Breath - November Ministry Update


I wish that all the LORD's people were prophets

and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!

-Moses, Num 11:29

For those who are led by the Spirit of God

are the children of God.

-Romans 8:14


Hello, my friends!

    November was a great month for ministry. It finally feels like the semester has smoothed out, like the chaos of any new thing is lessened. Of course, the semester is wrapping up to make way for another season of new things! Let's take a look back at some of the things God has been doing this month and praise him for it.

Core (Small Group):


    This picture was taken at our Core's Friendsgiving, where I had the best deviled eggs (made by Ryan, center) I've ever tasted! These are some of our goofiest guys, and I'm so thankful for how much they love each other and promote a Christ-centered community. Praise God! 
    Some things we've done in Core this month: read/discuss the entire book of James, discuss the Psalms and how we lament and praise, and (after separating the genders) read/discuss a convicting article on dating. I'm so thankful to get to see the guys and girls in Core growing in Christ. Thank you for your prayers for our Core! Please continue to pray that our non-Christians would accept Jesus and recognize him as Lord, and that everyone would be matured in him.

Pizza Theology:


    Every semester, FOCUS hosts a longer (this one was 4 hours) lecture-style teaching with a pizza break for discussion, called Pizza Theology. The purpose is to combat the fact that so many college students have an elementary-school understanding of Christianity, or the Bible, or faith, etc. This semester's Pizza Theo was over the broad topic, "How to Think like a Christian", which covered the main biases/hinderances and the main sources of knowledge/reason/wisdom for thinking, well, like a Christian. 

Peer Team:


    Peer Team is where the guy Corefas (small group "core" "fa"cilitators) meet once a week to be encouraged and trained by each other, by the FOCUS staff, and by the Spirit. In this picture, Jeremy and I make grilled cheese sandwiches for the rest of the team while donning our "Cheesy Man" and "Cheesy Boy" hat/glasses. Just another day in ministry with college students.
    In all seriousness, for me the Corefas have been a consistent source of continual praise to God over this semester. For each one on the team (6 students and 3 other staff members), I could talk about like a grandparent talks about a grandkid. But, Jeremy is in the picture so I'll just talk about him. He's completely sold out for Jesus in a way that not many other college students are. Though he works and is taking a full load of classes, he uses all his time to build up the community, to read the Bible with and serve others. He does all that without complaining, and while not neglecting his duties as a worker or student. He uses his God-given gifts of friendliness for God and not for self, and he seeks God's wisdom in the areas that most are unwilling to. What an amazing young man!

Outreach and Diversity:


    I and the other FOCUS apprentices at Collin organized an outreach event as a concluding final project to a class we had about evangelism. The event was called "A Taste of Culture", where we asked some students of different backgrounds to share how their culture has impacted their walk with the Lord, and others to share a dish that would represent their culture! Many new students said they were honored to feel heard for their differences rather than ignored. Awesome!

Keep Focus Growing:


    Thank you so much for all of you who gave to support this year's Keep Focus Growing initiative! Thanks to your generosity, we were able to meet our most ambitious goal yet. The Lord has been abundantly generous! 
    I also wanted to invite you to consider sponsoring a student to get to Winter Camp for this January. Winter camp is an amazing opportunity for students to develop deep connections with the broader FOCUS community as well as within their Cores. In previous years and with the help of some of the college's funds, Collin students have paid $50 to go to Winter Camp. This year, without the college's helpful funds, our students are paying $175. Would you sponsor (all or part of) a student's camp cost? If interested, please email me back! Once again, thank you so much.

Prayer For This Month/Student Story:




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