The Best Is Yet To Come!

 My friends! My team! My squad!

Hi there, how are you? What is your name? What is your major? Have you found a group of people to connect with yet on campus? Have you had an opportunity to connect with any of the student organizations on campus? 

These are all of the questions I miss asking to the hundreds of new students I meet every year. Even though this year has been so so so different and the number of new students we've been able to meet has been little to non-existent, we are still making the best with what we've got :)

We have a SOLID group of students coming every week to our core(s) and Thursday Night Thunder meetings, we have a student worship team that serve every week and our student leader team feels closer than over. Thank you so much for believing in us and supporting our mission to make & mature disciples at Richland College (even though the campus is temporarily closed!). 

We got an email last week that informed us that this spring semester will also be online, and, to be honest, it was a little disheartening to hear but God has already been so faithful with us this fall that I'm excited to see how the Spring semester goes!

Our 2020 FOCUS apprentice did their first preaching lab and it was great! They were each given a ministry scenario to prepare a response to. I enjoyed it and they ministered to me!

FOCUS held its pizza theology, "In In Not Of It: Thinking Like A Christian In Society" and it went great! It's hard to think through difficult social-political issues but we want our students to be equipped and engaged with the world around them - I enjoyed it!

Cort (left) does an amazing job with the Audio/Visual aspects of our live stream. There are so many moving parts and we are grateful to have someone like him handling the technical aspects of what we try to pull of!

Our Richland students did an outdoor, socially-distanced watch party for pizza theology. I was encouraged and uplifted to see them all meeting together, eating pizza, and talking through issues such as race, culture, and black lives matter. 

I lead core w/ Dayo (middle) and we have our core on Wednesdays at 2:00pm. We offer an in-person socially distanced option as well as a zoom link. The students that have been attending have added so much energy and positivity to our men's side of the ministry! Love them!

From Left to Right: Jacob, Me (Sirak), Brian, and Erika - our worship team this year! Josh Soto (our apprentice from last year) has been helping some with worship as well!

Here is an updated picture of what I look like. 

Thursday Night Thunder! 

A throwback photo of me & my brother!

Peter sharing during pizza theology!

Our Tuesday afternoon co-ed core! I've enjoyed seeing this group connect & thrive with one another :)

Thank you so much for your support and for believing in our mission over the years. I could never have predicted that I would be an online campus pastor, but, here we are! Just like I wrote in my title, The Best Is Yet To Come!

Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions, comments, or things in your life that you need prayer for!

Your brother & campus missionary,

Sirak