The Lord answered our prayers for SICM!
We took 112 committed young men and women for a week of training, and it's already paying off. I asked one young man from UTD halfway through the week how his SICM experience had been so far. He answered in one word: "Transformational."
Those students came back fired up and ready to serve. I've already had a handful of conversations with young men who want to step up and serve their peers as corefas at UTD this coming year. I know they will grow so much by making and keeping this commitment to consider not only their own interests, but also the interests of others (Phil 2:3-4). I'll spend a significant portion of my summer selecting and equipping our men's leadership team for the coming year. Please pray for wisdom for me as I make these pivotal decisions with my team.
Thank you for giving and praying to make this possible.
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| Our 2016 SICM crew! |
We wrapped up our 2015-16 internship program the week we got back from SICM.
Each of the 14 interns preached a sermon to a group of pastors about the biggest 3 lessons God has been teaching them through their internship. You would have been so encouraged to hear the diverse ways God moved in each of them! For each one, He did something unique in their heart, mind, and life even as He used them to do something unique in the hearts, minds, and lives of college students. As the years pass, I've become more and more convinced that investing in young people is one of the best investments we can ever make!
4 of those young ministers are joining our pastoral staff as campus missionaries moving forward. The others are going as missionaries into other careers and graduate school programs. I'm so excited to see how God uses each of them!
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| Richardson East Church of Christ has generously offered to host our Thursday night summer meetings for the students who are still in town. You are very welcome to join us any Thursday in June or July at 7:30pm. |
Expansion!
Over the past 6 years, FOCUS has expanded from 2 campuses to 9 campuses, and from a staff of 4 to a staff of nearly 30. I've had to change my schedule, my prayer life, my skill-set, and my character in order to effectively equip and train and disciple this many young ministers. But it has increased our impact tenfold!
Along with this expansion of mission, opportunity, and responsibility comes expansion in our budget. I raise not only my own personal support, but I also help raise money to help put younger staff on campus full-time. I'd like to raise $500 in additional monthly support this summer. Here are a few ways you can help:
1) If you are currently a monthly partner, help me reach this goal in one of two ways:
- Can you “phone a friend”? You partner financially in this mission because you believe in the incredible potential of reaching university students in DFW with the Gospel. Will you recruit one friend or family member to join our mission by matching your monthly gift?
- Can you increase your monthly support by 5-10%? Perhaps you haven't reevaluated your support in a few years, and even a small increase by a few of you could get me close to my goal!
2) If you are not currently a financial partner, consider joining my support team with a monthly or special gift. Signing on is easy! Go to anyfocus.org and click on “Donate”. Or you can email or call me to discuss what this might look like for you.
DFW has lots of churches, but very few people or churches are actively reaching out to the hundreds of thousands of college students who are right down the street from us. Through your prayers and giving, we've launched vibrant campus missions on 9 campuses so far, and together, we will do much more in the years to come! I'm excited to see how Jesus will use FOCUS to raise up a generation of committed disciples and leaders to His glory.
