A Tough Season

This past Saturday my mom died and went to be with the Lord after a nearly decade long battle with cancer. I got to spend a considerable amount of time with her and my dad in her final weeks. As someone who lives life around young people, I don't encounter death very often. I remember talking a few years ago with one of my old small group guys who was an assistant pastor at his church. He was sharing how he had officiated many funerals but never a wedding, and I, not surprisingly, was (and still am) the opposite. It has been a chance to see in my own heart and prayers how confident I truly am in the hope that we have in Jesus. As Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church, "Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope." This is the hope we are spreading on campus, and it is exciting to see more and more young people embracing the Lord, as my mom did when she was young. Her example of lifelong faithfulness, especially as someone who worked with FOCUS over many years, has spoken loudly to these young people. THANK YOU to the many of you who have prayed for our family during this tough season. We have been well loved!

Keep FOCUS Growing

This annual fundraiser helps cover a bunch of background expenses in addition to setting aside funds for future growth. Many years ago, the Lord clearly laid on our hearts the commission to build campus ministries at every campus in DFW, including the community colleges. Few others are trying to reach community colleges anywhere in the US, even though somewhere around 40% of undergraduates attend them. We've had ministries at some campuses for years, but these campuses are harder for a bunch of reasons--quick turnover of the brightest students, challenges to funding, little to no on-campus life, etc. I told our campus directors recently that I believe the Lord has assignments for us beyond DFW, but we have to complete our first assignment first. For next year, I'm starting to build a team of some of our brightest, boldest, and most creative young people to pioneer on multiple community college campuses, and to do a lot of learning and experimenting. I'm hoping this week to raise funds to support those ministers and give them a strong budget for reaching new students in new places! If you can give $5 (or $5000!) it will be matched by pledges from other donors at anyfocus.org/kfg2025.

So funny story: I had been trying to set up time for months with Andrew Lewis, one of my core guys circa 2006, who I hadn't seen in many years. In October, as Sarah and I were standing taking pics beneath the Eiffel Tower, I got a text from him asking if I was in France! He just walked by me on the street and saw me! So We got to meet for breakfast at a little cafe, get to know each other's wives, and catch up. What a sweet surprise and blessing!

Student Testimony