March Ministry Update

     Hi everyone! I hope you are enjoying the Easter season - He is Risen! I am excited to share with you what we have been up to at Collin (and beyond) this month.

Core

    Core these past couple weeks seems to be on a roll! In our Monday Bible study we have been working our way through a study plan called Foundations of Faith, a very back-to-the-basics kind of study for students that have little experience studying Scripture and still have a lot of questions about God and Jesus. It has been sweet seeing these young men wrestle with what it means to follow Christ, not just by word but in the way they live their lives and see the world around them! Here is a picture of the Monday guys:

    Our Wednesday core has been cool too! We began a study through the book of Esther and it is fun to see how a book of the Bible that is often studied by women has a lot to say to us guys. It has been a launching pad into some deeper spiritual topics and pressures these students face daily, such as the wicked potential of insecurity and trusting God when it seems like he is silent. Helping them think through and apply God's Word to their everyday life is a blessing and a privilege to be a part of!

Thursday Night Fellowship

    

    We have spent these last couple of TNFs (our large group worship service on Thursday nights) in a new series we are calling "Hot Takes" where we address some lies of the culture that has held students in our ministry back from following Jesus more closely. We have been able to be pretty direct in sharing Jesus's call to steward our resources well and to take responsibility for ourselves and the world around us - to go be the light of Christ in the ministry God has given us. Students seem to respond to it really well and I am excited for the rest of the series. We had the opportunity to host TNF in a lecture hall on campus this past week, and it was so encouraging to worship God at Collin! The school has approved us being on campus for three more weeks at the end of April, so please be praying that they will continue to be open to us meeting there for the rest of the semester and into next fall! And a quick shameless plug - we will be hosting a Family Night next week (more information below). It will be a lot like our regularly scheduled TNF and if you are in town and available that evening it would be great to have you there! Here are some pics of TNF this month:

Micah's Jersey Retirement Ceremony

    I know this technically isn't part of Collin FOCUS, but I couldn't help but share! March 27th the Cy Ranch baseball team hosted a jersey retirement for Micah, my little brother, who passed three years ago. My dad threw the first pitch, players unveiled a wall mount with Micah's name and number 22, and the announcer read letters about Micah from his coaches and one from our family. Seeing the way people have loved and cared for my family in the wake of his passing has been one of the biggest blessings of my life and the way the team has honored Micah is incredible to me! Thank you so much to those of you who came - it means the world that you would take time out of your week to come and support us! Here are some pictures!

Some quick prayer requests and a thank you!

    Please be praying with me:

• I've met a couple of Muslim students on campus who are interested in studying Scripture! We have begun going through the Focus on Jesus study that FOCUS uses as a walkthrough of fundamental Christian ideas like the Word, sin, grace, baptism, and more. Please pray the Spirit would continue to move in the lives of these young men (as He clearly has been doing already).
• I've partnered with a student named Ryan to start up a little Bible study group that meets Tuesdays at noon in the cafeteria of Collin's Allen Technical campus. So far we have had a couple of students join in! Please be praying that we could bless the campus and students would continue to be interested in joining us to study God's Word.

    Thank you all so much for your support and for partnering with me in reaching these young men. It is a blessing to get to do His work and I find it so cool that I get to meet with people to talk about faith and Jesus in the heart of secular college campuses. Here is Esther 4:14b, a verse that stood out to us as we have gone through the book in core:

"Who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" - Esther 4:14b

    It is awesome getting to be a part of these students' lives at such a formative time for them, and to share with them that God has them on this campus to be a light to those around them, too! Thank you for making that possible!

    I hope to get to see some of you at our Family Night on Thursday and happy Easter! He is risen! If this is your first time receiving this email, a browser version of this blog and the rest of the blog posts I have made this year are available at http://mick.mcafoose.anyfocus.org/. Attached below is Chloe's testimony, a student from our TWU ministry!

Blessings,

Mick