— Life of a Campus Pastor

My friends!

This year has been flying by and God has been so faithful and continues to bring students into our UTD and Richland College ministries. August and September are the craziest months for campus ministry but things are starting to slow down and the students that are coming to core and our fellowship meetings are now solidifying.

This school year I get to lead a coed core at Richland with one of our apprentices Eddie. We have been meeting for over a month now on Tuesdays at 1:30 and it has been such a blessing getting to meet students and share Jesus with them! Our group of students comes from different cultural, religious, and family backgrounds. We spent the past two weeks sharing stories about events that have had a deep impact on their lives. There was a lot of crying together, encouraging one another, and such a strong connection was formed. These students have been through so much and yet here they are coming to learn more about Jesus. Please continue to pray for our Richland ministry, God has given us students that are hungry for Him and the hope that only He can bring!

I asked one our students that is part of our Richland core to share about her experience in FOCUS. I hope you find her words encouraging!

“God has taught me what love is again through our ministry. I never really felt like I belonged anywhere when I moved to Dallas, and when I heard about core I had just gotten out of a bad breakup. I was in need of a community and belonging, and God provided for me. Core really jump-started me into pursuing my faith again, and I really struggled with feeling like God could love me after I had forgotten about Him for three years. When you gave me the Focus on Jesus study it helped me get back into the love of spending time with our amazing God and realizing that He never stopped loving me. I was worried about core this year because I didn’t know many people, and I was no longer taking classes at Richland, but everyone has been very open to one another. Being able to share my experiences, and receive advice on them with people who care about my walk with God has been incredible. I want to invest my time into a core and Focus because for so long I have tried and failed at pursuing my faith on my own. We aren’t meant to do it alone, we are one body. We need each other, and in my short time involved in Focus I’ve seen not only how I need others in order to grow spiritually, but how others need me as well.” -Summer

This is Summer! She's going to UTD this year.

At UTD the small groups have also been exploding with students! I have visited two cores there and both had around 15 girls in each! These core attendees have started studying the Bible 1:1 with one of our leaders or strong returners and it is through the 1:1 study time we get to see the Matthew 28 passage lived out!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

I am honored to get to share Jesus with students every day! Your support means so much. I hope that the pictures from this past month will be an encouragement in your life and that they will minister to you.

As always, let me know how I can be praying for you!

Love Y'all,

Sandra Salvador