Work Hard for the Lord

Hi everyone! Welcome to my campus ministry update for the month of January. This month has been slower than normal, so I don't have quite as many pictures (sorry!), but its been a month of reflecting and preparing for the new year and a new semester.

Some sweet students in our ministry organized a New Year's Eve party!

We started out the new year with Focus staff retreat, where all the Focus staff from all the campuses (about 50 of us in total) drove out to central Texas to spend time with one another and realign our hearts for the upcoming year. Focus has a sister ministry in Washington called CCF (Campus Christian Fellowship) and Brady and Shirley Bobbink, who have been ministers there for more than 40 years came down to encourage us and answer questions about ministry. There was lots of time for us to hike and play games as well, so I got to know several of the other staff a lot better. 

Watching the sunset at staff retreat

Hiking at Ink's Lake state park at staff retreat

Finally, as I've been reflecting this week God has been giving me a pretty powerful message. Campus ministry (or any ministry) is not always easy. People get depressed, fall into sin, make foolish decisions, and disappoint you. I do the same things and disappoint myself. These past couple weeks concrete examples of all of these have happened to me or people I really love and care about. When these things happened I often would get pretty upset. I would ask if I was doing enough, if God was using me to accomplish his purposes, or most importantly if God was with me. 

God used people, song, and scripture to remind me of a powerful lesson. First, I was talking with my roommate Austin, and he encouraged me and reminded me that God will use us. He reminded me that I was loving people and that even if I didn't respond to each situation perfectly, I did what I could to honor God. He was my biggest fan, and reminded me that God is our biggest fan. God is cheering for us as we try to serve him, not counting each mistake as we do so. I also encountered a song called "Your Labor is Not in Vain." It has some powerful and poetic verses. These are two of them and the chorus:

Your labor is not in vain
Though the ground underneath you is cursed and stained
Your planting and reaping are never the same
Your labor is not in vain

The vineyards you plant will bear fruit
The fields will sing out and rejoice with the truth
For all that is old will at last be made new
The vineyards you plant will bear fruit

I am with you, I am with you
I am with you, I am with you
For I have called you, called you by name

Your labor is not in vain

This song pointed me to 1 Cor. 15:58:

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

This is so encouraging to me, and I am reminded that work done for the Lord is not in vain, and not without reward. I can work hard for the Lord because it is his work and he will bring it to completion. God has used this to get me fired up for this semester, and I can't wait to see how God works this year. My encouragement to you is to work hard for the Lord. Find ways to bless and love others, even (and especially) when it's hard. He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion.

Thank you to everyone who partners with me in prayer and financially! It is an honor to do God's work alongside you and I'm blessed each day by your generosity.

Prayer Requests

• Pray for our Winter camp this coming weekend. Winter camp is a time when students come together from all the campuses and spend 4 days living and laughing together while diving deep into his word. We are learning about the Psalms this year. Pray that God's Spirit would move powerfully to teach, heal, and renew the students there.
• Pray for the students at the Central Park Campus in McKinney. Pray that we would serve and invite people boldly as a new semester begins. Pray that non-Christians would begin to be attracted by Christ and the love we have for one another.
• Pray that I would be filled with energy and wisdom. Pray that I would trust God and speak his words.