R E J O I C E

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I'll say it again, Rejoice."

Philippians 4:4

My peer team group. All of us lead a small group at different campuses at Collin. We meet together every third week to have fellowship and discuss how we can grow more as disciples.

REJOICE in Growing! 

Let me be honest with you; October was a challenging month for me. When I dive closer to God, He unfolds new characteristics and relationship growth for me to be more like Jesus. One growth area God revealed to me is to seek approval from Him and not from people. It's been challenging to me in the past; I've set up false expectations I want people to see in me to get their approval. For example, I've listened to LIES that say, "You need to be a good minister, show you don't struggle with anything, and you have everything together." It took me until this semester in the apprenticeship not beat myself about it. Instead, I choose to REJOICE, and to trust God to help me grow because He loves me. Being a disciple means you're still a learner, someone who seeks opportunities to be more like CHRIST and not YOURSELF. Here's some more truth, notice I said "growth" and not struggle. My supervisor, Pedro, gave me great encouragement, "God is not going to say, 'Here is where you suck, and you're on your own.' He wants to point growth areas in your life and help you work through it." What he said was right, and this is excellent news for us. Come and let us rejoice!!

Jeremiah 33:3 says, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you don't know" (NIV). We are creations to a great creator who knows more things about us than we know about ourselves. A watchmaker knows every detail and gadget that is needed to fix the watch.  That's how I see God. A great creator and fixer. Maybe for some of you reading this, you might find growth takes a lot of change, and that might be uncomfortable or discouraging. I want to encourage you to take a step in faith and ask God where He wants to take you and let Him show you. 

REJOICE in Learning!

This great man in the picture is Dr. Iain Provan. He is a professor at Regent College in Vancouver, CAN. Since August, the apprentices listened to his audio class he taught over Foundations of the Old Testament. Our last class day, we got to Skype him and asked him questions we had over this semester. We're very thankful for his wisdom and his passion for God's word. May God continue to bless him further in life.

This wonderful man writing on the board is Ronnie Worsham. Ronnie is our senior pastor at Northeast Church, that helps fund FOCUS. Ronnie has been teaching the apprentices and I about the importance of being a pastor, and unlock the truth of God's word in the book of John. I respect this man so much, and he has a huge passion for God.

REJOICE in New Sources!

I went to a live podcast recording in Dallas of these two great guys (Jon & Tim, who created a YouTube channel called "the Bible Project." They make great animated videos while explaining each book of the Bible. Our ministry uses their videos because they give explicit details about what is happening in each story of the Bible and teaches us how to be diligent learners of scripture. Here is a video that explains who they are and what their mission is.

This is Tim Mackie! I had the pleasure to talk and ask him a question about what is "Holy Spirits role in the Old Testament?" I had a blast talking to him!

Stian and I planning our small group together. He seeks after God's heart and finds opportunity to grow better as a disciple, and I'm encouraged by him. What a great guy he is! :)

Once a month, our Preston Ridge Campus (Frisco) meet together to have their fellowship night just like our Plano Campus. Pray, that God continues to grow the student's hearts at Preston Ridge. Look how many students showed up!!!

Me and some of the other apprentices volunteered to help a local organization to stack up can food for victims from the recent tornado storm. Pray for the families who are still recovering the lost.

REJOICE in New Opportunity! 

Our campus staff planned a Halloween outreach event called "Trick or Creek." This event was to reach out to our student body to have fellowship and reach out to students at Spring Creek campus. We served free hot dogs, chips & water, set up carnival games out in the courtyard, one of them including nine square. This event was a massive success as new relationships were introduced, and new students were interested in checking out Focus! Here are some photos below from Trick or Creek!

Our students playing a game called nine square.

REJOICE in Giving!

We have a campaign coming up called "Keep Focus Growing." Keep Focus Growing is our annual campaign that creates a fund for our ministry as a whole to use for the next year. Our full-time missionaries raise their own support, but it takes a lot more than that for us to do ministry. Outreach activities/materials, administrative support, planting new campuses (Collin College at Wylie), health/retirement benefits, etc. Those are covered by our Keep Focus Growing fund. Some of our generous donors have banded together and agreed to match up to $36,000 in total donations during this campaign. So if we receive $36,000 in total contributions, they will kick in a SECOND $36,000! Your first chance to give will be on December 3rd!

Future Collin College campus at Wylie

If you would like to make a donation today or wait until December 3, you can make a payment at https://anyfocus.churchcenter.com/giving.

You can give a generous donation to one of the staffs, apprentices (including me), or our general fund. Any gift you give will make a big difference.

Prayer Request/Praises:

1. Praise! Collin gave us over $20,000 for our Winter Camp fund for our students! Every campus has to pay $150 and drive themselves to Sky Ranch (where we meet at), but Collin students only have to pay $50 for camp, AND the school provides a nice charter bus to get there (FREE GAS AM I RIGHT?!)!

2. Pray: Keep Focus Growing campaign. Pray, God will provide for us as a ministry to reach our $36,000.

3. Pray: For our students to finish strong their semester. Time is winding down, and we're close to finals week. Pray, they continue to stay faithful to their studies. 

This guy is one of my great friends!! I had the honor to study the Bible with him one on one, and he is an encouragement what it looks like to be a disciple. Johnny is a huge blessing to our community and me. Please read his testimony!