David's March Ministry Update


Whoever would be great among you must be your servant,
and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,
and give his life as a ransom for many.
-Mark 10:43-45

Hello, friends!

    It's April, which means I get to look back and reflect on all that God's done in March. As I do, I cannot help but become so thankful for God's faithfulness and for the faithfulness of my ministry partners (you!). Sometimes the word faithful means full of faith, and other times it means dependable. I'm very blessed with to have a team that is full of people that are faithful in both senses of the word. Please continue to pray for my ministry often!

D-Class:

    I can't believe I don't have a picture for this one! Every Friday since the beginning of the semester, about 15-20 students have met together in a classroom on campus to experience, learn about, discuss, and live out the Gospel according to Mark. I have the pleasure of being one of its two teachers (the other being Renee, an exceptional teacher and woman of God). Preparing for D-Class is somewhat of a challenge but it's a blast and a blessing to read through the NIVAC on Mark, listen to an occasional relevant podcast, and reflect on the notes of a D-class on Mark led years ago by one of the Focus directors, Garrett. D-Class is contending for the top favorite spot among the aspects of my ministry. Last week, we finished Mark ch 10-11, focusing on the passages on divorce, the rich man, Jesus' entry on a donkey, and his cursing of the fig tree which maps onto his actions in the temple. A lot to wrestle with in just 2 hours!
    Oh, the D in D-Class stands for Discipleship.

Core:



 The pictures above are from a joint-core we did on thankfulness. The girls and guys groups met together, read an article from Christianity Today (the Thankful Exchange), discussed, then wrote thank-you cards. Unfortunately, Orion (the women's pastor at the Wylie campus) was sick that day so she couldn't enjoy the two groups' togetherness.


The guys' core (and my wife joined) finished an escape room in record time! This picture was taken directly after our success.

    Core at Wylie has been going really well! The guys' core changed somewhat significantly from last semester to now, after some of our guys moved on to the workforce and after we connected to a handful of interested students. The longer I minister at Collin, the more I feel how quickly students seem to move through the ministry. It both means that I get to meet a lot of students who are ready and open for change in their life and also that it can be tough as I get to know and love a student only to have them move on to the workforce or to another campus. Please pray for me that I don't build walls as I meet students, but rather solidly trust that God has me intersect with these students for a designated time to be faithful.
    Also, as always, please take a moment to pray for the Wylie Collin Campus and the students/faculty on it. 

Baby Update:


    In previous ministry updates, we announced that we were pregnant and sent a few of our first sonogram pictures. Today I get to share the gender: we're having a girl! As the students have told me, I'm now officially a #girldad. Look how she's sucking her thumb!

Student Testimony:







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