Kevin Pike Ministry Blog #41

 November Update 

    Hey everyone! Thanksgiving is almost here! I pray you all have a wonderful time with your families and eat some good food together! This year has blown by so quickly, here is what happened this past month.

Pizza Theo:

    Every school semester we host an event called Pizza Theology where for five hours, students come and listen to collegiate level talks about a specific topic that Focus chooses. This semester, we had a Dr. Rikk Watts come and talk to us about the gospel of John. This man has been studying the bible for over 30 years in the New Testament and it was so cool to hear the results of his intensive studies. He went in depth into certain stories by providing the historical background and cultural significance of each passage which is right up my alley. He made the text come alive by asking certain questions to get us thinking about the story in ways I had not thought about before. Dr. Watts also made sure to bring up evidence to drive home that the gospels and stories of Jesus are anything but fiction. I was so glad that we got to hear from him and I am currently thinking about a lot of things that he said. Here is the link to this amazing lecture that I recommend of you take time to listen to:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/634ZzZ8nyJCxmIbG42ezhe?si=gMcksHitRV-2-dFOgKJ3MQ

    We had a packed house for the night of Pizza Theo. Here are some pictures from that event, the first one is during the lecture and the second one is during a break:

KFG (Keep FOCUS Growing):

    This is our annual fundraiser for everything our ministry needs to run. To plant new campuses, have office supplies, keep our website running, to help pay for admin costs, providing outreach supplies to our campuses, procure staff development resources; this and much more is what our fundraiser covers. I am so thankful for all of you who donate to my ministry, this is another way that you can support our ministry and students across the DFW Metroplex. We currently have $75,000 in matching donations, so if you decide to give $100, that doubles to $200. Here is the link to donate:

https://web.charityengine.net/KFG

General Ministry:

    This month has been such a blast with ministry. I recently gave a sermon at one of our TNF (Thursday Night Fellowship) gatherings which I enjoy doing a lot. This sermon was from our sermon series, Favorite Jesus Stories. I chose the story of Jesus walking on the water which, is in fact, my favorite gospel story at the moment. That story is all about faith, fear, courage, and trust which I have learned a lot about these past five years. Here is the sermon if you want to listen to it!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6haK5QBKKsSHim3jkcDqrh?si=hAg78D6eQbOSlsOpV-owqw

    The numbers for the Monday small group I help lead have been slim recently. Many of our students are flaky because they have too much homework or other commitments to show up to, so it has been a little discouraging. Because of this, I have been doing more outreach on campus to invite more guys to join our group. My efforts of outreach has looked like bringing some guys from Focus with a frisbee and start throwing it around outside near the campus building, inviting anyone who walks near us to join us. And it has been quite successful! We met around 5 guys and two of them have been showing up to our Monday group! This is a reminder that there are still students at Collin who have not heard about Jesus and are still lonely. It is easy for us to only do outreach during the first week of school then forget about it the rest of the semester.

    Recently, all of our men's student leaders and staff went on a lake trip. We fished, grilled out, and had a great time together. We at Collin are so thankful for our student leaders as they have devoted so much time and energy to leading a small group and spreading the love of the gospel to all of those around them. Here is a picture from that lake day:

Prayer Requests:

    Some of our students have broken families where there is a lot of hurt and fighting between them, so Thanksgiving and other holidays can be more stressful than loving. Please pray for those students as they head into Thanksgiving break and that they can be comforted. Also, please be praying for the men in my small group, that they can be consistent and have a productive break coming up.

Thank You: 

    Thank you so much for your faithful support of my ministry at Collin College. Your generosity is making a real and lasting impact in the lives of students who are seeking direction, community, and a deeper relationship with Jesus. Because of partners like you, students are being reached with the gospel, welcomed into Christ-centered friendships, and equipped to grow into leaders who will carry God’s love wherever they go. I am truly grateful for the way you bless this ministry through your giving and prayers. Your support is a gift from God, and it continues to shape lives in ways that matter for eternity.

P.S. Here is a testimony from one of our students at SMU. Your donation and commitment to bringing the gospel to college campuses impacts students like him to find community and ask college level questions about their faith.