Fall Camp & Falling in Love with God ❤️

My friends & team! 

October was a beautiful month! As a ministry, we had our annual fall-camp and the students loved it! Our theme this year was "taste & see that the Lord is good!" :) 

Within our theme, we focused on the characteristics of, 

(1) taste & see God's: fire; 

(2) taste & see God's: fruit; and 

(3) taste & see that God is fun. 

Fire.

Fruit.

Fun. 

Way back in August, our pastoral team engaged with a book called "The Critical Journey" by Janet Hagberg. This is a marvelous book that details the stages of faith one moves through as they follow Christ. Hagberg writes that stage 1 of the journey is always: Awakening to God's love. 

For a long time I have supposed that the 1st stage of the spiritual journey is: discipleship. I define discipleship as: learning, reading, studying, and participating in the life of Christ. In "The Critical Journey", it is stressed over & over that throughout the Bible, one must first respond to the love of God before they begin discipleship. 

This has re-shaped the way I view college ministry in some significant ways. Many of our students are not raised in Church and FOCUS often becomes their primary and, often, first experience of Christian community. In other words, maybe these students are not quite ready for discipleship... Some, of course, are - but the majority may not be. 

I began asking myself: How can FOCUS help create a space for students to encounter the love of God to hopefully taste & see that the Lord is good? 

I am just in the beginning(s) of engaging with this question. Community college ministry is mostly unchartered territory for me (and many others). I am learning new things month-to-month and I am hoping to stay organized & faithful with what new insights, discoveries, and opportunities are in front of me & my team. 

Please pray for us as we explore this question! Our students are only with us for a brief part of their college-journey's - pray that they can, as Janet Hagberg writes - encounter the love of God! 

Enjoy the pictures below :) Thank you for your support and for believing in our mission! 

Anaya dressed up as a princess for her 1st Halloween! :) 

Our Richland FOCUS ministry :) Praise God for this group of students! 

Our Wednesday Night FOCUS meeting :) - each week, we gather in a circle to worship & connect with one another. Sitting in a circle has been awesome! Since making this change, our students seem more engaged and participative during our meetings.  

Anaya is growing & is now able to sit up straight on my shoulders! Love her so much :) 

Our 2025 Richland FOCUS Fall Camp was so so so so fun! We had a blast :) 

Every Wednesday we have been going through different stories of men & women throughout the Old Testament who awakened to God's love :) It has been so awesome to slowly work through the different stories! 

On the 2nd Wednesday of every month we have been having lunch with one another :) It has been so awesome to eat, share, & connect with the students on campus! 

Praise God! One of our students, Mahagony decide to get baptized! She is one of our most consistent and loving students; I'm so proud of her for making this decision. 

Thank you for your support & for believing in our mission to love college students. My prayer for our students is that they would encounter the love of God in a profound & meaningful way - leading to a life built on the love of Christ! 

I hope to talk to you soon - do not hesitate to reach out to me if there is anything in your life that you'd like prayer for. 

Your brother & campus missionary,

Sirak 

September 2025 - We Blinked & Saw God's Faithfulness

On P. 49 of Deep Mentoring: Guiding Others on Their Leadership Journey, Randy D. Reese (2012) writes: 

"The cultural conditions have certainly changed since Jesus' first-century ministry, but the work of developing others still holds this inherent invitation, the invitation to be with others. There is no way of getting around this. It is a life-upon-life work." 

We are just over 1 month into the school year and this year feels different. In previous years, during the first few months - we have focused primarily on selecting new students, studying scripture with them, raising up leaders, and inviting them to step into leadership roles by the end of the year. 

This year, we are casting our nets wide as we walk with students more than we are aiming to begin immediate discipling relationships. This has caused our Richland pastoral team to pace ourselves and focus more on the experience of being with our students as they become more familiar with our ministry and - us. 

This shift has invited me to reflect on the rhythm and pace that Jesus operated with. All of ministry is important - but how much of it is urgent? This question has startled me due to my compulsive reactivity to always needing to be "doing something". What if the being with is just as important as the doing? Could the "doing" naturally emerge from, as Reese (2012) writes, this "...life-upon-life work.."? 

Our Richland pastoral team is in a unique place because we are all in our late 20s, early-mid 30s - so (according to our students), we are old! Hah! Please pray that we would honor the pace & rhythm we are in while still serving in faithful ministry-work! 

Thank you for your support and being with me as we love the students we cross paths with. 

Enjoy the pictures below! Let's gooooo

Our Wednesday night FOCUS group! We've had a consistent and engaged group of young people who are excited about meeting & connecting with one another. Each week we are working through a Biblical man/woman who awakened to God's love and how that experience changed / shaped their life forever! 

The club-fair was a huge success and we loved getting to meet new students and share about our ministry :) 

Becca (center) has been such a blessing to our group! We love having her on our team - her teamwork, pastoral mind, and presence have impacted our ministry! 

Our Wednesday lunch-bunch time(s) have been so fun! 

We dropped Anaya off for her first-day of pre school and it was a visceral experience - I may have written about this in a previous blog post; but - alas - here I am writing about it again. She is growing too fast! Wow :) 

Anaya wanted to try on my t-shirt. And, of course - it was the cutest thing I've ever seen. 

Please pray that students would continue to open their hearts to one another as the school year moves along. Around mid-October is when we have midterms and exams come up & several students drop out of our ministry to handle their schoolwork. Please pray that our students would be engaged, organized, and prepared for their classes & assignments!

 Thank you | Thank you | Thank you! - 

Thank you for reading this and thank you for your ministry support :) I feel so blessed to have each of you on my team. Please keep me posted if you need prayer for anything - grateful for each of you! 

Your brother & campus missionary,

Sirak

Sirak's August 2025 Update (Trust in the Slow Work of God ❤️)

Late August & September were full of events and activities with the goal of: connecting with new students!

Serving in ministry at a community college, I am continually aware of of influx of new students and the outflux (is this a word?) of students transitioning to their next season of life. 

This dynamic has presented no shortage of challenges in terms of long-term discipleship. However, I am learning that, to God - challenges are opportunities and problems are invitations to seek new venues and mindsets for growth. 

Discipleship has always had a special place in my heart. The call to follow Jesus was instrumental to my faith journey during my time in college. Subsequently, the invitation to discipleship was a natural next step for me (and many others). 

God has been (slowly) revealing to me that prior to both the invitation to discipleship and the call to follow Jesus, is the acceptance of God's unfailing love as the foundation of ones entire being. 

In many ways, this does not change anything. In fact, it deeply colors and amplifies everything! The messages of: You are loved. You are known. You are created for a purpose, and You are God's child -  Can often be messages that are skipped over or forgotten along our faith journey. 

This year, we are hoping to (re)communicate those core messages within the work we have already been doing on campus. God loves you. You are known. You are created for a purpose. You are God's child.

This has proven to be more challenging in ways otherwise not predicted. Have I forgotten these core messages? Have I become dependent on productivity, tasks, and output while neglecting my own sonship? 

Please pray for us as we attempt to faithfully share this foundational message of our faith: that God loves Richland! :) 

Enjoy the pictures below!

 

This year, we hosted a few worship nights and they were wonderful! We got to connect with new students and worship God together :) 

Our 2025-26 Richland FOCUS Pastors! (From left to right: Maria, Sandra, Becca, and myself!)

Here is our Wednesday / Thursday "lunch bunch" crew! Each week, we gather to discuss a person from scripture who encountered God's love and how that love transformed them! 

Wednesday Night FOCUS is off to a great start! We are excited about what Wednesday nights are going to hold for us :) 

Another picture of our Wednesday "lunch bunch" crew! 

Anaya had her first day of pre-school and it was something that I never could have prepared myself for! Wow - how do parents do this...every year? 

Anaya turned 2! Wow. wow. wow. wow. She is growing so much and experiencing all of the joys of life. Feeling so blessed to be her dad :) 

Often, Anaya will dress up and say, "Okay! I'm ready for FOCUS!" I think she's figuring out that she's cute ✌🏾❤️ Any tips on what what to do now? 

Maria & Sandra met a ton of new students during welcome-week! There are always new students walking by our tables who may be interested in making new friends & connecting :) 

Thank you for your support & for believing in our mission to love college students! 

I am grateful for each of you and am so excited for what the future holds for our ministry. Thank you for being a part of our story. 

Your brother & campus missionary,

Sirak 

There are no finish lines - only mile markers ❤️

We've reached the end!  

Thank you for your support & partnership this year. If I could choose one phrase to define this year it would be: convicting comfort (or...comforting conviction?). 

In John 14, Jesus says: "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever..."

He continues in John 16: "...It is best for you that I go away, because if I don't, the Advocate won't come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The worlds sin is that it refuses to believe in me..."

In John 14, the greek word: Paraklete is referred to when describing the Holy Spirit. This word can often be defined as: comforter, encourager, counselor... (initially described as advocate). 

In summary - I find it interesting that Jesus says that it is better for him to leave so that he will send the comforter (greek: paraklete). What is the role of a comforter? Well...to comfort us. 

In Jesus' mind - that definition is too small. The role of a comforter is not just to comfort - but also to convict. What a difficult balance to strike! How can one both comfort AND convict? 

I defined this year as "convicting comfort" or "comforting conviction" because I have continually felt challenged to discern when to "push" / "challenge" the students in our ministry while also considering the ways I am being led to "comfort" // and "be a safe space" for them as well. 

In a world where many long for "safe spaces", and the desire to be seen is a top priority among those we are reaching, how can we make ourselves vessels for the Spirit's redeeming work on our planet? 

I am fully aware of the ways I seek comfort over conviction. The ways I choose to detach, numb, or pull-away from the responsibilities right in front of me. God always seems to know the perfect way to invite/call us out of out comfort to taste the convicting realities of what it means to be human. 

The Savior we represent on campus is one that saves us from our bondage to the numbing and detaching we are ever so used to. Though there are Christians we focus a little too much on the "convicting" portion of the idea I am presenting - I hope to strike a balance with both, so that this fall, we can be a ministry where students feel safe - while at the same time inviting those students to know we will not compromise our standards of love we have graciously received from Christ ❤️

Pray for us! 

---------------------------------------------------------

Photos Below: 

Our Wednesday night FOCUS worship team! - grateful for each of these students (from left to right: Laniah, Jernee, me, Kris, Tom, & Meech)

Our WNF worship team! 

Grateful for my friendship w/ Jorge - we didn't know how to pose for our end-of-the-year party...so we did some praying-hands. 🤷🏾‍♂️

I'm grateful for my friendship w/ Meech and our time together. We also did not know how to pose so we did a 90s rap poster-type-vibe. 

Each week I've had the privilege of meeting w/ these two guys, studying scripture together, and getting to connect about how God is growing & stretching us. Excited for the summer and these two guys being a part of our ministry this fall! 

At our end-of-the-year party we prayed for one another as we said goodbye to the transferring students in addition to the students who are entering the workforce. 

Our student-leader did a great job sharing at our end-of-the-year party!

Anaya & I at our first daddy-daughter dance! 

Our Richland FOCUS 2025-26 staff team! 

Our ministry enjoying Raising Canes after one of our Wednesday Night FOCUS meetings :) 

Happy Easter! :) 

Thank you for your support & for believing in our mission to love students! I hope to be in touch with each of you this summer - I'd love to reconnect :) 

Until then - be encouraged by the photos! 

Your brother & campus missionary,

Sirak 

March & April update (the journey & the destination...are the same thing?)

Good morning my friends & team :) 

We're already in April, which means that we have roughly one month left in the school year. This season of the ministry-year invites us to reflect on God's faithfulness from August until now while internalizing the lessons that He has placed in our path. 

As of today, I have 3 classes remaining in my MA Theology program I have been slowly working through since 2021. This master's degree has opened my mind & heart to the depth and breadth of Christian Spirituality and Vocational Ministry. 

I never planned on being a "pastor".  🤷🏾‍♂️   My journey is one marked by responding to God's invitation which led to another invitation...and to another. Each invitation along the way required a level of obedience & discernment...and, here we are. 

I do believe in free-will and I also believe in divine guidance. Somewhere in-between these two concepts I have landed here - as a 36-year-old college pastor. But, I digress (or is it regress? - I never know). 

A key topic of conversation within seminary circles is that of inclusion/diversity. Churches across the western hemisphere are aiming to be spaces of warmth and connection to a wide range of people groups and are curious to understand the how & who of these key topics. 

At Richland College, we serve a student-population who are actively looking for belonging and connection during this brief 2-year pitstop called: the community college. 

Our ministry is constantly shifting & changing - dependent on the students who show up and engage with us. Our ministry is also naturally inclusive & diverse - both characteristics of the campus we work on. 

This unique dynamic at Richland College is not by accident - I believe it is by divine design. My personal story (as referenced earlier) is one marked by responding to God's invitation...over & over again. 

It is easy to grow weary as a college pastor. Our campus, though a beautiful place of potential connection - can often be a place marked by a lack of student life, diminished student engagement, increased technological addiction, and students immediately leaving campus once class is finished. 

Please pray for our staff team & our student leaders - pray that we would, like our Lord, continually send out invitations...and then some more...and then a few more...trusting & hope that there is, in fact, a divine plan that we are participating in. 

Looking ahead, I'm excited to complete my final three classes and apply any theological insights I find to better serve our ever-changing student population & campus context. 

More importantly, I'm committed to creating spaces where everyone can experience the belonging and connection they're searching for - just as I found my unexpected but purposeful path in ministry. 

Thank you for your support & for partnering with us in this work. ❤️ Your support enables us to continue being a place where divine guidance meets human free will, where diversity is celebrated rather than merely accommodated, and where students find a spiritual home during their pit stop at Richland College. 

Our weekly WNF Wednesday Gathering! 

she loves her books ❤️

we found the perfect angle to take swing-pictures. God truly provided 😎 - the weather was nice and the pics were 🔥

❤️

Another WNF picture :) - Feeling blessed & grateful for our community! 

After one of our Wednesday Night meetings, we did a lectio-divina activity. Scriptures were selected around the theme of "using our words for good" & "taming the tongue" - our students loved getting to slowly read the text & engage with the material! We're definitely planning on doing more of these in the future! 

Thank you for your support & for believing in our mission to love college students! I feel truly blessed to get to walk with these students & serve them. I pray that you're encouraged by the pictures and I hope that you know your support is going toward deep & lifelong connections!

Sirak