November Update

Welcome back! 

    It's so good to be back with you after another month, this semester has really flown by! Thank you for partnering with me through another month of ministry. You are a reminder to me so regularly of God's faithfulness and generosity. This month would not have been possible without your prayers and support. 

Pizza Theo: 

    Every semester we have an event called Pizza Theology!  Which is when all of our students from every campus come together to attend a seminary level teaching for four hours, with a pizza break in the middle. This semester Iain Provan came and spoke to us about the content of a book he recently wrote called: Cuckoos in Our Nest: Truth and Lies About Being Human. This is a big event in our ministry each semester!

    Provan spent a lot of time building up biblically what it means to be a human being, and then the implications of that definition of humanness on things we encounter in everyday life. Such as sexuality, education, politics, community, family, etc... Then to close he spent time unpacking the 'Cuckoos' that have snuck into our christian nest and disguised themselves as Christian. 

    Something Provan said I have been thinking about a lot is 'When we abandon God, we don't become atheists, we become polytheists." Meaning we turn to many other things to worship, as opposed to nothing. 

    I'm so thankful to have gotten to attend this teaching with our students, there doesn't seem to be a more timely topic than now. There doesn't seem to be a better time to teach them how to fight for truth than now. I know this teaching will have a big impact on myself and many of them for years to come. 

Keep FOCUS Growing (KFG): 

    The other big thing going on this month is our annual 'keep the lights on' fundraiser Keep FOCUS Growing! This is such an important part of the year for us because it makes so many things possible. The money from this fundraiser goes to cover costs of things that no one really directly fundraises for such as FOJ booklets, outreach costs, sound equipment, printing materials and office supplies. But one of the biggest costs to our ministry is making sure all of our campus pastors and new apprentices are fully funded. This fundraiser makes it possible to retain staff, and guarantee them salaries regardless of how their fundraising season goes.  To put it simply, this is one of the ways we intend to make a long term impact on our campuses that wont burn out in 2-3 years. 

I wanted to include a picture from my core the other week! All of these girls were mostly around the 8th grade when I was a freshman in college. 

    Speaking of which, here is a picture from my first core ever as a freshman in college!! It's crazy to think that the faithfulness of Caitlin and Taylor, my corefas when I was a freshman, ten 8th grade girls, 6 years later would be impacted in the same way. And it was only because of the faithfulness and generosity of people before Caitlin and Taylor that they were able to impact someone like me. This is how the Gospel stays alive on the college campus, this is a huge part of our vision! 

This giving Tuesday (Nov 28th), FOCUS has many generous donors who have agreed to match up to $55,000 in MATCHING FUNDS!!! Meaning every gift thats given on giving Tuesday, its impact will be doubled. I invite you to consider giving on this giving Tuesday to keep the Gospel alive and active on college campuses in DFW. 

Here is a link you can give through if you are interested: https://anyfocus.churchcenter.com/giving

Make sure to select "Keep FOCUS Growing" from the drop down menu if you want your gift to go towards the matching funds. 

Thank you!! 

Thank you so much for being a part of my story of coming to know Jesus on the college campus, and thank you for continuing to impact lives for the Gospel every day. 

Can't wait to share next month with you, 

Love Sophie