Austin Bailey's Ministry Blog

Ministry & Life Updates      Hello, support team! This past month has been bonkers with Texas weather going from warm and sunny to snow and icy roads. When we faced snow and critical road conditions, our fellowship nights had to be canceled because the campus closed for all students who commute to each campus. The neat side to that is our team created an online hang out to replace TNF (Thursday Night Fellowship) like Discord and Zoom to play online games (i.e; Jackbox, Codenames, and Scribble). This was pretty fun being my first time exploring Discord and how the website works. A lot of our students have used Discord mostly to chat and stream with friends from across the metroplex. Plus, this made it easier for my guys in core who can't make it to Plano for TNF were able to join Discord and that was encouraging. The Preston Ridge campus (PRC) is showing some promises of students becoming interested in Jesus when Adriana and I have been on campus talking to students. T...

  Winter Camp 2022  " I will give them an undivided heart   and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone   and give them a heart of flesh.   Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God." Ezekiel 11:19-20 A New Heart The longer I walk and fix my eyes on Jesus, the harder it gets. He shows me weak areas of my heart that are very hard for me to fix on my own. It's humiliating to see myself as weak and I try my best to avoid hardship, mistakes, and weakness. If I try to avoid them then I wouldn't need Jesus at all in my life and would say I'm perfect, but I'm not. I can't rely on myself or follow my flesh to avoid my own mistakes. I need to admit that I am a sinner and weak and I need God to change my heart, even when it's painful. " My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever " (Psalms 73:26, italics a...

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18  They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19  Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.  20  That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21  when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22  You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23  to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24  and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Happy 2022! Happy new year everyone! I'm very excited and eager about what 2022 h...

  So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 Full of Purpose Can you recall the first time when you discovered "the truth" from God and believed your purpose on earth is? For me, I was 18 at a summer youth camp who knew of Jesus but didn't believe why he had to die for my sins and was raised to live. A devotional study I was at that camp, educated me on what a true hero was. The truth is seeing what God's true purpose was to save all humanity. Not just the people in the past but for all generations who encounter the gospel could be saved just by believing in Jesus who loves me and died for me to live for him. My paradigm of Christianity shifted as I moved forward to my adulthood, even when I stepped into F.O.C.U.S at Collin and learned my purpose as a disciple. Following Jesus' example of what it means to be created in the image of God (or what it means to be human) starts with Jesus. Our purpose of living l...

  Collin FOCUS Fall Camp 2021 Welcome back to my ministry update at Collin FOCUS! God is continuously growing at our campus this year from COVID and I am blown away! Just look at our group photo at fall camp. I didn't think our ministry would have a huge turnout of students wanting to take their weekend to spend time with God and fellowship, but boy I was wrong. God continues to be faithful to the students who I met at the Preston Ridge campus that are seeking what a full purpose of life looks like through Jesus. I ask you to keep praying with me for our students and student leaders to grow more to find their fulfillment in Jesus. Here's what's been happening this past October. Fall Camp 2021! Here's a video of our staff team going against 10 strong male and female students in a game of tug-of-war. See who wins ;) These two great guys are Carlos (left) and Diego (right). You guys remember Diego from my previous blog ( click here ), and he is growing so much and seeks op...

  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 This is my Wednesday CORE group from the Preston Ridge Campus. We're about to start a series together called God's image-bearers. Each of these guys is uniquely made in the image of God, and my prayer is they see their true purpose what it means to be human the way God created us to be. Life to the Full If you were to ask a couple college students the question, "what do you think it means to have life to the full?", What do you think their answer would be? Most of them will respond "working my dream job", "Do whatever you're passionate about, and go chase it", and "Find my future spouse and start a family". Don't get me wrong, God created good things for us, but they are not meant to be gods to us to chase after the good life (Rom. 1:25). I was at Preston Ridge campus doing a coffee and conversation outrea...

First Thursday Night Fellowship (TNF)! Let The School Year Begin! Okay! A lot has happened over this past month, and to me, it felt like riding a fast roller coaster. Our staff met together for an all-staff retreat to rejuvenate, grow and rest with God, and fellowship with cross-campus staff. SICM happened just two days after staff retreat, and let me tell you; this campsite was beautiful ( see the picture below )!!  At SICM, we went to Camp Eagle down in Rocksprings, TX, where we spent a reasonable amount of time learning from our campus directors about evangelism, leading a Bible study, and building Jesus center friendships. We had activities to choose from during our free time, like swimming or jumping on the blob (water trampoline) in the river, kayaking, hiking around the camp, and zip lining across the campsite. Our students left SICM feeling challenged, encouraged, and excited to be back on their campuses to do ministry. Tom Grant, a student at Collin this year, shared his t...