Praying for the new semester

Our staff have started back after being on a break for a few weeks. We started our first week back together on a retreat in Burnet Texas. We start each semester on a retreat together in order to build our team through spending time with each other. On our retreat we discussed the call to suffering as a Christian. This is not often the call we want as Christians, but it is the example that the one we follow has shown us. My prayer is that I can be obedient to what God is calling me to, know matter the sacrifice. In what ways are you being called to be more like Jesus through suffering?

I'm excited for this coming semester! I'm excited to see how the Lord continues to grow and mature our Denton ministry. Here are some ways you can be praying...

• Winter Camp: Our yearly Winter Camp is in two weeks! Pray that all of our students would attend and that it would be a meaningful weekend that grows them spiritually. 

This was taken at our Winter Camp a few years ago. We will be at the same location this year in Van Texas. 

• Outreach: We have been doing even more outreach this last semester and plan to continue with that. We have been doing seminars, events, advertising, worship gatherings and other fun stuff to meet and engage our campuses. Pray that the efforts we put into reaching out to our campus would be fruitful and that more would know Jesus. 

This is one of the outreach seminars that we did. We discussed Science and Faith. 

• Denton Staff Team: Pray that we would continue to grow as a group, communicate well and be aware of what the Spirit is prompting us to do. 

This is our staff team out having fun at a trampoline park this last semester.

• Student Leaders: Pray for strength in our student leaders, that they wouldn't get tired or burnt out in their second semester. Pray that they come back front the break refreshed by the Spirit and ready to share the good news with fellow students. 

This is our student leader team at our first meeting last semester. 

Student Testimony

"Growing up, all the Christians I knew evaluated my faith based on my behavior or Bible knowledge. Because of those expectations, I was obsessed with appearing put together, and I didn’t believe God was good because that goodness wasn’t reflected in the Christians around me. To me, God’s love was based on performance, and I could never reach God’s level of perfection. Angry at God for putting those standards on me, I wondered if he was worth following and told him I was done with seeking him; if he wanted me, he’d have to chase me down himself.

My freshman year, I joined FOCUS reluctantly but quickly realized that this community was different. I dredged up all my complaints about God and Christians to my Corefas, expecting to be criticized, but they joined me in my spiritual journey instead. Through Core and studying “FOCUS On Jesus”, I had the opportunity to be vulnerable about my struggles, and my Corefas didn’t hesitate to ask hard questions. I saw God’s goodness through the community in FOCUS and realized that God is indeed good. I can trust Him as I work through my hard questions and doubts with the awesome people he’s placed in my life. Through FOCUS, I’ve been challenged to follow Jesus more and more, and I can disciple others to do the same."

Timothy Shyu Sophomore, UTD Biology and Healthcare Management