Hey everyone!! I hope this update meets you well! Thank you so much for taking the time to read through this, supporting me on this journey of showing the love of God to college students! I wanted to walk you through what a typical week looks like with campus ministry at Richland!  Monday Night Leader Meetings Each week, we meet with a select group of students - about 10 in total! - to train them up as leaders in our ministry. Some weeks we have everyone together - the 10 students and us for staff, while other weeks we split up by gender (the picture above is from our last Ladies Leader Meeting!).  What I love about FOCUS as a ministry is it's value of leadership development. As a UNT student, I attended leader meetings like this and got to lead small groups for 3 years while still in college. The FOCUS staff empowers students to live out 1 Timothy 4:12 - "Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in lo

Here is the large group photo of all of the FOCUS ministries across the DFW metroplex. It was taken at Winter Retreat last month! Hey everyone!! Thank you for taking the time to check in on how ministry this past month has been! It has been full of fun and meaningful moments. Here's a few of them: Pizza Theology This is an event that we put on every semester to dig deeper into an aspect of our faith. It is 4 hours of lectures from various speakers with an hour of pizza in the middle! Considering it is a 5 hour commitment on a Sunday evening (which is prime homework time for college students!), it is always so encouraging to see how many students show up! Check out some of the photos:   This year's topic for Pizza Theology was learning about The Bible! Various of the FOCUS staff discussed Bible translations, how/why certain books were canonized, what it means that the Bible is inspired, and how to practically approach reading scripture. Several students said it was their first t

  Hey everyone!  Every January, FOCUS holds a 4-day Winter Retreat - a weekend of very little sleep, lots of board games and sports, lively worship, and meaningful sermons. All of the FOCUS campuses in the metroplex join together for this event. This year, there were over 600 people present! There is nothing like long car rides, a change of scenary, and a little snow to bond people together! This frigid weekend was full of fun, deep conversations and life-changing moments. The guest speaker, Dr. Daniel Lee from Fuller Semenary spent the weekend talking about the grace of God, centering in on the the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. He talked a lot about how we, like the older son in the parable, often live as spiritual orphans, not realizing that we have a heavenly Father who says all that He has is ours. Through his messages, there was a deep realization on the shocking extent of the goodness of God and His tremendous love toward us.  Some of the highlights from Winter Retreat:

Happy New Year!! 2024 is here! I hope this holiday season you have been able to find peace and rest, reflecting on the arrival of our Savior - Emmanuel. December marks the end of my first semester being a minister at Dallas College! As I reflect on this semester, I am astonished at all that God has done. Before my eyes, I have seen the students in our ministry mature in their faith and grow in love for God and each other. Several of them have faced challenges, but have persevered and sought to remain steadfast through it all. I am so proud of them and thankful to God! As a first-year minister / pastoral apprentice, I have often found myself (metaphorically) waddling around in shoes a few sizes too big for me. I have been given the task to shepherd students toward God, to be a peacemaker in our community when conflict arises, to speak truth even when it is difficult to say, and to care for the various spiritual, emotional, and physical needs that come up. At the age of 23, I feel so you

Hey friends and family! Thank you guys for supporting me on this journey thus far! It has been quite the adventure!  Each day brings new opportunities for learning and growth; in a vocation as relationally-based as this, it is nearly impossible to be complacent or stagnant. So many moments across the table with a student has led me to recognize my own insufficiency and need to turn to God. They ask questions that feel unanswerable and present situations that are not so black-and-white. I am grateful for their hunger for truth and dissatisfaction with easy answers; so many students are seeking God with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength . I am regularly encouraged and challenged by their earnest pursuits. I currently have the privilege of facilitating a one-on-one Bible study with 9 girls as well as two small group studies. Though each student's story is different, many have chosen to establish roots in God's love. I am so grateful to be walking with them as they explo

  Hey guys!  I hope you this update meets you well!  Thank you, thank you, thank you for supporting me in countless ways and enabling me to be on the college campus ministering to these students. It has been such a joy-filled experience so far! The nature of college ministry lends itself to being such a fun, vibrant, and exciting atmosphere. As college ministers, we have the privilege of being part of shaping the college experience of the students. Many of these students were expecting to simply "make it through" their time at community college (just doing what it takes to get to class and pass their exams), but we have been able to offer them another path to consider: to have memorable, meaningful college years through forming life-long, Jesus-centered friendships and exploring their faith in deeper ways.  With this, our staff team has thought creatively about how to be purposeful with the time we have with students. In addition to our ongoing Bible studies and Wednesday ni