Trust In Him

Hi everyone! This is my ministry update for the month of October, and I want to start by sharing a personal story and some of things God has been teaching me out of that. About two years ago, I had a friend in my life who was dealing with some problems with drugs, and I was really trying to help him out. He ended up moving in with me, and I spent so much time, spiritual, and emotional energy trying to help him and convince him to get help and turn his life around. I prayed for him fervently because I really believed that the only way things would turn out well was if God stepped in and acted.

The situation ended really poorly, and because it felt like God didn't answer that prayer, my trust in God basically hit a wall. It wasn't explicit, but I implicitly assumed that prayer didn't work so I didn't pray very much, and certainly not with the same faith and expectation I did for that situation. I've been learning to trust God again for the past couple years, and God is inviting me to take another step forward in that process. I talked with Cody, my pastoral supervisor, and he challenged me to put my trust in God in a deeper way. He challenged me to not control and seek to fix problems my myself but to go to God. As a result, I'm pondering the question: "What if I truly believe that the only way God's work will be done in the lives of the students I interact with is if his Spirit moves, and not if I say something wise to them in conversation." I'll ask you the same question: "How would your life change if you believed God was the only one who could change the hearts of the people around you?"

Also, the ministry is doing great! I'm constantly amazed by the willingness of our student leaders to sacrifice time and energy to love others. Here are some things I've been really encouraged by:

We had our Fall Camp earlier this month! Over 100 students came, and we had so much fun together. We had a worship night, where students get to just spend time with God and do some different worship activities. So much encouragement, reflection, and growth occurred during that time and throughout the weekend.

At fall camp, a group of us went on a walk to a beautiful overview. We shared about our lives and enjoyed God's creation together.

Several of our students are ethnically Jewish, so we celebrated Rosh Hashanah together by worshiping and eating together. Issac, one of the Jewish students, shared about what the holiday means to Christian Jews today, and it was a great time of learning and celebrating God.

This is a bunch of the students from Central Park Campus, the campus I primarily serve at. God has been so faithful to us, and we continue to have new students come and express interest. We are so thankful for the work he has done, as Focus at CPC is only 3 years old, yet God is changing lives and moving in powerful ways.

I want to say thank you again to all of the donors who support me, both in prayers and finances. Your generosity gives me the opportunity to share the gospel and help mature disciples on college campuses. I'm blown away by how God uses our friendship to further His kingdom.

Payer Requests

• This time of year is one in which many of our student leaders become discouraged. It's hard to see growth and be thankful during the long period until Thanksgiving break. Please pray that our leaders would be filled with energy, courage, and love even when times are hard. 
• Many guys in my small group are asking a lot of questions about God and are really interested in growing. Pray that God would continue to stir their hearts towards him and give them wisdom and understanding to know him better.
• As I talked about earlier, I am still learning to trust God and rely solely on him. Pray that I would go to him first and not try to do all of the work myself.