April's Adventures

I really cannot believe that April is over! I hope you have had a fantastic month and that April was a reminder of the promise that we have in Jesus. This month in ministry was incredible and I cannot wait to tell you all about it!

Community Time

Something new that we tried this semester during our large group meeting (FNF) was to add a section to our announcements called Community Time. Community Time is a place where our students get to submit anything and everything that is going on in our community that they want celebrated. Week to week, these announcements have looked like celebrating birthdays to going to concerts together to impromptu worship nights to celebrating people defending their thesis to baptisms to celebrating sporting events and everything in between! As the person that gets these submissions each week, it has been such a blessing to get to see what is happening in our community and how God really is moving in our midst! Something that drew me to FOCUS and, ultimately, Jesus was doing all parts of life together, and I think this is just another way that I am being continually reminded of how we as humans really do desire to be known. It really is so sweet to get to do this job! Would you join me in praying that we continue to have a vision for community and that through the summer, our students would continue to be community-focused?

Baptisms

This semester, we have had SO many people commit their life to Jesus and have had so many baptisms! Many of the people who chose to be baptized shared their stories right before getting dunked and I wish I could explain how incredible it is to hear how God has continually showed up in their lives. One of the girls who was baptized this last month shared how she has continually seen God leave the 99 for the 1 and it got me thinking about all of the people that God continually chases after. Each baptism we have had has also reminded me of the choices we make to continually follow Jesus after the baptism itself and the claims that we make when we choose to be baptized. One of the baptisms this month, Kayla’s Baptism, was especially special to me because we got to study Focus on Jesus together last year and it has been incredible to watch what God is doing in and through her! Would you join me in praying for all of our students that have committed their lives to Jesus and that they would seek Him above all things?

Next Year! 

As some of you may know, I have committed to staying on staff with FOCUS at UTD for one more year and I am over the moon. These last nine months have been transformative in so many ways and I have been blessed beyond measure. I am so excited to be able to work on the UTD team again this coming school year and cannot wait to see what God continues to do in the lives of all of the students that we get to serve. But, all of this would not be possible without the generous support of all of you! Whether it be through prayer or financial support, this year would not have happened without your generosity and kindness to me throughout this year. I am so excited to continue to build the relationships that God has put into my life and get to be His hands and feet at UTD. Would you join me in praying over our students for this next year and this upcoming fundraising season?

Thanks again for joining me in ministry this year and for being so supportive of all that God is doing at UTD! Your prayers and support have been so apparent and appreciated!

Until next time,

Jessica :)

P.S. Can you find Waldo?