February 2026

Hello!

I hope you all had a full, yet calm, February. I am excited to share with you some moments from this month.  I hope reading these stories and seeing these photos minister to you as much as they do to me as I reflect on the previous month and see God moving. I try to just pray and look to see where God is already moving, and join Him. I really do believe young adults from all different backgrounds and cultures are turning towards Jesus. I believe it because I've seen it! Thank you all for contributing in this with me through your prayers and donations. 

Above is a photo from this semester's Pizza Theology. We had the largest one ever. Actually so large that we are running out of options on where we can reasonably host it and have a seat for everyone who wants to come. If you are interested in listening to what we talked about, you can find them on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

FOJ (Focus on Jesus)!


Some of the guys I study with are opening the Bible for the first time! I got the guy above his own Bible, and I love taking the time to slow down and find each verse with him. Although he has a phone, he's been serious about searching for each book in the table of contents to find the verse he is looking for.

A lot of my hours week to week are spent in these one on one Bible studies. For every one that I finish, it seems that there are two more waiting to start. It's my favorite part of the job. The photo directly above is with Jeffrey. We just finished this 10 week long study, and it's been so much fun getting to know him during it. I've come to realize that one of my most important responsibilities as a campus pastor is just to teach people how to pray. God does all of the heavy lifting in people, and Jeffrey is someone I have seen take this desire to get to know God very seriously. 

Outreach

Outreach is such a loaded term for me. It's super important to be meeting new people and inviting them in, but when you categorize that as 'outreach', students only think about sitting at a table in the Student Center with a sign up sheet for small groups. This year, I have been trying to get more creative.

One of the most natural ways to meet new people is over a meal. I'll go with one or two guys that I know, and we will end up creating a large thanksgiving style table of a bunch of random people. I have also started to do a "3 minute Bible study". I'll take one well known quote from Jesus, meet someone new, ask to read it with them, and then ask one question. About 50% of the time, this opens up into a longer discussion.

Another low entry conversation starter has been to just ask someone to add their favorite song to my playlist. Again, it can open up into a larger conversation, but students are sometimes in such a rush that they won't stop to talk unless you first initiate something easy.

Sunday afternoon Run Club has become a project started entirely by freshmen. They have seen this as a way to include some of their non-Christian friends in community. They will give a question or prompt to talk about on the run. Another neat example of creative outreach! Let me know if you have any ideas. I would love to try them out.
The Grove





Announcements

Some exciting news is that our ministry is approaching its 30 year celebration! Feel free to spread this save the date to any alumni or anyone who might like to join. 

If you are alumni, please take a moment to fill out this contact update form so that you do not miss any updates. The big celebration will take place at CityBridge Church in Plano.



Love you all so much! Stay safe, healthy, and close to God this month. Talk to you soon.
Best,
Paul


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