August Ministry Update

August  

Hey Friends! I am sitting here writing this blog and am welling up with gratitude to God for what He's done this month. Before I begin sharing, I want to say a big thank you to you all for being part of this story of redemption that God is working out here at Collin! The Lord has continued to remind me of His faithfulness to pursue and His own heart as a servant. 

Staff Retreat 

August kicked off with one of my favorite experiences - staff retreat! Our FOCUS staff got to spend time together in prayer, worship and fellowshipped as we prepared our hearts to meet students as the school year starts. I loved getting to spend quality time with my Collin team, especially with my girly - Luna! 

Summer Celebrations 

This August has looked like a lot of quality time with the friends! Our small group from last school year had one final core hang before the summer ended. We got to spend time celebrating four August birthdays, celebrating Elaina's new start at Central Oklahoma University, and catching up on all the joys of the summer. 

One of my favorite parts of this summer has been getting to hang out with Courtney! We've gotten to hang out and study the Bible together and grow in accountability.

Welcome Week Retreat 

The weekend before school started, our Collin team hosted a Welcome Week Retreat for our students. We got to go over our mission and vision (https://anyfocus.org/our-mission-vision/) and our 3 values - complete devotion to Jesus, real friendships, and raising up leaders. Being at this retreat with students who met last year has made me really excited for the new students there are to meet this year and what the Lord is going to do! God is so good to show people himself. It all begins with invitation - God's invitation to us and our invitation to each other! 

Our First Thursday Night Fellowship

This week was Collin's start to classes which meant our team spent time each day inviting students to come and experience a Jesus-centered community. We spent time praying for the students we would encounter and it was so neat getting to look around the room to see so many students present and available to hear the Gospel and to encounter the chance for real friendships. After the service, I got to hear several students share about their experiences. I wanted to share some of those with you - 

"This is the exact kind of community I was hoping to find! I want this be a priority for me this year!”

“I had the best time of my life last night and I can’t wait to worship with you guys again!”

“I want to say thank you to FOCUS for two of the best and most fun nights of my life in recent years.”

For many students being at Collin is not their ideal choice and they can often find themselves wishing to fly through the years, but our prayer is that their time at Collin would be purposeful, filled with meaningful friendships, and  fruitful. Thank you for joining us in helping us invest in students so they can have experiences like these - where they feel welcomed and get to hear about the God who loves them beyond measure! 

Prayer Requests 

As we head into the next month, would you join me in praying that the students who have come to the various events this week, would want to explore more what it means to in community and what it means to follow Jesus? 

Please be praying for our 5 student leader (Joel, Dak, Gio, Kayley, and Audrey) as they begin serving their classmates on top of taking classes and juggling part time jobs?