Austin Bailey's Ministry Blog

Give thanks  to the  Lord , for he is good.  His love endures forever.  Give thanks  to the God of gods.  His love endures forever.  Give thanks  to the Lord of lords:  His love endures forever. Psalms 136:1-3 We're Back!! As the winter break ended, Winter Camp went through and was a huge success (keep reading for more)! At the beginning of the new year, our staff went on a retreat in central Texas. I shared in last months blog that our purpose for staff retreat is to help rejuvenate their spirit and prepare for the spring semester and Winter Camp (don't worry, we're ALMOST THERE).  WINTER CAMP!! Here it is! WINTER CAMP 2020! We had a massive turn out of over 500 students who came to camp to worship God and have fellowship with the community. Some of our staff prepared amazing sermons over the most common Psalms the church are familiar with. One of my favorite types of psalms is gratitude. Having a heart of thankf...

2019-2020 FOCUS apprentices at staff Christmas party Reflection over the semester! The first half of my apprenticeship has completed and it's been an incredible journey! Many friends and family have asked me, "How's your apprenticeship coming along?" Here's my response; The apprenticeship has been teaching me how good of a God we serve and that he tremendously loves us despite how much we mess up. God has shown me some of my blind spots and that He is not upset or impatient with me in fixing it. He calls me to be faithful and trust that He is good and is making me into a new creation. The classes have been a blessing to help me build a deep understanding of Biblical theology, how to be a good steward with my money, and improving a healthier physical lifestyle. As this semester ends, a new semester begins for new growth opportunities and students to minister. Please join me this new year in prayer for new students coming to Collin.  Christmas Card Outrea...

Give Thanks! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and a time of fellowship. I would like to take this time on my blog to reflect gratitude. The word 'thanks' appears over 70+ times in the Bible, and there's a reason why. To God, it is essential to share gratitude to a creator of everything.  Giving thanks reminds us of how much we do have when we are prone to covetousness. We tend to focus on what we  don’t  have. By giving thanks continually, we are reminded of how much we  do  have. When we focus on blessings rather than wants, we are happier. When we start thanking God for the things we usually take for granted, our perspective changes. We realize that we could not even exist without the merciful blessings of God.   G ive thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's Will for you in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians 5:18 I encourage you to take a minute (time yourself) and think about all the people who loved us into bei...

"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 ...

 My core guys. "Jesus answered them,  It is not the healthy who need a doctor,  but the sick.   I have not come to call the righteous,  but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:31-32 I often ponder this question when I meet people for the first time: "how are you really doing"? Every Tuesday, I visit my campus doing contact evangelism, and I see a variety of students that have their Apple airpods on or scrolling through Facebook/Twitter on their phones. As I see students sitting alone with their phones, my first thought is, "they don't want to be bothered." But maybe they're waiting and hoping someone will start a conversation with them. I met one student who was sitting by himself in the atrium. I approached and introduced myself to him, and we began a conversation. I asked him how his day was going, and he responded "good." I followed up with another question, "how is it 'good'"? He said, "It's my fir...

Let's Catch Up! Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's Will for you in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Wow! It's been over a month since I began the apprenticeship and it feels like I just started yesterday. My role for this year is leading a small group (also known as "Core") on Sunday nights with a student. Almost everyone on our staff team will be leading Core with a student leader as well. Collin College just started school in the last week of August, and our staff team came up with a plan for welcome week to get students engaged and help new students feel welcome at Collin. I remember when I was a freshman at Collin, I was sitting inside the atrium by myself at the Plano campus waiting for my first class to start. I remember feeling overwhelmed seeing new faces because this is my first time going to a new school. But then a student from FOCUS approached me, and he initiated a conversation and sat ...