A Great End to the Semester

The students are officially finished for the semester and off for the winter break. Despite all of what 2020 has brought, this semester has seriously been such a good one. God came through in so many ways this year and I'm just so amazed. Let me just run through some of the cool stuff that He's done in the last couple months. He not only kept Denton FOCUS alive and well, but we actually grew this year. He has enabled us to start a bunch of new initiatives that we wouldn't have normally thought of that are blessing our students so much. With our new ministry model for this year He enabled us to have more of our ministry in 1x1 Bible study and discipleship than ever before. He has put the Word on our students hearts and more are in scripture daily than we've seen in years past. And for our annual Keep FOCUS Growing fundraiser we raised more money than we've ever raised before, during the middle of a pandemic. God is so so good. I know there is a lot of tough stuff with 2020, but God is working in big ways, we've just got to look.

What peer team becomes when it's below 50

    I think one of the most meaningful things I could do for this final blog of the semester would be to talk about how I've seen the guys I get to meet with grow this semester. It's even more proof of God's work this year. So here is a quick run through:

Ryan: When he started this year there was still a pretty large temptation in his life to seek after worldly pleasures, but over the course of this semester I've seen him go from that to not even having a desire for those things anymore. He's grown so much as a leader and has been making strides in being more in tune with what the Lord is teaching Him.

Quincy: He's made so much progress in becoming a person who is full of grace. He's had some rough situations with people come up this year and he has handled them so well and has been growing in showing grace and mercy in many different circumstances. 

Hunter: I think Hunter would say the biggest thing for him this year has been learning to be a river and not a flood. This dude loves Jesus so much, but that can easily overwhelm people when he isn't careful about how he communicates it. So this year he has been growing in being more like a river, having the same passion, but just directed better so that it's a source of life and not a source of unnecessary conflict.

Anthony: I've seen major growth in Anthony in the field of mental health. Both his own, and how he thinks about others. Psychology is a very tempting idol for a lot of us, and Anthony has been growing so much in having his focus be on Jesus and using psychology when it is healthy and godly, not when its popular.

Alex: Gosh this guy has stepped up this year. I've seen him growing in confidence, in boldness, in ministering to his guys, and in so many more ways. He's really gone through a whole worldview flip in the last year and it's been so incredible to watch God work there.

Collin: He was always a good minister to the guys in his Core, but now I think he's learning a lot about how to minister upwards. How to minister to those that used to minister to him, and how to expand his circle of ownership in his life.

Philip: I think patience is the main way I've seen Philip grow this year. Like Quincy he's faced some tough situations, but he's handled them with such grace and patience and it really has been so neat to see him walk with these friends through tough stuff.

Sterling: This guy has been processing a lot this year. I think one of the biggest things would be growing out of making a law out of everything. He's a dude that wants a clear cut answer and wants to have everything perfectly aligned. This year has certainly stretched him in that, but he's grown so much through that. He's learning to respond to the Spirit and to the Lord's desires and not settle for easy and rigid answers.

Aaron: I want to say his would be grace to. I think this year has been a trying time for a lot of us, and Aaron has had his fair share. He's been growing so much in showing mercy to those around him. He's also just stepping into his role as a leader this year with more and more confidence and passion.

Steven: He started the year not really knowing what he thought about God, or where he stood in relation to Jesus. But he's been growing so much in seeking out the Lord and seeking out truth. He has been so open and has such an eager heart to learn and seek the truth this year. I've been amazed by the ways Jesus has been transforming his life and changing his thinking on things.

David: David was handed a pretty harsh set of circumstances at the beginning of the semester. He was in a pretty tough spot, but I've seen him grow into relying on God through his difficulties and truly trusting in God more and more. He's doing so much better now and he's in such a healthier place than he was in only a couple months ago, and it's all been because of God.

Our last Core of the year, Zooming in guys and the rest of us around a fire

    I really could go on. There's a ton of other guys I could add to this list, but I think this is a sufficient starting point to just give you an idea of what God has been up to this year. Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of it, and I hope and pray that you feel as blessed as I do to be brought into God's work on these campuses. Thank you again, and I'll be praying we all have a Christmas season filled with hope and joy (we could all use a bit of that).