Shayla's Ministry Blog

Hey there!  Thank y'all so much for all of your faithfulness this year. Here are some end of semester updates :)  Our December student testimony from UTD! Whoosh!  Some of our staff ladies got dinner with Rikk Watts before he gave a huge theology lecture on the book of John! It was great to pick his brain and to share some things about young people he could pastor into. That's me on the far right.  You can listen to Pizza Theology  here : Thank y'all for praying and giving! Another successful year!  We had a game night and a fire pit to celebrate the end of the semester with our corefas! My team on the right won twice in a row during code names. Blue team forever!  Here's a picture I took one of the combined girls and guys cores! We weren't able to have a big Christmas party this year because we've gotten bigger, can't reserve a room on campus the first week of December, and everywhere off campus is very expensive. Instead our cores paired up and had m...

Howdy, everyone! This month's update will be brief but I'm excited to update you nonetheless. First up, our student testimony from Aaron at SMU. I had the pleasure of getting to know him a little bit at SICM this past year. What a sweet guy! Please take a moment to read his story.  Keep FOCUS Growing: A note from our Director, Brandon Worsham:  "This annual fundraiser helps cover a bunch of background expenses in addition to setting aside funds for future growth.  Many years ago, the Lord clearly laid on our hearts the commission to build campus ministries at every campus in DFW, including the community colleges. Few others are trying to reach community colleges anywhere in the US, even though somewhere around 40% of undergraduates attend them. We've had ministries at some campuses for years, but these campuses are harder for a bunch of reasons--quick turnover of the brightest students, challenges to funding, little to no on-campus life, etc. I told our campus director...

 Howdy everyone! I'm excited to update you from the last month. To start off, here's our student testimony from Sarai at UTA. Please read her story.  Fall Retreat: The big news is that we had our largest ever turnout for Fall Retreat. We were so surprised! The students got to learn from each other about how Jesus is transforming them, they played lots of games, they got to learn from Ronnie Worsham, an experienced minister for over 50 years. We are so excited to see the fruit of this year's fall retreat.  Here are some pictures from the last month below: Another one of our students, Alex, got baptized! He gave his testimony during church which was outside that morning and then we got to see him get baptized by Jaxon. So neat!  This is Heidy on the bottom and Kenedy on top. They co-lead at TWU! They've done a great job being faithful with their girls, they care deeply, pray for them, study scripture with them, and look after them. I love getting to meet with them ever...

Hey everyone! Here's some snapshots from September. As always, our student testimony is first. Please read Ana from Collin College's story.  Cathryn and I nearly getting blow away in the Target parking lot by a crazy storm! Cathryn is one of my coworkers and a dear friend! She's a good teacher, intentional friend, and faithful mentor to our students.  This is Sophia. She's one of the student leaders I meet with weekly. This is a picture of her acting up during her core (small group). I believe we were discussing spiritual friendships. My dad and my nephew Paxton! My dad is Paxton's most favorite person in the world. He's always asking for "Pop Pop". It's very sweet. This was after Paxton's birthday party. Samantha baptizing Layla! Samantha is a recent graduate and someone who I led core with last year. Samantha studied the bible with Layla and now Layla is a student leader. This was so neat and special to get to see the fruit of faithfulness a ...

Hey! I'm excited to tell you y'all about the busy month of August. Please continue to pray for wisdom for our staff and openness to the gospel. The harvest is plentiful! We had around 300 our first fellowship night. We're so grateful for your prayers and financial partnership.  First up, our student testimony from Kathryn at UTD. Fun fact: I actually got to drive her around at SICM last year and hear about her spiritual journey and I got to drive her little brother around and hear about his spiritual journey! God has been so faithful through students and staff at UTD FOCUS. I love that I get to hear about God's goodness across the metroplex.   Here are some photos I took from a very busy August. I'm sorry I'm not usually in them, I like being behind the camera more than in front of it :)  A picture I took at an event we planned called Clark Park Campout :) We had Ryan and Cathryn sing covers of songs at a field near one of the dorms and the students loved it. We...

 Howdy all!  As summer winds down (ish), we're gearing up for a metaphorical marathon with the start of the school year in August. First, our student testimony. Please take a moment to read Christina's story!  Some Summer photos: Cathryn and I were having a work day. When she was done with her work, I would occasionally hear "Mmm yesss, so good!". Very wholesome and silly of her. The book she is reading is one I highly recommend: Room for Good Things to Run Wild by Josh Nadeau. It's about embracing sanctification, especially in the ordinary.  Our Denton staff for the upcoming year! Gotta love the luchador painting in the back. Casey Hopper (bottom left), Hannah Edwards (middle left), and Hannah Winkler (middle right), are our new apprentices in Denton. I'm very excited to be working with them this year!  My friends and I at the beach! We went looking for crabs at night and boy did we find some.  Grant holding his baby nephew, Merrick! This was such a sweet ...

Happy summer!  I'm excited to share with y'all what's been going on here. Spoiler alert: a lot of prayer, planning, and people!  First up is our student testimony. Please take time to read Jordan's testimony. Fun fact: I got to drive him (along with others) to Canada during SICM. A group of students went to meet, get to know, and pray for people. He's a cool dude!   Photos from the month: Our first Thursday Night Fellowship for the Summer! So many people came, I had to sit upstairs. The energy of this group is incredible. It's neat to see so many young disciples of Jesus in pursuit of one another, and the mission.  A picture of most of our staff team! We spent two full work days in Dallas strategically planning ahead. So many details, so little time. We planned the first two weeks of events to welcome the students to school, material for our student leaders, themes, sermon series, portfolio changes, schedules, and more! Our brains were tired but our hearts were ...