Summer Fellowship

Summer FOCUS

Our students at our first Thursday night fellowship this summer!

During the summer all 9 of our campuses come together for a weekly fellowship. During the school year we have campus specific meetings, but since so many students are back home for the summer this allows all the campuses to meet together. This summer we are talking about deepening our relationship with God. We've talked about praying in the Spirit, growing in wisdom, understanding the depth of the Father's love for us and more. Our Collin College pastor Garrett Davis talked about praying in the Spirit and something he said that really stuck with me was, "Why do we so badly want an audible voice from God when He has direct access to our hearts, minds, emotions and souls". I think this is a profound thought for myself and our students. I've talked with many students who struggle to hear from God, but in many ways have limited how He will communicate to them. They expect a clear audible voice, but miss him speaking to them through their thoughts and emotions. It's such an awesome reality that the God who created the universe lives within us and can speak through us.

Summer Travels 

We did a Segway tour of Nashville, it was very cool! I had never ridden a Segway before, thankfully I didn't crash! It was a fun way to see Nashville. We're pretty good tourists. :)

One of the great parts of the summer in Campus Ministry is being able to take time to visit my family. This last month I went with my parents to visit my brother Lane in Nashville. He just moved there about 4 months ago and we hadn't seen him since he moved. It was great to see him and spend time with him! It was me and my parents first time to visit Nashville, so we hit up all the good restaurants and attractions. It was a lot of fun to have the four of us together.

Student Testimony

The student testimony this month is from Ismael Garza. Ismael is a UNT student and was one of our Corefas this past year. He's been a great servant to our community though helping us lead a small group and regularly playing drums at our Friday night fellowship. 

"Growing up, I knew there was a God, but I viewed church as a place for people who were “good”, and I did not fit the bill. As a result, I was guarded in my friendships and viewed vulnerability with people as a weakness. Entering college, I suffered from severe depression because of the college drinking culture and a very unhealthy relationship, which ultimately led me to taking a year off of school. During that year I decided to work at a penitentiary to make ends meet. In prison, you fight for respect daily and often look behind your back in case you’d stepped on someone's toes and forgot. This is true for both for the inmates and the officers. As an officer, I learned a lot about the harsh reality of life but I also learned about the consistent presence of God. Once I went into a dorm full of inmates and had to settle down an altercation. One of the inmates said to me, “This is our home, and you only leave at the end of the day because we let you.” At nineteen years old I had seen and felt pain that most people my age would not experience for a long time, if ever. Those experiences only brought me closer to God. During that year one of my peers and friends from FOCUS, Kurt Doty, never lost touch with me and checked up on me regularly. I find it funny that when I had real questions to ask about faith and religion, God provided me a friend who could help me. God has always met me where I was, and although I could not see it until I started searching, I think the patience in the people God has blessed me with has truly exhibited what the Church is meant to be."
Ismael Garza (Senior, University of North Texas, Music Education)

Prayer

Be praying as we select our student leaders for next year. This is a lengthy process and something we take lots of care in. We ask our students to volunteer in leading small groups and studying the bible with other students. We interview our students in the summer and take time to pray about who to put on the student leader team. At UNT, TWU and NCTC we usually have around 40 student leaders. Pray that our staff and students would have discernment in what is best for these students.