A Refresh Before a Fresh Start

HOWDY AND HELLO IN 2023!!!

The new year has begun, and college students all over the world are getting ready to start their Spring semesters. A time of life where they are open to change. friendships, and conversations that could alter their life for better or for worse. That is why I am so excited to go and meet them. To go and tell them about the Good News of Jesus, and that they are a part of something much bigger than just getting a degree.

The week leading up to Christmas, till MLK day, our students are home with family and friends. They are given a chance to rest from the rush of the semester. We campus pastors do the same. 

I spent a majority of the past two weeks, resting, reading, praying, and traveling. Emily and I saw much of our families in this time, caught up with old friends that are out of town, and we even got a puppy named Waldo. All of these things take energy, but are restful and meditative for the heart. I am feeling ready to go out and meet some students.

My car on the way to staff retreat

A big way our staff prevents burn out, and ensures a healthy start to the school year for our students, is by having the staff go on a retreat the week before classes start and we host our students for Winter Camp.

Our fifty person staff read Eugene Peterson's book, Working the Angles. It reminds readers of the three most important tasks a pastor is responsible for: Praying, Reading Scripture, and Giving Spiritual Direction. 

The book and the retreat really helped me connect with God and consider how I have been leading my students. The main reality is... they aren't "MY" students, they're God's. Before I meet a student, before I even considered being a campus pastor, God had specifically designed and loved this person into being and into their life situation. I am merely coming along side, showing them Jesus like love, and pointing them to their Abba and Savior. 

Our large staff from across the metroplex. Thank God for these faithful servants.

 

Worship at our retreat. The messages were convicting and challenging as well.

My friend, Drew, and I. Thankful for this friendship, even if I am not in Denton anymore.

So this semester, pray for me. Pray that I do not get in the way of what God is doing. Pray that as I draw closer to relying on God, that the students I love are too. 

Dimitri is a student from TCC. Really sweet young man.

Emily and I had two students over for dinner at the beginning of the break

Mauricio and I getting lunch after Church. What a funny dude.

I am posting this graphic again, because it really is the heart of our ministry and why we do what we do. I often share about our big events on here, parties, and camps, and the like. But these four activities are the ins and outs of my week. 

I see God moving in the lives of students through consistent time together weekly, praying, opening up about life, and reading scripture. It can be hard to write an "entertaining" or "encouraging" blogs sometimes, because the things I find God doing most of the time are beneath the surface. Little flickers of Jesus healing here and there in the lives of our students. So forgive me if these blogs don't always sound impressive, but our God has chosen to work in the unimpressive many times throughout history.

Thank you for your support and for trusting God to work on these campuses, and through a person like me.

A large shot of our TCC students while filming the Christmas skit.

Vincent demanded I take photos of him.