Kevin Pike Ministry Blog #32

 February Blog 

    Hello everyone! I hope you have been able to stay warm during some of this month's turbulent weather. I am glad to be wearing shorts today as I write this instead of thermal pants. No matter the temperature, ministry at Collin College has steadily continued and it has been a great month! 

    Pizza Theo:

    Pizza theology is an once a semester event where we allow students to take a college level deep dive into a specific topic while eating pizza. This semester our topic was on finances and what God says about them. The title for the talk was "Biblical Facts about Stacks on Stacks", that was to appeal to our students who are Gen-Z. Stacks on stacks refers to making a lot of money, it was a lit attempt to get them locked in. Sorry for that, but we were blessed to have our staff make some great lectures based on Biblical teachings on money. We talked about what the Old Testament says about money, what it means to tithe, how to handle finances in general, and Jesus’s stance on money. It was open to all of the campuses and we had a great overall turnout. We do wish more of our students from Collin made it, but we will be talking to them and trying to figure out why a good amount of them skipped it. It was a great resource that I learned a lot from. Here are some pictures from the event!

    TNF:

    Thursday Night Fellowship has been going great! We are still in our sermon series with the characteristics of Jesus. This past Thursday on 2/27, I preached on, "Disciples are Sacrificial". I enjoy the creative writing process of creating sermons and this was the most fun one I've written. I talked about how giving up ourselves for others is what Jesus did and that should be our goal as well. The goal is to look like Jesus and his life was full of sacrifice. I mentioned a story about Christians from the year 251 in the Roman Empire during the Cyprian plague and that the followers of Christ during that time decided to stay in the cities and tend to those infected. The disease was deadly and any contact would certainly mean death but that did not stop the Christians. They helped those who were left to die and sacrificed themselves to serve. Here is a link to more of the story if you are interested: https://credomag.com/2020/04/christian-mercy-in-a-time-of-plague/. I wanted to challenge the students to think about sacrificing their plans, money, interests, social status all for the benefits of others. Here are some pictures of our recent TNF's and of me when I was preaching:

    Ministry Update:

       This semester has been great with our guys here at Collin, but there also have been some challenges. Last semester, all the guys I was meeting up with for the Bible study were energetic, consistent, and loved to ask questions. But now during the second semester, that spark has faded in some of them. I have been having some hard conversations with them about how they keep canceling on our time and not doing any of the work on the study. I have been challenging them to take it more seriously, to see FOCUS less as a social club and more as a way to get closer to the Lord. Some have taken it well but some of them do not seem to care which is discouraging. I continue to pray for them that they will see the importance of Bible study and will have the passion to continue our time together. But, I will give more time to the people who want to be there and want to know more. Overall the ministry is doing great, the discouraging interactions are less than half of the Bible studies that I do. The others are fun and encouraging. We have some great potential for leaders next semester! 

    On a good note, our small groups are continuing to grow and be more discussive! It is so fun getting to meet with the students, talk about Jesus, then hangout afterwards. They are growing closer as friends which is also wonderful to see. We are starting to ask some of the guys who we have our eyes on for potential leaders next school year to help lead the small group and give them an opportunity to try it out. I am all for giving the students more responsibility and leadership challenges to grow them to facilitate events. Here is a picture of some of our students and I after playing some football, enjoying the nice weather: 

    Marriage:

    I got married! On Feb. 1st my wife and I got to start our new lives together. We had a great ceremony with our close friends and family. It was such a special time and I am so thankful that I get to spend the rest of my life with such a special woman. We then went to Hawaii on our honeymoon which was beyond perfect. Hawaii is what I think Heaven is going to be like; the weather is perfect, the beaches are gorgeous, and the food is amazing. This month has been really special to us and it has been so fun being married and living in a new apartment. Here are some pictures from the wedding and the honeymoon.

    Prayer Requests: 

    Pray for the guys who are not taking community, Bible studies, and God seriously. Let's pray that they are able to make God more of a priority in their lives. Pray for the students as they head into their midterms, that they are able to study well and not be stressed out by the exams. Pray that we are able to lead our students into becoming effective leaders for wherever they end up in life. The goal of FOCUS to develop leaders and have them be an effective outlet for spreading the love of God to any place they go after college. 

    Thank You:

    I am grateful for your generous support of my mission at Collin Community College. Your kindness and generosity allow us to share God’s love, build a strong faith community, and provide students with the encouragement they need to grow spiritually. Your partnership is truly a blessing, and I appreciate your commitment to this ministry. Thank you for making a meaningful impact in the lives of so many. May God bless you abundantly for your support!