion of orientation that gives students the chance to connect with existing organizations on campus.  Many of them signed up to receive more information about FOCUS, so we will be inviting them to join our Cores and Thursday Night Fellowship meetings that will begin soon.

There are also many current students on campus taking summer classes, working at part-time jobs in the library and University Center, or doing research in the lab through special summer programs.  Our team has organized outreach events, like the one pictured above, to engage these students in spiritual conversations.  The goal of these times isn't to convert someone to Christ in a single conversation; rather, it's to encourage people to start thinking about the big questions in life and let them know that we are available to help them work through those questions in the context of one-on-one relationships.

FOCUS Staff at our ordination ceremony

Summer is also an important time for our staff, which changes every year.  On August 1, we welcomed seven new apprentices to our team.  They made a commitment to serve alongside us for ten months as they develop the skills of campus ministry.  The biggest task by far in preparing them for the apprenticeship is fundraising.  With coaching and direction from myself and others on staff, they worked hard and asked many people to invest in the vision of FOCUS.  Some of them are still seeking supporters who will pledge to fund their apprenticeship this school year, so please continue to pray for our fundraising efforts.

Mav Stampede

"Mav Stampede" begins on August 22 when new students move into on-campus housing at UTA.  The University hosts all kinds of events for the students to welcome them to campus.  There are informative events about the various departments, events with games and movies, and a ton of free food.  Most importantly, tons of students will be out on campus and open to making new friends.  Our student leaders will take advantage of this opportunity to meet new people and make friends.  Those new people we meet at Mav Stampede events will become UTA FOCUS members, student leaders, and maybe even staff in the years to come.  If we are faithful with this opportunity, I believe God will work amazing things through us.  Please pray for our student leaders as we prepare them for Mav Stampede; pray that they (and we) would have relentless energy and a keen sense of where the Spirit is leading us during this vitally important time.

Please be in prayer for us as we get ready for the roller coaster of the new semester.  Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support!

Student Spotlight: Brooklynn

Brooklynn, sophomore at UTA

This is Brooklynn, a current UTA student.  I'd like to share with you how God has worked in her life (in her own words):

"I grew up with a single mom and was privileged to grow up in a Christian household. Leaving for school was a big step for me, and I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Coming into college I felt I had two options: I could go off, explore the party scene, and be rebellious in way that I never really have, or I could pursue my faith. During welcome week I met some of the student leaders in FOCUS; they really seemed to be interested in my life and pursued my friendship in a way that I wasn’t used to. I took that as my sign. Since then, my corefas and the other leaders in FOCUS have taught me, and displayed what living life with Jesus as a disciple looks like. Prior to college I was a Christian, but I wouldn’t say I was a disciple. Studying FOJ challenged me in that aspect. I have come to know how freeing it is to give my life completely over to God and let him set my priorities. Most of my favorite memories from my freshman year have centered around, or at least involved, the friends I have made in FOCUS. I have made deep, meaningful, Christ‐centered relationships that I wouldn’t have found, or known how to find without community. FOCUS has loved me in a way that I haven’t experienced outside of my family, and as an orientation leader, I want all of my freshman orientees to have that as well."

Brooklynn's story is exciting to me because she is one of the students I'll be working with at UTA this fall.  I've already gotten to meet up with her a few times.  She has a humble heart and a lot of love for God and His people.  I can't wait to see how God works through her to impact this campus!

Urgent Prayer Request:
Our staff and upcoming apprentices have less than one month to finish raising their financial support for the coming school year.  Please pray that God will provide financially so that all of us can continue to do the work He has called us to do.  It is only through the generous support of our donors that we are able to spend our time ministering to students and making disciples on our campuses.

Ways You Can Help:
- Pray!  I believe that God hears our prayers and wants us to ask for His help during this season of support-raising.
- Give.  If you are not a current financial supporter, would you consider becoming one?  Our upcoming apprentices need supporters who are willing to give monthly over the course of their 10-month apprenticeship that starts August 1.  If you are interested in supporting an apprentice or giving to the FOCUS General Fund, please contact me at kelly@anyfocus.org.
- If you already give to FOCUS, thank you!  Would you consider increasing your current support by 5%-10%?  Even a small increase can help us cover our full budget for the coming 2016-2017 school year.  If you would like to increase your current donation, please contact me at kelly@anyfocus.org.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support.  Let me know if you have questions about FOCUS at UTA or if there is any way I can be praying for you.  I love hearing from you!