Graham's Ministry Blog

 Hey howdy hey! So much has happened since I last wrote and that is because it is a new school year! So much of our year is wrapped up in these early few weeks of classes. The people we meet this week are more than likely the bulk of students we get to minister to all year. So my schedule has been much more active than pretty much all of summer. We try to spend as much time on campus during Welcome Week so that we can befriend and invite as many students as possible. We want to make ourselves known as a Christian ministry to those who are looking, and show students who would have no interest in a Christian org to begin with, that we really care about them, hopefully breaking down barriers they have set up mentally over years.  Making a tower out of marshmallows and spaghetti with some students Playing Corn Hole with a transfer student named Visvis Our UTA Student Leader team for the year (I was in the restroom like a dummy) First TNF of the year!  The past two weeks, we h...

 Howdy and howdy! I am feeling mighty pumped up because we are so close to the beginning of the semester! Not only are we so close, but God has shown me some really encouraging things this past month. Each event just gets me so excited for new students to be met and join in what Christ is already doing on campus. Let me be less general and go into more of the specifics of how I have been encouraged. Group photo from Teen Camp Emily and I got to attend our body of churches teen camp. While Arlington Central Church has no teens because of how young we are, it was really sweet to see a vision of what our church could look like in years to come. These are all the teens from our Garland and Wylie churches.  While this is not FOCUS or even college ministry, this is kingdom work being sown. These are the churches that invest in our students the most, the ones that see the vision for what Christ has been doing on college campus for years and years. Beyond just reinvesting in the body ...

  The School of Athens was painted by Raphael in 1511, and visited by me, in 2022. Hey there! Another month of Summer is upon us. Meaning my work as a campus minister is slower than usual because many of our students are at home on break. We use this time to fundraise (as many of you know, thank you again for your support), to meet with students who are still in town, and to rest in a Sabbath like way for the coming season of sowing in the Fall! Emily and I were blessed enough to be given free plane tickets to Italy as a wedding gift last year, and we just got to use them this past month. In my time there I had a lot of thoughts about what I am doing, what we are all called to do, and how to be successful in it. I am of course talking about discipleship. Leading people to Christ through your words, life, and relationships.  The Amalfi Coast with my ghoulish looking Father. Emily and I left our swim suits in our hotel and they are sadly no more. Emily and I in the Vatican. So ...

  Smiling atop Mt. Baker in WA I am so excited to write to you this late blog post! Sorry about that, but thank you for your patience, for reading, and for any prayers or gifts you have given me to help make this happen. May was such a wonderful month. As you should know from my previous blog posts, every May, FOCUS will send potential student leaders to Bellingham, Washington for a Discipleship training conference called SICM (Student Institute of Campus Ministry) . Well it finally happened, and I got to go with our group of students as a chaperone. We sent about 20 students from UTA and TCC. FOCUS as a whole (meaning all campuses we are at) sent around 100 students!! God is good. Some TCC and UTA students on the way to Pike Place Market Taking the SeaTrac with students We start off with some sight seeing days in Seattle, then in Bellingham before the classes start. It is a really great time for these students to make friends and memories with fellow Christians from their campu...

  Our 2021-2022 UTA Leader Team. What a great group of students.      Howdy! It is finally May and I have some exciting ministry news to update y'all on. I want to start first by honoring our student leaders, otherwise known as our Corefas or Core Facilitators. This group here is who makes our ministry possible year after year. These are full time students, sometimes working full or part time jobs, volunteering 20ish hours a week to serve God's Kingdom on their campus. We as a 9 person staff team could not possibly meet with and host cores for as many students as there are available at UTA, and these fine young men and women stepped up into that discipleship role.      You would be blessed to meet any of these disciples, as God is really maturing them while they mature others. This is probably my favorite part of campus ministry. We get to meet new students year after year, befriending them, teaching them, casting a vision for their life as a disciple,...