The Past Two Days

The last week of March, we hosted 20 students and interns from Washington State for SSI (I'm not actually sure what that stands for--some mix of student, spring, strategic, impact, initiative, etc :).  It was an amazing week but was covered well in other staff updates. To get an idea of what you would have seen our students doing every day on campus, you can read Laurence's blog about it.

Last night we had a great event called Banquet on the Bayou, which is a fundraiser for our annual SICM leadership training.  SICM costs each student who goes around $800, and this fundraiser is for those who can't afford that.  We also use this as an opportunity for our interns to learn how to plan large events.  It was so great!  For those who couldn't be a part of it, you would have loved hearing students from our various ministries performing, many of the songs written by the students!  We raised over $6000 to help about 16 of the 68 students going to SICM.  If you'd like to help scholarship a student for SICM, let me know!

The interns made everything look amazing.  So elegant!

One of the many unique bands that played.  This one is made up of Collin students.

After the event, one of our UTD girls was baptized.  It was such a sweet moment. Nikki didn't know Christ coming into the year as a Muslim, but He has made such an impact on her.  I wish you could have seen her tears up close when she shared about the spiritual family He has given her.  Hopefully some of that comes through on the video!

And at our UTD Friday night meeting this week, Sarah Hubbard, one of the students, got up and read a poem she wrote about discipleship that really ministered to me:

OUR CROSS
It seems so impossible to carry- weighing me down, having become so unbearably heavy
Just keep moving-please just a few more steps
But it's too hard-there's too much sacrifice and pain
That right nows becomes more important than all there is to gain
I can't breathe- it's choking me
I can't think-it's consuming me,
Why was I unable to conceive
How incredibly difficult this decision would be?
I should've realize when I first began considering the continual command
For us to pick up His cross
And give up everything else as loss
but instead I reduced this ,
Devaluing our part in the relationship
To some symbol on the wall
Until I thought only he had to be humbled and fall
For our soul to be saved
Completely missing the gift of his grace
See he didn't die to just cover our sins
But to start us on a journey of redemption
With a promise of us ending in completion
So I'll keep on walking- ignoring the worlds stares
As I continue struggling in my effort to bare
This wooden plank digging into my back
As the enemy watches closing in for the attack
 I've finally begun to count the incredible cost
To be among the found instead of the lost

This is all from two days of campus ministry--I could tell so many more stories from the past month.  It's all so encouraging, exciting, and inspiring.  I'm amazed that this is what I get to do with my life.  Thank YOU for making it possible, with your prayers and your financial investments and all the other ways you support me and God's mission to these campuses.  Our partnership is helping make the Kingdom vision a reality!

More Interns!

Back in October, our leaders heard a talk from Oscar Muriu that was given at the 2013 Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit.  Muriu leads a church planting church in Nairobi, Kenya, with a vision to plant churches on every inhabited continent.

He shared 5 key convictions:

Conviction #1 -- The size of the harvest depends on how many leaders you have. (Matt 9:37-38)
He said, "The impact of my life will depend, not on how hard I worked, but on how many leaders I raised up."
Conviction #2 -- Live for the next generation. (Psalm 71:18)
Conviction #3 -- Identify the budding leaders around you and take them to God in prayer. (Numbers 11:10-17)
Conviction #4 -- Instill the 5 loves into your budding leaders. (Mark 12:30-33--Loving God with heart, mind, soul, and strength, and loving your neighbor)
Conviction #5 -- Never do ministry alone. Always have budding leaders around you. (Acts 4:13)

I can't think of a better way to capture the drive behind the FOCUS Internship.  If we are going to plant vibrant Christian communities on every campus in the DFW area (not to mention that UTD alone could easily use 50 more full-time Christian missionaries), and also send out well-equipped, pastorally-minded men and women leaders into the church-at-large, it's imperative that we continually invest in young leaders, giving them extra time to study, think, experience, and minister.  Sometimes I'll have students ask if there is a cap on how many student leaders we need.  The answer is a loud "NO!"  There are over a hundred thousand students just on our few campuses, and we need as many qualified leaders as we can get.

It's out of that conviction that we have recently accepted 9 young disciples into our internship for the 2014-2015 school year.  They are an outstanding bunch, and I'll be introducing them further in the coming months.  We also have three of this year's interns returning for a second, more focused year of internship exploring campus ministry as a career, and two of this year's interns joining our longterm staff.

I know that sounds like a lot of people!  But we are confident that we can give each and every one a great experience, and that they will produce lasting fruit in the lives of college students on these campuses.  They have already proven themselves to be discerning, fruitful leaders.  I'd ask you to start asking God to provide the money to make it happen.  He always has, and I'm confident He will again!

I also wanted to share with you an anonymous letter that came in the UTD student offering last week.

My thanks to you, for helping make this possible for students like that one, through your friendship and prayers and financial support.  This is truly a team effort!

P.S.  I was invited to two UTD student baptisms this month.  I've included videos below if you'd like to watch them!

A Great Winter Camp and Saying Goodbye

We had an outstanding time at Winter Camp over the extended MLK weekend.  Brady Bobbink came down from Bellingham, WA, to share with our students about the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives and community.  You would have loved watching the students worshipping, playing, listening, and serving over the weekend.  The very first night they had a cheering competition for each of the 6 schools represented...except the competition was to see which school the other five could cheer for the loudest!  So our smallest groups, working hard to see God's kingdom take root in new places, got the loudest cheers.  It brought to mind Romans 12:10, "Honor one another above yourselves." Throughout the weekend, students boldly stepped in front of the community to minister, not from their strength and preparation, but from their weakness and fear, and the Spirit moved powerfully.

The UTD students whooshing.  Altogether around 430 people were at camp.

Brady shared so many powerful truths and challenging thoughts about the Spirit, what it means to be a Spirit-filled person, and what it looks like to love one another with Spirit-given gifts.  I can't even begin to capture all of those here, but if you're interested, you can find his talks here.  But on Saturday morning, he asked the question, "Why do revolutions fail?"

As someone committed to revival, renewal, reformation, and kingdom revolution, I leaned forward to hear what answer he would put forward.  He proposed two reasons:
1. "They fail to grasp how long it's going to take."  We all like the idea of quick, easy, cheap, painless change.  We balk at the reality of staying in the process, paying the price, and making the necessary sacrifices.  Even if Jesus' followers thought His mission was nearly done when He came back from the dead ("Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"- Acts 1:6), He knew that they would need His continued power and presence through the Holy Spirit to take the mission to "the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
2.  "They don't equip and train their followers effectively."  This is what Jesus spent all His time doing, and it's what we spend all our time doing in campus ministry.  Raising up leaders who can raise up leaders is the key to seeing this through.

I hope you'll reflect on these two pitfalls in your own life and ministry.  Change is hard, and sustained change is even harder.  My prayer is that our partnership would produce lasting change for good in you, in me, on these campuses, and in the lives of thousands of students in the years to come.

One last note: one of the hardest parts of campus ministry is consistently saying goodbye to students as they graduate and move away.  I got a letter from an Indian international student who graduated from UTD in December and is moving away for a job this week. I wanted to share a few encouraging lines with you. "It's amazing how God works with different people. I guess I had to learn a lot about faith in a foreign country. When I chose UTD I really didn't think it would have a significant impact on my spiritual growth. I guess I was wrong... I will always be grateful for this community and the friends I have here. It has been a great two and half years." Thanks for helping make this kind of impact possible--it's repeated over and over each semester on these campuses.

Saying goodbye at Ignateus' going away party.

Please Pray for Richland College!

Over the past few years, I've had the privilege of working with Travis Jones, a great friend an co-worker in the kingdom.  We led a small group together when he was a student.  He came through the FOCUS Internship and then stepped up to the most difficult ministry assignment we have--Richland College.  When we sent Travis over there, we didn't know any college students there.  He just walked on campus and started meeting people.  He's done an amazing job planting a ministry, leading people to Jesus, and building leaders there, but this year has been a little discouraging as some of his best leaders are moving on to lead in our university ministries (great for us, but sad for Travis).

Travis is one of my favorite people!

Richland is one of the Dallas Community Colleges, not out in the suburbs. Many of the students don't have cars and there's no on campus housing. Most of them need jobs on top of their classes to get by. But there are over 15,000 students on that campus, and God is seeking after each and every one of them. He has big plans for them, and we want to take part!

Richland has a beautiful campus with a brook running through the middle.

What could be more intimidating than a Thunderduck!?

So I want to ask you to pray for Richland. God has been faithful in answering our prayers so far, and we want to get a lot more people praying for the Spirit to move in power on this campus--that it will be a place where people come to know Jesus as Lord and are sent out on mission for Him in their families, careers, and further schooling.

I asked Travis to detail what kinds of prayers he'd like us to pray, and I've included his response below. I hope each of you can join me in prayer.

Dear Friends,

I live to see the hearts and minds of college students turned toward Christ. Having a Christian community in college really deepened and cemented my shallow faith in God and changed my life forever. I want nothing more than to do the same for others, especially to bring Christ to those who don’t know Him. Starting a campus ministry at Richland College has probably been the most difficult thing I’ve done in my life. We’ve been on campus for over three years now, and it is still an uphill battle. We’ve won many victories along the way, and they have all been very hard fought. This semester has really reminded me how strong a grip Satan still has on that campus--Richland is still very closed off to the good news of Jesus.

I want to look back and see this semester as a huge turning point for the Kingdom at Richland. To that end, I am renewing and redoubling my efforts in prayer, and I’m inviting you to join me!  If you have a heart for college students, please pray for God’s purposes to be accomplished at Richland College.

There are two key things I’d invite you to pray:

1.     For an end to student apathy.  Many students at Richland don’t care about much of anything. One of my student leaders asked a fellow student what accomplishments he was proud of. He couldn’t think of a single thing! When asked by my student leader “aren’t you proud of getting into college?,” he just answered “I guess so.” A lot of the students don’t have many goals; they just float through life. It’s very hard to reach out to a student body that just doesn’t care.  Pray for God to grow passion among the student body.

2.     For the administration and faculty.  The administration still proves to be a large barrier to building vibrant Christian community on campus. Rules, regulations, and red tape staunch the growth, not only of Christian community, but of any sort of student community.  Pray for wisdom for the administrators, openness to change, for the Christian ministries to gain favor among campus leaders, and for faculty and staff to come to know Jesus through our work.

Will you join me in praying for the Focus student ministry at Richland College?  I know He can do even more than we ask or imagine.

Yours in Christ,

Travis Jones

It's Winter Camp Time!

One of the most important events of our calendar year is our annual Winter Camp.  It falls at just the right time--far enough into the year that we can get new students to come spend three days with us, but early enough to help build momentum for a great spring semester.  This year we'll be heading to Sky Ranch in Van, TX, from January 17-20.

Here are some things you can do to bless this camp:
1.  Pray for all of our students to attend!  The ones who need it the most are often the hardest to get to come.  Pray for wisdom and boldness for our student leaders as they talk to each person in their cores about signing up.
2.  Help scholarship a student who can't afford to come on their own.  A full scholarship is $135, but even $5 helps.  Most students will pay at least some of the cost, but we don't ever want to leave a student home because of money. You can give at anyfocus.org/wcscholarship.
3.  Pray for our speakers.  Brady Bobbink, from CCF up in Bellingham (where we go to SICM), is our special guest speaker.  He's talking about "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Freedom."  Some of the FOCUS staff will also be sharing at key points throughout the weekend.  We serve a God who reveals himself through words and as the Word, so we know the spoken word is powerful.  I'm praying that students will have encounters with God that weekend.
4.  Come out for a session and see what Winter Camp is all about.  If you're in the DFW area, Sky Ranch isn't too far a drive. We'll have sessions each evening and morning from Friday night to Monday morning.  Contact me or Debbie for more details.

In other travel related notes, Matt Clark (our UNT Campus Minister) and I were able to travel to New York City for a few days before Christmas to visit his sister.  We also got to have dinner with an amazing FOCUS alumnus, Christian Sommerhalder, who is in med school up there.  It's great to see our alumni being salt and light all over the nation.

Christian and his girlfriend, Savannah.  She's great!

We had a blast on our very cold visit to the Statue of Liberty.  Matt is such an amazing friend and co-worker in the Kingdom.

Thank you so much for your ongoing love and prayers and support. Spring is when we work to harvest a lot of what was planted in the fall.  I'm praying the God of the harvest will send out lots more workers in 2014!

Nikki's Story & Thanksgiving

At our Thanksgiving dinner last week, my family had the opportunity to host one of the new FOCUS students from UTD, Nikki.  She's seeking and learning and studying Jesus, and she's been great to have around this year.  At our Thanksgiving dinner she shared that FOCUS and learning about being a Christian are the things she's most thankful for from the past year.  Here's a little of her spiritual story:

Four months ago I moved to Dallas, taking the biggest gamble of my life at the time to pursue my passion, a bachelor’s degree in software engineering. I packed whatever I could fit in my car and left San Antonio, completely oblivious to another passion God had decided it was time for me to chase after--Him. Once I made it here, I met a group of women who befriended me no questions asked. At the time I was a religion hopper, jumping from Buddhist, Baptist, Atheist, Catholic, and settling on Islam. I was just trying to find my place and home knowing I had always believed in a higher power.  Through one of these women however, Christ challenged me to see which road I would take so I chose the one less traveled. This woman convinced me to go to FOCUS and after a few times I was challenged once more by her to do FOCUS on Jesus, so I agreed. I was so angry with her after the first day because this woman dared to challenge me and my beliefs, and after that day I planned on never returning. I wrote in my journal to God asking why He would be so cruel and allow this to happen and I asked God to show me a world divided and within that world where He wanted me to be. A few weeks later, still going to FOCUS and doing FOCUS on Jesus, I waited patiently for his sign. Then God gave me, Marwa, a woman I helped one night with programing homework in the computer lab. Again, Christ challenged me when she asked me what kind of Muslim I was. I couldn’t give her an answer because there was just so much more I had yet to learn. Raised Muslim, Marwa found Christ later on in her adult life and unbiasedly she showed me the good and bad sides of Islam, she also told me she would pray to God for me. I wrote in my journal again that night about a world divided and later realized that this was what I had asked God for. This was His answer to me, to become Christian. I was a woman who felt as if something was always missing and through FOCUS not only did I find friends, a family that I love unconditionally, but I also spiritually have grown because of every single person in FOCUS. I am happier now than I ever remember being before I moved. FOCUS has given something so precious, a priceless gift that will forever be one of the greatest I will ever receive in this life - helping me to find Christ. 

Nikki!

Nikki at the beginning of the semester with some other FOCUS students.  Rachel, to the right of Nikki, is the one studying the Bible with her.

With Thanksgiving last week, I just want to say how thankful I am to each of you and the many ways you support me in ministry and life.  Thank you to all of the financial supporters who invest in the vision of vibrant Jesus-communities on every campus, and are willing to partner with missionaries to make it happen.  Thank you to those who support with advice, support, friendship, and encouragement.  Thank you to all those who helped lay the groundwork for these campus communities during your own time in college.  Thank you to those who mentor or have mentored our current generation of student leaders--your fruit is growing!  This is truly a team effort--thank you for being a part of the team.

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God's service." - Paul, 1 Corinthians 3:6-9

A couple of cool stories

We had our UTD ministry Park Day a little over a week ago.  Because our first date on a Saturday was rained out, we decided to have Park Day in lieu of our regular Friday Night Fellowship on campus. I wish you could have watched firsthand as lots and lots of students came out, played games, ate dinner, and stayed for a devotional.  People new to our community formed new relationships and got to see how a Christian community plays and has fun.  At the devotional you would have heard 4 students share about how Jesus has impacted them through this community over the past few years.

One of the guys shared about how he came in not knowing what to expect, but that he simply said "yes" whenever he was invited to something ( like small group, one-on-one study, the SICM training) and was open to what God wanted to do in his life.  He shared how God used those simple things to change him and prepare him for ministry.  Then he challenged the freshmen to say "yes" and be open.  That's a message for each of us, no matter how far along in our spiritual journey.  When God invites, say "yes" and be open!

We also had a girl in grad school and a guy who is a junior share, and they both shared about the same person making an impact on them--Christa Smith (formerly Kenyon) who graduated years ago.  I love how in the kingdom simple things that we do can continue to bear fruit for years to come.  Jesus loves the imagery of seeds that start tiny and grow into huge things!  Both of those students have been deeply impacted by Christa's invitation in their life, but it wasn't immediate.  I encourage you to "not become weary in doing good" (Gal 6:9), because God's harvest comes in the right time (Mark 4:26-29).

I would have included an incredibly sporty picture of me, but I didn't want to outshine the students.

You can't see the majority of the group, but we had a great time of worship and sharing outside.

One more story: this past Friday night one of the Sociology professors at UTD came to our Friday Night meeting to share with the students about the ongoing impact Jesus has on her life.  You would have been so encouraged to hear her share!  Most challenging to me were her comments about the times in life when God has led her to do really hard things--getting her PhD, her first job as a professor, etc.  She shared that when she feels overwhelmed and incapable, she goes back to the question, "Is this what God wants me to be doing?"  If the answer is "yes," then she knows she can finish what He sent her to do.  I hope you find that encouraging too and remember it in those moments when you think your strength has run out.

One of our student's favorite professors sharing her testimony at FOCUS!

Thank you for investing in me, in these students, and in a Kingdom vision for this campus.  You're making an impact, and it's only growing!

PS:  One great thing about having a larger staff at UTD this year is that I've had more time to invest in teaching.  I've been working my way through a commentary on Mark's Gospel from the NIV Application Commentary series to help me prepare for a weekly Discipleship Class (or "D Class") on campus at UTD.  This book is awesome!  I thought it would be just a reference book to help me write curriculum, but it has taken me deeper into the scripture and is challenging me so much as someone striving to follow Jesus.  I highly recommend it if you're looking for something to read and want to understand Jesus more.  It goes beyond explaining the text and gives insight into how it should shape our lives as Christians, both individually and collectively.