Just because the school year is finished doesn't mean the ministry has! The summer begins a new season and a time to rest and prepare for next school year. June has been a busy and different month now that the 22-23 school year has come to a close. While a lot of our students at UTD head home for the summer, those who remain get the opportunity to experience our Thursday Night Summer Fellowships. Every summer our ministry continues meeting together weekly to worship, learn and fellowship, but the summer brings new friends! All of our DFW Focus campuses come together every Thursday over the summer and fellowship together. It is so neat to see all of our students from across campuses, meeting and getting to know one another. Often, when we're only on our own campuses we can forget about all of the work God is doing at other colleges throughout DFW. Summer Focus is a great reminder that our connection can go far beyond our school and can spread across the metroplex!
As many of you know I raise my own support as a campus pastor with Focus. This year's fundraising season has been very encouraging and I have been so grateful to have so many supporters believe in and invest in what we do. Campus ministry changed my life completely, and God called me to be a part of the work that he is doing in the lives of college students. And through the generosity of others, he has been amazingly faithful to see that I can be used by him to spread the good news of Jesus to more and more students. I can't thank you all enough for investing in me with your resources and your prayers. It really makes me happy to be able to share not only with students about the good news, but with others who are interested to hear and support what God is doing on college campuses.
Another fun thing that has started up for the summer is our new groups we are calling "242 Groups". The idea came from the passage in Acts 2:42 that talks about how the first believers ate together, worshiped together, and lived their lives with each other. Through these groups, we are hoping to foster more connections and deeper relationships between our students. It has been really fun for me to be a part of one of these groups with my two friends Jonathan and Alessio. We meet at Chick-Fil-A every week and talk about scripture and share about what is going on in our lives and it's all so encouraging.
I want to again thank all of you for your support this past school year and for your support for this next school year. I really do believe that campus ministry is one of the most important missions to support! Your investing in our ministry has a tremendous impact on the lives of students and I can't express the significant impact you have on the lives of students. Students, who like me, whose lives will be entirely changed by the radical generosity and support by Jesus-loving people like you. So thank you!