Alex’s Ministry Blog

Through ministry this month, the Lord has been teaching me much about family. I've been so blessed to have been given such a supportive spiritual and biological family by God. I reflected much on the family I was born into (and even the one I’m soon marrying into!). They’ve done so much for me and continue to be persistent with me, even when I can be difficult. I was constantly reminded by God that I'm loved and supported by so many people. The people I get to work with and serve in ministry are also my family, my brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s such an eye opening experience to recognize that you’ve also been grafted into a new family of believers, one that consistently seeks to love one another and point each other to Christ! Snapshot of Brandon, Tony, and Pedro working on assignments at a coffee shop. These guys have been so encouraging in the way they live their lives with people they encounter and befriend. We had guest speaker Bill Watson come spe

Campus ministry is a heavily relational vocation and lifestyle. For this month's update, I primarily wanted to highlight some people I spend a lot of time with during this apprenticeship. Their friendships and willingness to pour into me in different ways has shaped me so much over the past few months! A picture from our yearly leadership conference, featuring the FOCUS ministries and our parent churches from Garland, Wylie, Denton, and Arlington! This year we discussed using scripture and the stories in it to minister to people.  So many people at this conference impacted others who poured into me, and thus indirectly influenced who I am. It was amazing to look around and think about how God has used all of these relationships to impact so many lives both in and outside of that room.  Cody, my pastoral supervisor. He's also become one of my best friends this year. I love meeting with him every Friday morning and talking about our lives, one on one ministry,

The second month of the apprenticeship quickly flew by. September came and went in the blink of an eye, but it was exciting being on the campuses for the first full month with students! We started our weekly outreach/evangelism events at the campuses. We typically do something different each week to engage and get students to think about different topics that are relevant to them. We asked students to respond to questions such as “What is a favorite memory from this semester?” and  “What memories influenced your view of God or faith?” They then wrote them on note cards to share and discuss. I started two weekly one-on-one studies with guys in my core (small group). The study is called “Focus on Jesus” or FOJ. FOJ allows us to get to know another person and Jesus, explore scripture, ask each other questions, all while doing life together! Super excited to get to know these guys better and learn something from them as well. An FOJ book, complete with Chick-fil-A cup.

Hello there! I'm excited to share the first month of my apprenticeship with you. It's been a great start so far and I am incredibly excited for the rest of the year! Throughout the apprenticeship we get to take different classes covering all sort of theological and practical topics, from financial stewardship to Old Testament foundations. These classes help us discuss different topics and minister to the students on our campuses. The 12 apprentices this year ready to start class and discuss our readings and findings! We started August with our Old Testament foundations class. For about 8 hours for two weeks we read scripture starting with Genesis and a textbook breaking down the history and theology of each individual book, as well as listened to lectures covering the different books. Here's my reading set up, complete with a Chick-fil-A cup. Those two weeks were incredibly exhausting, yet I enjoyed getting to explore and understand the scriptures in

Hello there! First of all, thank you so much for investing in me through your finances, prayers, encouragements, relationships, or by reading these updates. I’m so excited to share these exciting next few months in ministry I’ll be doing with college students! This 10 month apprenticeship is with FOCUS, the ministry that I joined early on as a freshman at the University of North Texas. Through FOCUS, God shaped me into someone who really wants to learn more about people and minister to college students in particular, who are in such a critical defining period of their lives. I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity to be involved in the lives of these students in whatever capacity that I am this year. I'm one of two apprentices to be at the Collin campuses, and one of twelve overall this year. 11 of the 12 apprentices at our apprenticeship orientation! Leaving Denton was hard. It was the town I lived in for four years, where I found friends, community, a deeper