Student Spring Impact
Last week was our SSI (Student Spring Impact, apparently I had it wrong in previous posts!) outreach where 12 students and interns from a ministry at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA came to Denton, TX during their spring break to evangelize on our campuses. How cool is that?
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| The Washington Crew |
This is possibly my favorite week of the year because we mobilize all of our Texas students to join our guests from Washington (and all of the staff is involved too!). It may sound odd that I enjoy it because it is so commonly an intimidating activity for so many people these days. I used to be very nervous about initiating spiritual conversations on campus, but I've learned a few things each time that have helped me. I wanted to share these thoughts in this update, but I think I'll post them in a few days so I have more time to articulate them.
Spring Showcase
This event surprised us all with how successful it was. I know many of the student performers and have heard them sing/play songs in the past, yet I was still blown away by their talent. I would be shocked if anyone left disappointed with the quality of the show. Several of you came and I wanted to thank you for that! We were able to raise nearly $9,000 in order to help send students to SICM. If you weren't there, I'm sorry you missed out! The good news is we will likely have an even better show next year.
Intern & Staff Placement Next Year
All of the decisions have been made! It's a relief to have it done and exciting to look forward to next year. This coming year, the Denton staff team will consist of the following (click on their name beneath the photo to see some of their current blogs).
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| Miriam Freeman |
Miriam has been an intern at UNT this past year. She has been doing ministry on the UNT campus for several years as a student and as an intern with another ministry the years previous to her FOCUS internship. She will be staying on staff at UNT to continue mentoring student leaders and take on a bigger pastoral role with the Denton ministries.
Sarah has been an intern at TWU this past year. Sarah King, our current TWU director, is going to Arlington to help plant the UTA ministry so Sarah Hubbard will be taking on more responsibility on the TWU campus. She won't have to take that on alone though! Our Denton team isn't simply divided by campus - we're all in this together.
Kelly joined our team in January in order to fill a sudden need for mentoring student leaders. Her current role has been largely administrative, but next year she will have a much more pastoral role in Denton. We are very excited to have her join our staff team! Fun fact: Kelly did the FOCUS internship the same year that I did.
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| Cody McCarty |
Cody has been an intern at the Collin College ministry in Plano this year. He is a UNT alumnus so it's fitting that he will be returning to Denton to be on our team. He will likely be playing a role in the TWU ministry with Sarah Hubbard as well.
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| Aaron Hollingsworth |
Aaron will be our only intern next school year (starting August 1st). He has been mentoring our student leaders this past year as an older, more mature student in our ministry. Considering that experience, we wanted to give him an opportunity for further growth by facilitating the planting of a FOCUS ministry at NCTC (North Central Texas College), a community college in our area.
Two of our current interns, Stephen and Christian, will be moving on. Christian is moving to Philadelphia to go to medical school and Stephen is hoping to either pursue a PhD or start teaching at a college nearby. Sarah King, my "rock" in ministry this past year, will be moving to Arlington to start our UTA ministry. I can't express to you how sad I am about her moving, but I'm also excited to see how God uses her there. I'm proud of her for answering God's call to that campus.
Please continue to pray over our ministry as we will soon be making several transitions this summer. Many more than I have mentioned in this post even. We are very blessed to be supported by your prayers. Thank you for your investment in the Kingdom through our ministry!
Yours for the Campus,
Matt
Two of our current interns, Stephen and Christian, will be moving on. Christian is moving to Philadelphia to go to medical school and Stephen is hoping to either pursue a PhD or start teaching at a college nearby. Sarah King, my "rock" in ministry this past year, will be moving to Arlington to start our UTA ministry. I can't express to you how sad I am about her moving, but I'm also excited to see how God uses her there. I'm proud of her for answering God's call to that campus.
Please continue to pray over our ministry as we will soon be making several transitions this summer. Many more than I have mentioned in this post even. We are very blessed to be supported by your prayers. Thank you for your investment in the Kingdom through our ministry!
Yours for the Campus,
Matt
