Look for Opportunities

 As this school year is coming to an end, I can sense the students and myself feeling tempted to go into cruise control and to let the school year end without extra effort. It's easy to give in to laziness and the same old routine until the work is completed. I had experienced this when I was a student, and today the same temptation of laziness still affects me in ministry. When April hits, you're counting the days till summer begins, and that's what every student thinks and hopes for. 

I am reminded of an axiom we teach our students to "finish well." "Finish Well" is an axiom we use to teach our students to finish well. This speaks about a valuable lesson to finish with a purpose, not just good enough. How you finish is probably how you'll be remembered. I first participated in a track meet in 7th grade. I ran the one-mile run, and if you never ran track in school or don't know how long one-mile is, it's four laps around. When they called the runners up to get ready, I felt so much adrenaline through my body and thought about winning the race. I was so prepared! After I heard the fire shot up, I took off sprinting (haha!). Experienced runners know when running long distances that they should not go all out on the first lap, but this was my first time. I felt good and was ahead of everyone but I started to get tired after the first lap which let the other runners behind me get past me. When I was on the last lap, I had to give all my energy that I had left to finish this race; even if I wasn't in first place, I still needed to finish. The good news is that I finished! It was exhausting but I learned two things. One is that it’s not wise to go 100% at the beginning, you’ll quickly burn out. Two is that it's important not to give up what you started.

I started the semester super pumped and ready to go on campus, meet new students on campus, and share the gospel of Jesus with them. I had the honor of meeting a few new students. I invited them into the community and even began FOJ with some of them. By mid-semester, some of them disappeared and moved on. There were two guys that I finished going through FOJ with though that are now planning to go to SICM this year. As I think of finishing well, I'm looking for opportunities to go the extra mile and give more energy than I had at the beginning.

One example is my marriage life. Being married for over one month is an enjoyable and learning experience. Recently Caitlin's grandfather passed away at the age of 91. It was tough for both of us, and God showed me opportunities to be Jesus to her and the family at the funeral service in Idaho. When we first left for Idaho, we scheduled an Uber diver to pick us up and drop us off at DFW airport. Immediately when we got into the driver's car, he was playing Christian worship music. Caitlin and I had a neat opportunity to talk to our Uber driver, and he was interested in coming to our home church (Wylie Northeast). I asked him if there was anything we could be praying for him about and he openly shared with us about starting his music career as a producer. What a neat moment that God used to teach us.

           Be very careful, then, how you live not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

Ephesians 5:15-17

Questions for you to reflect on:

    1. What opportunities has God shown you to carry out his will. How did you respond?

    2. What would it look like for you to see your work/school/parenting/relationships as a ministry opportunity?

    3. Pray throughout this month and ask God who He's called you to shine the light of Jesus towards.

Throughout April:

Baptisms!

I had the honor of witnessing and getting to baptize these young men of God from my Wednesday CORE group. The first picture you see is of Kolton. Before coming to college, he was very devoted to football to the point that it became an idol. He decided to give up playing football at a small university in Oklahoma and come to Collin College to get his basics out of the way. He started to see that God had a plan for him after he started coming to CORE and studying FOJ with me. When we were finishing our study, I asked Kolton what changed about his view of God and Christianity. His response was, "I don't have to work or have to know a lot of scripture in order to follow Jesus. He accepts me where I am at and has invited me to follow him as I keep growing". What an amazing response! This was all done by the work of God.

The second guy who got baptized is Matthew. Matthew came to my CORE after being invited by his long-time friend Elijah, and he was searching for a college ministry when the semester began. God paved the way for Matthew and Liam (my co-fa who helped me lead CORE fall 2020) to study F.O.J together and grow a deeper friendship. Matthew and I had many one-on-ones and discussed how he has never been baptized before. This led to him catching a vision for himself and his life as a Christian. I adore Matt's heart for God and willingness to grow like Jesus.

Caitlin and I are doing well and both enjoy being married and living life together. Thank you for your prayers and for asking us how we're doing. It really means a lot to us. The picture is where Caitlin and I celebrated my birthday over dinner at The Harvest in downtown McKinney.

Thank you!!

Thank you so much for your monetary and prayer support over me and our F.O.C.U.S staff to do what God has called us towards. It's an honor. I’m humbled to get to plant seeds for the kingdom of God in the lives of students on college campuses. This is all because of your support! I'm very grateful.

Prayers:

    - Pray for our students as they prepare to take their final exams and finish the school year well.

    - The summer is coming soon and our students finish school on May 14th. On May 15th our Collin staff team is putting together a summer seminar for our students to have a successful summer break. If there's any season where students lead away from the community, it would be summer. Pray for our students to continue to stay plugged into community over the break and avoid laziness.

   - Our staff, myself included, every summer focuses on fundraising and asking people to join our support team to continue the work God has called us to. Pray that God will provide people who are passionate about giving to campus ministry.

   - Pray for our Collin Wylie campus. We've been doing a pioneer boot camp assignment from our sister ministry at Chi Alpha and we’re seeking lots of prayers and guidance from God about what he wants us to do next year at Wylie. Please join us in praying for the Wylie campus and future Collin campuses to come.