Keep FOCUS Growing!

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

-Isaiah 9:6

NCTC Update

Every week we have "Conversation Hour" at NCTC. We discuss a topic, read scripture, play a game and get to know each other more. This is us at our last Conversation Hour for the semester. 

Of course, we have to do a silly picture!

Some of our NCTC students got together and made s'mores at a friends house. I had so much fun telling stories and laughing with them.

This is Josh and Troy, two of our NCTC students (being silly). As you can see our NCTC group also has a lot of fun together! Once a month we set out a board like this and pose a question for the students to respond to. This is a great way for us to get to know more students and to have a deeper conversation faster. In November we asked, "What are you thankful for and why?". 

Denton Christmas Party

Worship at our Christmas Party! 

Our Christmas party theme was "A Big Howdy Christmas". We had two stepping, country snacks, a relay race where you had to blow a tumbleweed, it was all things Texas! We had lots of fun!

This year for our annual FOCUS fundraiser we are looking ahead to the next 20 years. As a college ministry we are connected with several churches here in the DFW area. We have asked some families to share there hopes for FOCUS to keep growing in order for their kids to have a Godly community in college.

Aprile Thompson and her daughters are members of our church in Garland Texas. Here is what she said about her girls and her hopes for FOCUS to continue growing:

"As they make decisions about the direction of their lives, assuming college is in their path, I see FOCUS as a conduit that will help build and strengthen their foundation in God while continuing their education. I envision them growing into men and women who better understand themselves because they know and rely on God. And I want them around people who share this vision." - Aprile Thompson 

The Ganster family are members of our Garland Church as well. Here is what Shannon Ganster said about her kids and her hope for FOCUS to continue growing:

"I want FOCUS to keep growing over the #next20 years because I've witnessed the impact it has on college students in continuing their spiritual growth through college and adulthood. Not only will my girls have a way to grow closer to Christ, but they'll also have Godly friendships!" - Shannon Ganster

I encourage you to consider making a special donation to keep FOCUS growing and impact the next 20 years! 

Student Testimony 

This is Sammy he is a nursing major at Collin College. Here is his testimony on how God has impacted him through college ministry. 

"My name is Sammy and I am a freshman at Collin College. During this past summer I went through a dark stage of my life. After a rough break up I was left feeling depressed and alone. On July 27th the depression had become so bad that I attempted suicide, and I didn’t tell anyone about it.

A month later I heard about FOCUS through Matt at a Welcome Week event on campus, and after having a conversation he invited me to FOCUS. My core group and FOCUS helped me see I wasn’t alone; they showed me the love of Jesus and it drove me to become a Christian. I’ve learned how much Jesus loves people and how he cares for everyone. I’m closer to God than I have ever been before, and I feel loved in a safe community. God has changed my life through FOCUS!"

Prayers

Be praying for our students as they finish up the semester this week and next week. Pray for safety for them and that they are able to truly rest and come back ready for the next semester.

Be praying for Winter Camp. Next month we have our students from all 8 campuses come together for a few days before the semester starts back. We have a topic for the camp, worship and plenty of time for them to fellowship and be together. Pray that many of our students will attend and that the Spirit will unify us as a community during our time together.