Chaos for the Kingdom

WHAT A MONTH.

S.I.C.M. Followed by Welcome Week

    So, many of you probably remember when I was raising support as a student to go to Seattle, Washington for a leadership/discipleship training called S.I.C.M. (Student Institute of Campus Ministry) in 2017. Due to Covid, we planned this year's S.I.C.M. for our students out in the hill country of Texas at Camp Eagle. For those who don't know, this is a 5 day training that equips students to go out as empowered disciple makers on their college campus (and beyond)- in their classes, their dorms, their cores, etc.

Here are our UTA ladies at SICM!
I know the Lord will use them to make a difference in the lives of the girls around them at UTA!
And we are loving the disposable camera photos.

We spent a lot of time in a classroom-like setting, hearing from different ministers about the tools and techniques we can have ready to use to be effective disciple makers and whole-hearted, spirit-filled disciples.

    About a week after returning from S.I.C.M., Maverick Stampede (also known as Welcome Week) at UTA began. Our campus pastors, as well as our student leaders (core-fas) attended and participated in a combination of events hosted by the university as well as by us (F.O.C.U.S.) on campus for the first 2 weeks of students being on campus. We have found that the BEST and MOST IDEAL time to meet students, befriend them, and invite them into our community is during these first 2 weeks. It was sad, but affirming to me when I heard of so many students feeling lonely and isolated...it's obvious why this is sad, but affirming still because disciples here have the opportunity to show people the love of God and his good gift- the body of believers who care for one another! Here are some things we did:

This was one of our events where we played Spikeball and Ultimate Frisbee. Some people we invited as we met them in the dining hall, some people passed by and joined when we asked them if they wanted to play, some came because they met a core-fa at a different event, and so on!

These are some of our students tabling outside- a little more formal than games, but especially helpful in making our ministry visible to those who as looking for one already!

Depending on how well you keep up with my blog ;) you may recognize 2 of these ladies- Thu and Lizzy. They joined me and 3 freshman girls to get ice cream the first Saturday on campus.
I can't believe Lizzy and Thu were the new girls in the pictures last year...what a neat reminder of the powerful work God can do in just one year! Now they are meeting new people and being godly friends to them!

This was our "soft start" for core. My co-fa and I hosted a s'mores night and it was an awesome turn out! I pray that each of these girls sticks around to experience core and hopefully a piece of God's kingdom through that.

And finally, this was our first TNF (Thursday Night Fellowship) of the year! Another incredible turn out. I am so encouraged knowing that many of these students experienced worshipping God and being in a Jesus-centered community for the first time in a very long time or for the first time EVER!

    So as you can see, there was A LOT going on in August. These have truly been some of the busiest 2 weeks of my life, but I know it is for good reason and this labor is not done in vain. I am so proud of the way my fellow campus pastors and our student leaders have worked this past week to expand God's Kingdom. We have casted our nets wide, and now it's time to go deep with those who have chosen to stick here for a while.

Here's How You Can Pray:

- Pray for doors at T.C.C. Northeast to open for us to become and official student org and pray for our core there to be successful in whatever way God desires it to be. In addition to Maverick Stampede at UTA, I have also spent a bit of time at T.C.C. reaching new students there too.

- Pray for mine and Sam's core (yes, I am leading with ANOTHER Sam this year) to be a place where believers and non-believers are welcomed, experience God's love, and receive his truth.

- Pray for our student leaders to remain zealous and faithful with the new students God puts before them.

- Pray for FALL CAMP!!! For our staff to prepare something that will really serve and bless our students and for new students to be drawn near to God and to the Christ-like friendships they encounter here.

 

Re-Introducing Campus Ministry

Hi readers!

     I'm so excited to have some new people on my support team this year- WELCOME! And thank you for partnering with me in what God is doing at UTA and in DFW!

I wanted to start off the school year by sharing about campus ministry- what it is and why it's so important.

     As many of you know, I'm a campus minister for F.O.C.U.S. (Fellowship of Christian University Students), so to introduce this specific ministry, I wanted to share our vision statement.

"The vision of F.O.C.U.S. is to plant vibrant, intellectual, outreaching, Jesus-loving communities on every college campus in the DFW area, and to be a resource for the world, equipping and sending campus missionaries."

     College is a really pivotal and formative time as many students are gaining more independence, learning about who they are now and, making decisions that impact who they will become in the future. The people in this season of life are more open to exploring new ideas than most others. What an incredible opportunity and responsibility we have then to invest in these people and point them towards the truth about who God is and who He wants them to be while their hearts and minds are uniquely open and receptive!

What's the Language??

As you continue to read some blogs- you may notice some words come up often, so here's some vocab:

Core: these are our smaller, typically gender specific groups where we pursue purposeful friendships by sharing about our lives, praying for one another, encouraging one another, and eating or playing games with one another. It also is a place where we explore what it looks like to walk with Jesus by facilitating conversation about the scriptures, worship together, and have space to ask questions.

Core-fa: This is what you're called if you lead a core; and your Co-fa is the person you are paired with to do so!

F.O.J.: this is our one on one bible study called Focus On Jesus. It's just a tool that goes over the entire story of scripture (focusing in on key books and passages) while also discussing what the implications are for real life outside of "bible study". There are 10 lessons to this study and often when people finish, they go on to study with other new people!

T.N.F.: Thursday Night Fellowship! This is our time of worship, teaching, and fellowship (community and relationship building). Our entire UTA F.O.C.U.S. community gathers together for this time.

So hopefully my blogs will make a little more sense moving forward. We are about to kick off the year with school starting in about 2 weeks and all of those things- Core, TNF, etc- will begin soon!

Here's how you can Pray:

• For our Welcome Week! This will be the first 2 weeks of school where we have A TON of events happening to meet new students while they're looking for things to be involved in and friends to stick with. Pray for us to meet students who are in need of Jesus and for God to give our student leaders and campus pastors boldness and zeal to reach people. This begins August 20th!
• For protection from COVID-19. Our staff at UTA is completely vaccinated, but not all of our students are and even if they were, it's quite possible the University could put limitations on our ministry abilities and opportunities. We've seen God's faithfulness in these limitations this past year, but we certainly would prefer to get back to normal!

     I'm so excited to share about how this first month goes as we encounter new students and invite them into our community and ultimately into God's Kingdom!!

Here's our UTA team that will be doing that this year! 

     So that's my vague overview of F.O.C.U.S. and some of the key things we do, but I would encourage you to read this story about how this ministry personally impacted someone. I have stories like these on all of my blogs and I encourage you to read them and celebrate the work God is doing here!

Summer Ministry

What Does a College Minister Even Do During the Summer??

Well...this one got married!! 

Austin and I are SO excited to begin our lives together, and we actually will BOTH spend this upcoming school year doing campus ministry full-time! 

    One of the things I loved most about my wedding was getting to see so many people I love all in the same place at the same time. I was so encouraged to see multiple girls from my core this past year, in addition to those even from past years of my core, celebrating with me and Austin. It's rewarding to see that the work done in college ministry is not done in vain and the relationships built and invested in are really worth something. It reminds me of this axiom we teach our leaders, "If you love enough people, enough people will love you." My heart was so full of affection for God when I looked out during the ceremony and saw many people I've befriended and poured into- they were there, expressing deep and genuine love for me in return.

This is my co-fa from this past year, Sam. She's been such a good, helpful friend to me and I was beyond blessed to have her around all day getting ready for the wedding and of course during the actual wedding festivities. She sets an example for me in service and authenticity.

These are my apprentice friends that I spent the year learning with and doing ministry along-side (all at our different campuses)! They also came to support me and Austin! I would not be the wife and minster I am without these guys.

And these are all girls from my core this year that came to the wedding!! It was so sweet how many of them drove from multiple hours away to be here. God definitely used them to make me feel loved and special that day. I know he will continue to grow them and use them to show His love to MANY more people too.

What Else?

    I'm still meeting up with students! Some I meet up with over FaceTime since they have gone home (to Houston or Waco or Austin or even Connecticut) over the summer. And some are still around so we can meet up in person over the summer.

    I started FOJ with MaLiyah, a girl who joined our core in the spring semester. She's living in Arlington over the summer, so we have been meeting consistently to read and study the Bible and talk through our lives and how we can love God and people better through them. 

FOJ is a one on one Bible study tool FOCUS uses and if you're interested in using it to study the Bible with someone you know, here's a link!! https://fojapptest.z19.web.core.windows.net/study/table-of-contents

    Lastly, this summer I am FUNDRAISING! As many of you know, I raise support for my salary to be able to do college ministry full-time. I'm at about 75% of my goal with about 3 weeks left to keep reaching out to people. I'm so grateful for the people who are currently on my support team. I am immensely blessed!! I trust that God will continue to provide, but it's easy to feel anxious about this subject when it feels I'm pressed for time. I would greatly appreciate your prayers!!

Here's some things you can pray and praise for too!

Looking Ahead

Transition Season

     So the semester is officially over...not only for my students, but for me. I'm no longer an apprentice, but a senior staff member. I no longer live in Arlington- I've now moved to Richardson (but don't worry, I'll still be doing ministry in Arlington). And soon I will no longer be a Repa, but a Nelson. There's quite a bit of change happening in my life. I'm in a season of new beginnings that I know will have some difficulties, but for the most part, I am really excited about this season!

This is who's last name I'll be taking...
We CANNOT wait

     FOCUS is also undergoing some transition...for starters, like a lot of other organizations, we are easing out of the pandemic, so our ministry is looking more and more like normal. On top of that, UTA FOCUS staff is planting a ministry on a new campus!! We are stoked to start working on Tarrant County College's (TCC's) campus! We really believe this is something God has laid on our hearts for a little while now, and opportunities have recently come along to actually make it happen. So many students go to community college and don't get connected to anyone or anything- it's a very different atmosphere than a university, but ministry belongs here too. Jesus is for these students too. It's a great place to begin establishing roots in students so that they can continue walking in faith when they transfer to UTA or wherever else they may go afterwards!

TCC Southeast Campus (we will be planting here and on the Northeast Campus!)

     Thinking through what it looks like to start on a new campus, I was also introduced to a parallel idea- pursuing a new group/demographic on an existing campus. This really got me thinking about a people group our ministry really lacks- student athletes. Many of you know I ran cross country and track for UTA my first 2 years of being there. This gave me a lot of opportunity to cross paths various athletes. I met, studied with, and attended the same events as not just runners, but basketball players, baseball players, volleyball players, etc. This was both a fun and difficult experience. My heart breaks at the lack of Jesus in this people group. Being an athlete and a disciple is heavy work- both require a lot of time, attention, and devotion, so it doesn't surprise me that it's rare to find student athletes who are sold out disciples of Christ.

I think ministering to athletes will mean adjusting the way we do certain things, but "how can they believe if they have not heard?" (Romans 10). God has put it on my heart to be more thoughtful of this specific group on our campus. I think being a former athlete gives me a unique opportunity to connect with some of these students. While nothing official is set in stone about when/how we will reach more athletes, it's something on my radar that I'm excited about and wanted to share with you. I invite you to pray through this with me!

     Meanwhile, we will still be hosting our large group fellowship on Thursday nights!! Oh how we missed Summer FOCUS last year!!

Can You Pray For...

• My intimacy with Jesus through all this transition- to rely on him more than myself through it
• Our students to stay faithful and connected to God and one another over the summer
• My fundraising!! I'm only at about 20% of my goal and could use a lot more financial support for the upcoming school year.
• My wedding and first month of marriage!

And as always, here's a student testimony and more prayer requests for our ministry as a whole! This student is from UTA so I actually got to watch from a distance what God was doing in his heart/life.

Thank y'all for reading!

Wrapping Up

     What the actual heck. I am in shock that it’s the last month of my apprenticeship with FOCUS. What a ride it’s been!

This was our LAST Thursday night together with our UTA community before students head home for the summer

     I wanted to start with sharing a post from social media that my friend, Sarah, posted to remind myself and each of you reading why college ministry is so uniquely valuable:

"My first year of college was sort of hard for me. I had a hard time making friends because of my introverted personality and looking for a church that was welcoming. I tried different churches around the area by myself and just couldn’t find the one I loved.

This year was different. The second week of school, I was walking to my room from work when this girl called me over to a booth that was set up and asked if i was interested in joining a campus ministry called FOCUS. I was hesitant but wrote my name on the list. Apparently, my roommate also saw the booth and wrote her name down that same day. Later, the girl we met at the booth invited both of us to a small group bible study called, core. Lizzy and I were unsure about it and said to each other that we would never go back if we didn’t like it. But here we are right now going to core and Deep Dive every week because we loved it! The people in FOCUS are amazing. They are so welcoming that they want to get to know you and want to be your friend. They are so kind, loving, and show how Christians are special...

Through this campus ministry, I have seen myself grow a lot. I’ve come out of my comfort zone to meet new people, invite people to join FOCUS, and also got to lead a bible study with my friend, Melina! I am so grateful for the girls in my core who encourage each other and love each other. Despite covid, we got to gather together to worship and learn about God, go on a trip to Oklahoma, And also do fun activities! We might not be in the same core next school year, but i know that we will continue to spread our loving energy to the new people we get to meet and i am so excited to see what God has planned for each one of us!"

This is Sarah and I celebrating our last FOJ one on one bible study!
She's so right to notice her growth this year!

A ministry that impacts people for Jesus like this wouldn't be possible without all of our supporters. The cause you’re giving to is one God is really working through and one he really cares about. We appreciate you!

     As I’ve written before in a previous post, I am staying on our UTA staff with FOCUS and will continue my role as a campus pastor there for the 2021-2022 school year (WOOHOO!), but I wanted to share some things I learned specifically in my apprenticeship year before solely looking ahead.

1. I can and should be assertive with others because Jesus was assertive.
2. My value is not in my performance- it’s okay to mess up and own up to my shortcomings.
3. The Bible is full of different genres and contextual elements that affect what it communicates to us about God and how we should respond to it.
4. God’s ability to move and work is not limited by my expectations (thank goodness).
5. People being displeased with me doesn’t necessarily mean God is displeased with me.
6. Jesus’ first concern isn’t what’s right or wrong, he’s primarily concerned with bringing LIFE. He’s not a moral police but a life-giver.

I hope maybe one or a couple of these things ministers to you! Feel free to comment, email, or text me if you want more details about any of those things...or ask how you can hear my sermon on May 27th where I'll talk about some of those lessons more in depth!

All of our apprentices this year with Ronnie!! He's a pastor in our family of churches and has spent weekly time pouring into us. Love him, love my apprentice friends.

Prayer requests:

• Over my fundraising! If you are interested in financially supporting me for this upcoming school year, please contact me! And whether or not you are able to contribute financially, if you could pray for me to reach my support goal, that’d be great!
• That I would finish well- taking advantage of last moments with students before they go home, being purposeful with the time I have left with my roommates (I get the keys to my new apartment May 31st!), and soaking up all I can from my last few classes.

• 
  

  That's my core! And that's a wrap!

Filled Up to Pour Out

 SPRING IS HERE!!

     With that in mind, I'd love to encourage you guys to go check out one of my favorite worship songs- Springtime by Chris Renzema. Give it a listen! It points me towards God in the small things like sunshine and flowers during this time of year.

    I've been sharing a lot in my blogs about the growth that is happening internally in our ministry- how the girls in my core are growing, learning, and maturing- but it's been really powerful watching the external effects that come along with that.

    About a week or 2 ago we had an entire week devoted to outreach at UTA. It’s so easy to get tunnel vision mid-year and forget that there’s still people all around our campus that God wants to meet and bring into his kingdom. Maybe it’s easy to feel like that in your workplace or school too. For that reason, I’m so glad one of our pastors at UTA, Emily, proposed that we spend a week focused on reaching new people.

     We had a display propped up by the dining hall with the question, “What do you think God is like and why?” People passed by and some had no interest whatsoever, but some were willing to stop for a conversation! Sometimes it seems like not much comes from something like this, but I don’t doubt that God used multiple conversations by these boards to plant seeds. Some people we’ve even gotten to invite into our cores and fellowship times too! Beyond reaching new students, it was a neat opportunity for our current students to practice evangelism and boldly make new friends. I was so thrilled to watch some of my girls step out of their comfort zones and engage in conversations with people they didn't know. Often, it was weird and awkward, but I don’t think God needs people with expert social skills or eloquent words to do something significant.  

     During our core time on Tuesday night that week, instead of having our usual discussion/worship, we went on campus and invited new people who passed by to play games with us like volleyball, Uno, and corn hole. 4 girls came by and played volleyball with us for a while. Their names were Laura, Janae, Allie, and Aubrey. They all expressed difficulty making friends this year and were so shocked to see something happening on campus. I was able to get their numbers to stay in contact- please pray for the spirit to place desire in their hearts for God and/or for community! Another guy named Scott came too. Scott doesn’t believe in God, but he seemed to enjoy his time spent with us that night (and again on Wednesday night when he hung out with another core while they were eating on campus). Please pray for him also!

    Pouring out was good and fruitful work, but I’m so thankful we had the chance to fill up before hand. My core took a weekend trip to Stillwater, Oklahoma! It was such a fun time and I genuinely believe God used it to deepen relationships in our core so that the girls have more freedom to be vulnerable with one another and experience community to a fuller extent. 

Prayer:

• For your own outreach- ask God to put someone or a group of people on your heart/mind in your office or break room, your neighborhood, or wherever else you find yourself often, to reach out to; invite someone new into your life that you can reflect God’s love to
• For the people we met at outreach this past week
• For our last month with students to be impactful!

Real Growth

Hey you guys!

February was a SWEET month and not just because of all the Valentine's candy. (Comment your favorite Valentine's candy!! Mine are Reese's Hearts for sure.)
This month was one of growth for my girls, so I figured I would just use this blog post to talk about how I’ve seen all that growth. I know this post looks like a lot of words, but I really think this one has some neat stuff in it!!

    Let’s start with Lizzy. Lizzy is a girl in my core who has been meeting up with my co-fa, Sam, weekly studying the Bible, but recently I have been spending some time with her too. I had noticed her attitude and heart slowly shifting throughout the year in core, but I’ve gotten a much closer look at that transformation as I’ve spent one on one time with her. I asked her how involvement in campus ministry has changed  her life and she said this: “In high school, I never really cared about my faith. I was definitely a Luke-warm follower of Christ. But ever since joining campus ministry I have felt like God was calling me back. I have seen God work in my life by pushing me to dig deeper into myself and my relationship with him. I have never felt more worthy as a person. I talk to people about my faith which I never used to do, because I want them to feel loved and worthy too.” I mean…WHAT. Are you crying too? Lizzy is from Connecticut and has kept in contact with a few of her friends from there. They saw things she posted on her social media and noticed her bringing God into their text/phone conversations that didn’t quite match up with who she was in high school. She’s been able to share her story of coming to know God intimately with her friends all the way across the country and some of them are even expressing an interest in beginning to take their faith more seriously because of her!!! It is definitely not a mistake or coincidence that Lizzy ended up at UTA of all places over much more convenient, local school options! I think that is divine intervention- God’s pursuit of her heart and of those she has and will impact.

Lizzy, Sam, Me, Sarah
Gal-entines event!
(masks taken off just for a quick pic!)

Lizzy also has a roommate- Sarah! I’ve been studying the Bible one on one with Sarah for this whole school year. Sarah had a very real relationship with Jesus before getting involved in FOCUS, but recently I’ve seen things start to click in her mind and heart in a whole new way. Not only is she developing as a disciple of Jesus, but now as a leader in the kingdom. I’ve noticed recently as we have been meeting that she is taking more time to think and reflect on the questions asked in our bible study. She is really letting things simmer in her brain before giving a “correct” Christian answer. Upon reflecting on her school year, she decided to make a goal of meeting and befriending new people both inside and outside of the FOCUS community because she sees the value Jesus places on discipleship and relationships- which is SUCH a great goal for anyone, but especially for someone more introverted. The following week she came to an outreach event on campus! She also said upon reflecting that right now is the most engaged she has ever been in her faith, and I’ve had the honor of a front row seat in watching this! I continue to see her step out of her comfort zone as she takes initiative. She recently brought her journal to core and asked each of us there to tell her something she could write down to be praying over throughout the week. 

GOD IS AT WORK HERE Y’ALL!

I wish I had time to talk about every girl in my core, but I think I’ll wrap up with just a few shorter thoughts. You’ve probably seen these names thrown around in my blog before. Vanessa has expressed difficulty in interacting with some of her old friends from high school because her values and lifestyle have changed so much. I am saddened at the tension she’s experiencing, but I am encouraged by how drastically God has changed her heart in just a few months. Melina has been initiating conversations with me about specific events in which she wants to intentionally think and act like Jesus.
I am blown away at what God is doing. Those of you who support me financially and prayerfully- thank you so much!!! The Lord is using what you give to move in radical ways over here in Arlington. You are so appreciated.