Impacting Students in the Summer

Summer Schedule and Opportunities 
For college ministry the summer is a change of pace from the rest of the year. Since many of our students are not in the area from mid May through most of August our model for approaching ministering to these students changes in some ways. Not all students move back home for the summer. So we have a few different ways of ministering to the students still in the area. One of the major things we do is a weekly fellowship for all 8 of our campuses. Every Thursday evening all of our students who are still in the area come for worship, fellowship and a lesson from one of our staff. This summer we are preaching out of the gospels and each pastor is sharing a parable or section from the gospels that has impacted them. Another opportunity we have for our students is called School of Ministry. This is a class that is open to any of our students. The topic for School of Ministry this year is How to read the bible for all its worth.

What do I do In the Summer?

The summer for college ministers becomes a great chance to, make goals, and organize for the coming school year. I meet with the rest of the staff at UNT, NCTC and TWU once a week. I also meet with all of our pastoral staff for each of our 8 campuses once a week. In those meetings we start talking about who our potential student leaders are, any goals we want to make for each of our campuses and general vision casting for the coming year. Outside of those meetings I will be meeting and talking with the students who have been corefas (student leaders, who lead small groups and 1:1 bible studies) this past year or who have expressed interest in it or we see the potential in. During the summer I also will be continuing to fundraise for the coming school year. I'll also get to give one of our Thursday night sermons!

Flying into Washington State

SICM 

Student Institute of Campus Ministry

SICM is our big yearly conference that we take our potential student leaders to. We had a great trip! We took around 115 students from the 8 of our campuses. SICM is in Bellingham Washington it is a week long conference put on by a college ministry there. The conference helps to train our students in leading a bible study group, studying the bible 1:1 with fellow students, developing their own personal devotion to God. I have plenty of pictures to share with you form this trip. We had two days out of the week to take our students to sight see in Seattle and we also went to plenty of beautiful parks for lunch and rest during the week. 

All of the students and staff on the last day of SICM

Every morning they lead us in some awesome worship. It was a great way to start each day. During these worship times we practiced many different ways to worship God. We had some reflective and journaling times, praying for each other and non-Christians,  and some creative elements with artwork.

This was during a class on "Inner Spiritual Life." During this class they talked about the importance of maintaining your own spiritual life with God.  I think this is a great lesson for all of us and especially college students. College students have so much on their plate and learning to be disciplined in a deep relationship with God is crucial so that they can be filled up with the Spirit and have life to give. 

Not in Texas anymore!

Some of our students were too adventurous

Sight seeing at Whatcom Falls 

Whatcom Falls

This is Ben and Jon. They are two of the students who came form NCTC  (North Central Texas College)

Seattle Skyline

Pikes Place, Seattle, Washington

Our UNT, TWU and NCTC Staff!

These are my three students from NCTC! Pita, Jon, and Ben. I'm so excited they got to go to SICM.  I can't wait to see how they impact the NCTC campus this Fall!

Ways to be praying!
Be praying for our students as they are back home, out traveling and taking summer classes. Pray that they still hear from God during this season and that they are brought back in the fall recharged.

Be praying as I work to raise my financial support for the coming school year.

If you haven't ever read our monthly student testimony you should! Every month we have a student write their testimony on how God has impacted them through college ministry. This month's testimony is by Mateo Massey, a freshman at UNT.
Student Testimony