Weeks of Welcome and More!

 

Hello friends, family, and prayer warriors!

Thank you so much for reading my blog and partnering with me in campus ministry. To those who have recently joined my team, thank you! I am honored that you would partner with me and I am so excited for all the Lord will do in the lives of students this year.

Weeks of Welcome

August has been PACKED full of such incredible moments! I’ve had the privilege of meeting neat students eager to deepen their faith and connect with Christian community. It makes me feel like I have the best job in the world, and I’m continually blown away by our God. 

We kicked off the month by welcoming new freshmen and returning students through our "Weeks of Welcome." During this time, we host a variety of engaging activities and outreach events on campus, allowing our student leaders to connect with others and invite them to our small groups (called “cores”). From morning till midnight, we were actively involved, and the dedication and positivity of our student leaders were inspiring. I am so proud of these students!

Despite the intense schedule, I’ve felt refreshed and energized throughout the weeks. The Lord has brought me great joy, as I stand in awe of all He is doing. For example, I had an encouraging conversation with two freshmen girls who do not identify as Christian, but felt so loved by our community and came to events all throughout the week. I’ve met many students who were looking for Christian community and were glad they found ours. I’ve met people who are simply looking for friends, and how sweet it is that God is providing that for them! 

Madisyn, Me, and Hannah doing Outreach

Students Playing With Giant Beach Ball (a crowd favorite)

Multicultural Worship Night

Trivia Night (so many new people came!)

Game Night!

Corefa Retreat

In order to train our student leaders (called core facilitators, or “corefas” for short), we got to take them to a retreat center for a weekend! It was a chance to connect with each other, reconnect with God after the summer months, and prepare for the school year. 

It was a blast! I got to know Sarah, the girl I’m leading a core with this year, better and learn about her story. I also got some time with the girls in my peer team! Peer team is the team of girl corefas I get to mentor this year. I am truly so blessed and ecstatic to get time with them this year. 

My Peer Team

Worship Night

Praying After Three Baptisms at Corefa Retreat

Tuesday Night Core and Thursday Night Fellowship (TNF)

To say I am excited for core this year is an understatement. We have had two core meetings on Tuesday night so far, and I LOVE THESE GIRLS! We shared our stories with each other and faith backgrounds, and I know God has brought all of us together for a reason. 

Sarah and My Core!

We have also had two Thursday Night Fellowship meetings! What is Thursday Night Fellowship, you may be wondering? Once per week, all of our Denton FOCUS community meets for fellowship, worship, and a sermon. This year, we have had more students come to our fellowship night than EVER before! Last year, we had on average 170 students come to TNF.

For our first TNF Kickoff, we had…drumroll please…. OVER 300 STUDENTS!! We have been praying for the Lord to move on our campuses, and He truly is! Please be praying for us, as the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Pray that these students may be loved and get to know Jesus. Pray that as we grow, we may grow well. 

Student Testimony

Prayer Requests

- Pray for the students new to campus, that they would find our community and make the decision to learn more about Jesus and ultimately come to know Him! 

- Pray that students would know and look like Jesus more as a result of being in our ministry, and able to teach others to do the same. 

- Pray for the staff members as we continue to be faithful stewards of this ministry, and that God would give us strength, wisdom, and humility as we do so. 

Thank you for your generous support and making it possible to raise up this new generation of disciples. Your imitation of God’s faithfulness is bearing fruit! As always, please reach out if you have any prayer requests, questions or comments. 

With love,

Cathryn