Wrappin' Up

The last month has been so fun and encouraging...and fast, of course.  With the school year coming to a close, many of our one-on-one studies are finally wrapping up.  That means students who have spent the year learning and discovering what it costs and what it looks like to be a disciple of Christ are making decisions about whether or not they will serve Him all of their days.

To God's glory, we've witnessed a flurry of baptisms in recent weeks.  There is no experience more joyful, and humbling, than to watch God work in people's hearts and to know that He uses bums like us to bring reconciliation between Him and His children.  As Paul expressed, it is truly through God's mercy that we have this ministry! (2 Corinthians 4:1)

For me, the greatest joy of all is to see the impact that our student leaders have made on their peers.  Many of them are mentoring and studying the bible with other students for the first time, and I am so, so proud of the job they have done with that this year.  I can't put into words the excitement I feel as I watch one of these 19 or 20-year-olds baptize another into the Kingdom of God.  I hope you share my joy, as you have also played a critical role in that, be it through your prayers or financial support to allow our staff to invest in these young leaders.  Please join with me also in praising God for these commitments!

I also wanted to mention a little bit about our annual Help Us Help the Homeless event on campus.  This is the 5th or 6th year in a row we have built a box house at the entrance of the school and manned it for a 24-hour period.  We ask the students in our ministry to volunteer for one hour slots, with the goal of raising supplies and monetary support for the Samaritan Inn, Collin County's only homeless shelter and program.

The program is very successful, and the event on campus is a way for us to bless the community and meet lots of students that stop and ask about what we're doing.  Here's a picture of the house this year.  Keeping with tradition, we had a crew of guys spend the night in it.

In May, we'll be taking a group of over 50 students to a campus ministry training conference in Bellingham, Washington.  This is a huge undertaking and logistical challenge, but God is good and has used this training in powerful ways to raise up workers for the university harvest.  I'll have more for you about this in my next blog, but be praying for us!

With more love and gratitude than I can express,

Casey

The Tide is Turning...

A couple community quick hits...

- It has been exciting to see that the students came back from camp with the mission fresh in their mind.  We have had new visitors every Thursday night, and unlike the fall, most of them have been guys!  Many of them have already started getting involved in a core, and we've had a flurry of new one-on-one studies begin.

- I was on the phone with one of the students that Brianna has been working with, and she was telling me how excited she was that her and Bri only have a few more lessons left in their FOCUS on Jesus study.  Honestly, most students are pretty bummed about that coming to an end.  But when I inquired as to why that excited her, I was pleasantly surprised to hear her say, "Because then I can teach someone else!"  She has a vision to turn and share those powerful biblical truths with others.  And that, my friend, is what it's all about.

-  I had a similar encounter with another young woman last Thursday night.  She has been around most of the year, though she's pretty quiet and I don't know her well; I have enough trouble keeping up with all of the guys!  She asked me for a copy of FOCUS on Jesus.  I was excited because I assumed she was going to be studying with one of our student leaders.  However, once again, when I asked if she was going to be studying with someone, she replied, "Yeah, there's this newer girl that I asked to study and we're going to start."  What??  I found out she has already gone through the study and is already eager to turn and invest herself in another.

How fun it is to watch the Kingdom grow--to see people brought face to face with Christ, consider his call and count the cost, and then surrender all to him and his eternal plan of the world's redemption.  When you succeed at producing not just disciples, but disciple-makers, then we will see exponential growth--growth that will far outlive these few years at the university.

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On an unrelated note, our staff has been reading through a book called Spiritual Leadership together, and this last chapter was pretty challenging to me personally.  It focused on the leader's schedule, focusing primarily on what things creep in and stifle spiritual leaders from moving their organizations forward--more specifically, moving forward onto God's agenda.  Here's an excerpt:

"The most inefficient and unproductive leaders have as much time  as history-making, world-changing leaders.  Each is constrained by the need for sleep, food, exercise, and family concerns.  Everyone encounters financial issues, unforeseen circumstances, and daily pressures.  The difference is wise leaders let God, not life's daily demands, determine their priorities.  Unwise leaders succumb to extraneous pressures and enticements bombarding them so they don't accomplish what God intends for them.  Spiritual leaders don't allow their busy lives or their numerous responsibilities to sidetrack them from God's agenda.  Rather, they become the masters of their schedules through determined and conscientious effort."

I think I fall into the trap of merely reacting to life at times.  I'm laid-back and amiable, so I don't say "no" a lot, and that often squeezes out the critical task of stepping back and taking the long look at where we are, what God's agenda is for us moving forward, and how to direct us there.  The authors say that's what distinguishes managers from true leaders.

One of my first steps forward in this was to take another look at what things I hold on to that I should be delegating.  The authors made this statement, "Conscientious leaders strive to make every person they lead into a productive contributor."  I think I'd forgotten what a great opportunity the spring offers me to do this.  In the fall, I'm hesitant to delegate much to the student leaders because they are already doing so much.  But in the spring, we've got a whole new crew of students that are eager to step in and serve however they can.  So I've already begun to pull them into projects, and they're getting excited about it, and so am I!

Keep praying for us.  You're prayers, love, and encouragement are never wasted.  All my love and gratitude,

Casey

January Update

Here we go again.  A new semester is upon us, and we've got a ton of momentum coming off our Winter Camp in Bridgeport.  Just before school started, we spent 4 days with our sister ministries at UT Dallas, University of North Texas, and Richland College.  I really can't say enough about it!  For the sake of brevity, I'll just say that I saw God working all the way.

First of all, Collin College gave us about $9,500 to subsidize the trip for our students.  Take a second and let that sink in.

Second, I was so thankful and excited as I looked around and saw the students that made it out to camp this year.  That weekend is such a unique turning point for our students.  It's the time when so many of them finally plug in and find their place.  It's the time where they really catch the vision for the Kingdom on their campuses.  It's the time where they deepen the relationships they began in the fall.  And it's the time where many of them decide to step up and take God's call seriously.

Our speaker, Eddie Howard, challenged and encouraged our students as he took us through the life of Joshua.  He has always had a way of lodging simple lessons in your mind so that they never escape.

Here's a picture of our group out at camp.  Everyone's either throwin' up the double-c for Collin College or a cougar claw. Haha

FOCUS Winter Camp @ Lake Bridgeport

The whole crew!

As I said, we've got a ton of momentum and the semester is off to a fantastic start.  The students are being purposeful in meeting their peers in their classes and in the cafeteria.  We had probably 15-16 first time visitors this past week at FOCUS. 

Please be in prayer that we can find room in our lives and hearts for these students.  It can be quite over-whelming, but what an exciting problem to have!

Thank you so much for your prayers, encouragement, and love.  Without it we could not do what we do.  All the glory to Him who does the real work through His indescribable and transforming grace!  It's all about Jesus.

Much love,
Casey

November Update

With just a week and a half left in the fall semester, I have so much to rejoice about and praise God for as I look back on the past few months.

We had more students than ever before, right around 20, step into some kind of leadership role this year. That means there are at least that many young people going onto our campus each day with a purpose in mind that exceeds and supersedes what is going on in their classes—they are there on God’s behalf. Each one of them is engaged in befriending their peers, initiating valuable spiritual conversations, and studying the bible one-on-one.

I would estimate we have somewhere in the range of 40-50 one-on-one bible studies going on right now. How cool is that?!?

I was really encouraged by a conversation with one of our corefas (student small group leader) last week. We were talking about the guys in his core and thinking about potential leaders for next year. He mentioned that a guy named Matt, who is a sophomore this year, has really been stepping up in their core.

As I reflected on that, I began to think through the process by which Matt came into our community. Two years prior, a freshman named Chad got connected with FOCUS through his older sister. I had the privilege of spending some time studying the Word and forging a friendship with Chad that year, and the following year he stepped up and led a core. That year, he reached out to a student named Tong from Thailand—befriending him, studying the Word with him, and helping him grow in his faith.

The following fall, Chad transferred to UNT. The first day of school, I was eating lunch in the café at Collin College, and in walked Tong. With him were two guys he had just met in his Computer Science class. He had initiated with them and invited them both to eat after class. One of those two guys was very quiet and shy. His name was Matt.

In the following months, I watched Tong use the things he learned through his relationship with Chad to shape his friendship with Matt. Now, a year later, I have another student leader telling me how much Matt is growing and stepping up.

Tong and Chad

Matt (left) with Tong and guys from core

This reminded me of so many powerful truths. First, that God can and wants to work through each one of us to impact the people around us.

Second, that it’s not as hard as we make it out to be! If we just take the time to be bold in initiating with people and invest in them, God will do the most difficult work.

Third, he doesn’t need people with amazing talents and communication skills—he just needs hearts that are surrendered to him. He used a 19 year old that struggled with doubt to impact a student from Thailand who was fairly timid and unconfident in his ability to communicate. He used that student to impact a quiet freshman on his first day of school, and now he’s using that guy to minister to a whole group of guys that he meets with every week.

And lastly, it reminded me that this is how the Kingdom grows. We must have a vision beyond the here and now. We don’t have to impact thousands. We only need to help one person build a relationship with Christ and understand His call on their life. The impact of one relationship can send out a wake beyond our wildest imaginations, altering countless lives and changing the course of generations to follow each of those disciples.

I hope you are as challenged by that as I am. And I ask you to pray for MANY more stories such as this one!

All my love and gratitude to each of you,
Casey

October Update

I have been really encouraged this month getting to see and hear how our students are growing in their relationships with one another and with Christ.

I'm currently studying the bible with a young guy that I've been spending some time with on and off for about 5 or 6 months.  He's been around our ministry for a couple years, but never very involved or invested.  This past summer was a real low point for him, leaving him feeling disenchanted, isolated, and estranged from God.  On top of that, while it was obvious to him that something was wrong, it was obvious to me that he wouldn't take advice to overcome those things!

I challenged him pretty hard about it near the end of the summer.  About a week later, he contacted me with a much different attitude about the things we'd spoken about.  And while it wasn't overnight, I've gotten to watch him slowly change his mindset and habits.  He committed himself to being a part of the community, to look for ways to give, and to work on building spiritual friendships with some of the guys.

What a change it has brought about in him!  At the end of our time last week, he told me he feels like he's been missing out his entire life.  Growing up without a father in the picture, he said he's never had guys in his life that could help him figure things out and navigate this life in a way that glorifies God.  I just can't wait till he gets to turn around and play that role in the lives of other young men.

Another cool story...  One of our student leaders at Collin this year had shared with me back in the summer that she really wanted to find ways to reach out to her co-workers.  She works at a bank and is by far the youngest person in her department--most of them are old enough to be her parents.  But she has purposefully worked to that end, buying a couple of her co-workers a bible along the way.

Long story short, I found out today that she has set up a one-on-one bible study with a woman in her 40's.  What 20-year-old does that?  This one does!  God is raising up young people in our midst that go into spiritual battle every day in their own spheres of influence.  This isn't just about our campuses, this is about the Kingdom of God expanding wherever His people go.


Please pray that our one-on-one bible studies will be fruitful, that students will come to know the Lord, and that they will understand what it is that He is calling them to.

Thank you for your prayers and continued support.  This work is indeed impossible apart from the grace, love and power of our Lord.  May He receive all the glory!

Much love and thanks,
Casey

September Update

Well we're 6 weeks in already!  People ask me often how things are going, and my most common answer is simply, "Fast."  I guess that's a good thing, because it tells me there's a lot going on...and there is!

Our students have done a tremendous job purposefully meeting, engaging, and befriending people.  We've definitely got the biggest group we've ever had at Collin; I'm betting we've broken 100 several times on Thursday nights.  I've attached a couple photos of Thursday Night Fellowship for you to see:

Where are the guys!?!?

It's a lot of fun to look around and see a full cafeteria, but the truly exciting part is knowing that each of those students are being drawn into relationship with Jesus-people that can share His love with them and speak truth into their lives.  The student leaders have already set up many one-on-one bible studies; in fact, I think most of them have several each.  Please pray that God speaks powerfully through His Word and within those spiritual friendships.

Two weeks ago, we traveled out to the Mount Lebanon Baptist Encampment in Cedar Hill for our annual Fall Retreat.  After getting a huge influx of new students every August, we plan this retreat each September as an opportunity to get away and get to know everyone a little bit.  We had a few students  share a bit of their story, had some walk-and-talk times, shared a few meals, played some pretty crazy games, and talked about the kind of community we desire (and God desires!) to become and the potential roadblocks to getting there.

FOCUS Fall Retreat

Bottom line:  We want to be a place God dwells--a place where people can come and experience Him.

I've been encouraged by all the good feedback we've gotten about camp.  Brianna said several of the girls shared at core group the next week about how thankful they are that they've found FOCUS and how they are really going to make the community a priority in their life this year.

I think the thing I'm most excited about is...well, there are two things.
1. Our student leaders are growing so much already.  God is using our community to raise up workers for the harvest--life-long disciple-makers that will be sent out to many different schools and workplaces in the years to come.
2. God has brought us people that really need him.  I don't know everyone's story, but I know enough to know that we're in the trenches and we're fighting the right battles.

Of course we know that the battle belongs to the Lord.  The victory is His already.  So I ask you to pray for our staff and our students, and for our campuses--that the Kingdom will be advanced.

To Him be the glory!  With much love and gratitude,
Casey

August Update

There goes August!  Beginning a new school year is always a stressful and overwhelming time for me (well, for all of us).  Selecting new leaders, planning welcome week events, and prepping for a year's worth of sermons, meetings, and mentoring relationships is quite a task.  Thankfully I've got 2 great interns to help with all of that.

Brianna Worsham and Matt Clark stepped into our full-time internship this year.  Brianna graduated this past spring from the University of North Texas, where she helped pioneer a campus ministry last year.  She shared her vision for herself and for our ministry this last Thursday night, and I seriously had to keep myself from crying; it was so powerful.  She will be mentoring all of our women leaders this year, and so she has spent the last few weeks beginning to build those relationships.

Matt was actually one of the guys I got to disciple when I was a student at UT Dallas.  He graduated several years ago and has been volunteering his time to help out at Collin College for 2 years.  Already having built many relationships and mentored some of the young men in our ministry, he has been able to make a pretty seamless transition into a more full-time role.  I can tell he puts a lot of thought and heart into each relationship, and it shows in his impact on people's lives.  Matt is a talented guy, and he has designed all of our new artwork for this coming school year for all 4 campuses. 

 So God is good; He always provides.  And we're off to the races.  We've got a great crew of 9 corefas (our small group facilitators).  We also have another 8 or so students that have stepped up to lead in various ways.  This team of people has already been such an encouragement to me--they sincerely love God and love people, and they want to see Jesus impact their campus in a powerful way.  I'm sure I'll have some neat stories to tell about them as the year progresses.

As of now, each of them are hard at work meeting and befriending students.  One of our second year students, Gabe, came up to me on the first day of school; he had already met 5 new people and gotten phone numbers from 2 of them so he could follow up.  And that was before lunch!

Their work is paying of thus far.  We probably had over 80 students hanging out at our volleyball night in the on-campus apartments, and 90-100 at our first Thursday Night Fellowship.

We know the real work is yet to come, and it happens one-on-one.  We'll be starting our small groups this next week, as well as looking to set up one-on-one studies.  Only God brings growth and change, so be in prayer with us that He does mighty things in the hearts of young people at Collin.  Big numbers are exciting, but they mean nothing if we're not building deep foundations of faith.

Thanks for your faithful support.  Much love and gratitude to you all,
Casey

P.S. Here's a pic from our intern and staff retreat.  All four campuses are represented.  Bri is above me in the white, and Matt is next to me in brown.