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 

The Gift of January! (and the call to be organized!) ❤️

My friends & team! 

I feel so blessed to get to share this update with you! January was an absolute blast and God is doing some amazing things in & through our group. 

This year has been a bit of a challenge within the realm of student-leadership. We have had three student-leaders step down from leadership for various reasons and have had to end one of our men-cores. We are beginning a co-ed core this week (led by me) and we feel great about this core supplementing the needs of our group. Please pray for our first gathering! 

We are having visitors every week to our Wednesday Night FOCUS meetings and new friendships are continually being formed. Last week, we passed around sign-ups for two teams: the "Reach Team" & the "Serve Team". We had over 15 students sign up for each! What is happening??? ❤️

We feel encouraged and a bit overwhelmed, at times, by the new students and our growing fellowship meetings. 

A thought: When I close my eyes and think of something that I would consider "organized", I think of...a bookshelf...a well-stocked pantry...or a zipped-up backpack. 

God has been showing me that the way he defines "organization" and the way I define "organization" are very different.

God's way of "organizing" is a bit messy at times and interconnected in ways unseen. God designs ecosystems and nervous-systems; two examples of interconnected systems and parts that affect the other while still letting themselves be influenced by the world around them. 

Often, my definition of "organization" primarily means: get more work done (ideally, in a shorter amount of time) or work harder & faster (while neglecting how your body feels and avoiding how it is affecting the people around you). 

I am learning what the difference is between a task and a priority. For example, spending time with my wife & daughter is a priority to me. However, when I am not organized, these priorities can, at times, feel like tasks to check-off and not priorities to settle into. 

Has sharing the message of Christ become a task to me? Is it still a priority? If it is a priority, then I will rearrange my day(s) & week(s) to reflect that. Being a college-pastor at 36 feels different compared to being a college-pastor at 26. 

I grieve the days where I wish I could fit my duties, responsibilities, relationships, obligations, creative ideas, administrative-emails, etc. onto a nice organized bookshelf to sit back, enjoy the picture and feel good that life has a way of stopping so that I can finally get to the "things" I've been avoiding, hah! 

Maybe life is meant to be an interconnect ecosystem of goals, responsibilities, relationships, and obligations? May the Lord guide us to prioritize what needs prioritizing and give us wisdom to walk away from the tasks that will remain tomorrow when we awake. 

I had the privilege of preaching/speaking at our 2025 FOCUS Winter Retreat! I enjoyed getting to share God's word and I feel that the students connected with the message! I'm grateful for the opportunity. My message title was: "Letting Jesus Tell Me Who I Am"

Somehow 18-months have flown by she is running, talking, playing, yelling, wrestling, and everything else! 🌈 We love watching her grow and we feel so grateful to be her parents! 

We had a scripture-memorizing activity last week for Sandra's sermon and the students loved It! There was definitely a bit of a 'competitive' spirit in the air as students were rushing up front to share their memorized-scripture, but, it was fun ❤️

Anaya and I were walking around TJ Maxx and were feeling cute, so, why not? 

Our FOCUS Winter Retreat was a powerful weekend! We loved getting to connect w/ new students and we definitely sense that God is doing something special across his college campuses. Feeling grateful for what's upcoming! 

Our Richland students had a quick pow-wow before winter-retreat began to go over goals & expectations for the retreat. We broke up into groups to pray for one another as well! 

Every January, our FOCUS staff connects with one another during our Winter Staff Retreat. We feel grateful for the space we had to worship, pray, and prepare for the spring semester. 

Laurence (UTD), Lailah (UTD), and I got to help serve our team by leading worship throughout the week. Feeling grateful for the time spent together!

Sloan and I did our first...marriage puzzle. I have always thought of myself as someone who "doesn't do puzzles", haha - but, this one was so fun and restful. I am looking forward to our next puzzle that we get to do together. 

I feel so happy when I get to be with her ❤️

Thank you for believing in our mission to love college students - as the years go by I am continually amazed at the support and love that you all have shown to me through your prayer and donations. 

I pray that you're encouraged by the photos and reminded of God's faithfulness not just on the college campuses, but in your lives as well. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have anything in your life that you need prayer for - or - if you just want to connect!

Your brother & campus missionary, 

Sirak