Facing the Distractions (and not turning away) 🙏🏾📕

 A certain quote has been on my mind (see below): 

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"The enemy often tries to make us attempt and start many projects so that we will be overwhelmed with too many tasks, and therefore achieve nothing and leave everything unfinished. 

Sometimes he even suggests the wish to undertake some excellent work that he foresees we will never accomplish. This is to distract us from the completion of some less excellent work that we would have easily completed. 

He does not care how many plans and beginnings we make, provided nothing is finished."

• St. Francis De Sales (1567 - 1622)

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    St. Francis De Sales (1567 - 1622) was a Catholic bishop who was known for his theology of gentle perseverance. He emphasized kindness, patience, and the slow transformation of heart over a long period of time. 

    Before the age of smartphones, technological integration into our everyday life, endless notifications, and mass exposure to the global world around us...St. Francis De Sales saw in human beings the endless striving for more...more...more. This "more-ness" ultimately kept them (and us) from what is right in front of us. 

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    I love discipleship. I love meeting students, talking about Jesus, helping them receive & respond to the message of Christ, and I love sending them off with a renewed sense of their purpose in God's kingdom. This fills me with energy and reminds me of how God met me in my college days. 

    I believe that growth, perseverance, curiosity, wonder, and friendship-building are all baked into the desires of college students. This is what makes campus ministry so fun! I have, however, noticed a growing trend of distraction, overwhelm, fatigue, dehydration, and "dabbling in interests" versus the singular commitment to a path of growth. 

    This isn't news to anyone. I believe we are scratching the surface on how technology is reshaping communication, relationships, and our capacity for presence. 

    When I was young, I was told to go to college so that I can "discover who I want to be!". This inspired me and motivated me to explore my interests and consider what made me come alive. I sense a sentiment among young people today that communicates: "you should be everything you want to be" - "you can be everything you want to be" - and - "you have access to whoever you want to be - instantaneously". 

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    Back to the original quote: The enemy doesn't merely desire you to sin - but just needs you to stay busy enough so that nothing takes root.

    I've lost count of the number of students who have told me: "I'm in a season of working on myself." I'm unsure what that even means anymore. 

    I sense that there is now a young generation who has been told that they can be anything which has resulted in response of committing to nothing. 

    The problem isn't laziness...it's a combination of exhausted openness + infinite options + instant access + frantic information overload...

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    I still believe in the work we do. I believe in it because I know that God is not surprised by this generation of young people nor is He surprised by any of the generations that have come before. 

    In a sea of distractions I hope to be a pastor that remains present - with whoever is in front of me. I am committed to these students and that commitment refines and strengthens me. That is what commitment does - it builds and strengthens your sense of self. I hope our students can see the strength that comes through following the way of Christ. 

    Please pray for our students with me as we wrap up the next 5 weeks of school and head into the summer. God is up to some big things!

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We played some double-dutch outside after WNF last week. It was awesome! We all felt like kids again. And by the way, double-dutch is hard! 

Our Wednesday lunch-bunch meeting time(s) have been a consistent highlight for me. We've had over 30 physical Bible's donated and we have loved getting off of our phones and into the (physical) Word of God. 

Happy Easter! 

She is growing...and growing...it's a blast! Her energy is unending ❤️

Tom led one of our Lunch-Bunch discussions and he led us in a creative exploration of what it feels like to be blind (see the blindfolded students at the white board). We loved it! 

Thank you for your support and for believing in us. This year has been a fun year! 

We've got 5 weeks left before the end of the school year. I'm looking forward to connecting with you this summer - thank you for your support!

Your brother & campus missionary,

Sirak 

    

Awakening To God's Love ❤️

"I'm realizing that God has bigger plans for me than I do..."

"I'm learning how to speak up for myself around my friends..."

"How do I figure out what it is that I want?" 

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Do these statements sound familiar to your own story/testimony? These kinds of things (along with many others) are what students are saying as they begin to wake up to the reality that God loves them. 

In 2006, I began my freshman year of college. If somehow God would have pulled back the veil of my life and showed me what the next 20 years of my life would've looked like...I would've run 100mph in the opposite direction. 

I sense in those early years of college, God was not primarily concerned with me knowing my purpose, calling, or vocation...it seems He was deeply interested in me settling into the lived reality that: He loves me! Me! Me! He has chosen me! He has created me! 

I have lived most of my Christian life aiming to live out a faith that is not self-centered. However, what if God wanted me all along to live a self-centered faith? A faith that is centered on who our selves are created to be? Jesus says that his "purpose is to give them (and us) a rich and satisfying life!" A full life that is full of highs-lows, ups-downs, and challenges-triumphs. All of this happens within the context of...us! Our own lived experiences playing out in God's story. 

I am playing with words a bit here, but, I hope that my point is coming across well. These days I meet too many students who haven't yet awakened to the agency and self-hood and birthright that God has invited them into. Many are 'asleep' to these foundational realities. It's not uncommon to find students who have never had a true friend...a true advocate...someone who truly let them know that yes - their story is important because God says it is! God loves you! God created you! God has chosen you! 

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It is a foundational truth that we truly must return to over & over again. It never gets old! Pray for us & our community-college team as we facilitate a space where students can receive & respond to this beautiful message! 

Enjoy the pictures; thank you for your support & partnership! 

Anaya & I have been experiencing slow-mornings together. She asks to hold my hand as we enjoy the beautiful spring-mornings together.

some fun family pics during the snow-day! 

Our Richland FOCUS men's core! 

Our Richland FOCUS Men! I'm so grateful for each of these guys - I love having them a part of our group week-to-week! 

Every Wednesday I get to study Focus on Jesus w/ Ricardo (center) and Moses (right). I always enjoy our conversations and the questions/stories that these 2 bring. God is good! 

Another picture of our Richland FOCUS men's core! 

Thank you for believing in our mission to love college students. We are learning a ton as we move toward the halfway point of the semester & beyond. Thank you for your support! God is good!

Your brother & campus missionary,

Sirak

Ministry Into the Unknown! (Let's gooooo!) 😎✌🏾

We're already 1/12th's through 2026 and the semester is flying by. There must've been something about the ice/freeze days where campus was closed that is adding to the feeling that the semester is already halfway done - but we are pushing forward! 

Over the last 6 months or so, I have been working on a mini-project consisting of getting in touch with different community college pastors across the United States (and beyond). It's been a fun way to collaborate and see what is going on in other spaces where community college students are hearing the Gospel. 

It has been my (biased & limited) observation that 99.9% of college ministry books, content, conferences, podcasts, etc. are geared toward the 4-year university mission field. This is unsurprising in many ways. I have been the beneficiary of how God can move powerfully in a 4-year university. I am grateful for my early years on the UT Dallas campus-team where I learned pivotal pastoral lessons that have shaped who I am and how I lead today. 

Community-college ministry, however, is very different from that of the 4-year university variety. The attitudes, goals, mindset(s), academic-posture(s), and educational background(s) of community college students can present a kaleidoscopic mural of experiences to continually engage with and clarify. 

The longer that I serve as a community college missionary, the longer I see that there are fewer and fewer models to learn from and imitate. Over the last decade at Richland College, we have seen 15+ ministries come & go as they experience the transient and temporary nature of community college students. These ministries have seen that by the time you have befriended, engaged, and discipled the students who are with you, they are preparing for their transition to a 4-year university or the workforce. This is not a critique - it is merely a description of the community-college world in which I inhabit.

Towards the end of my time in seminary, we read a book titled, "Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory" (2018) by Tod Boslinger. I'd like share a quote from this book:

"The primary way to prepare for the unknown is to attend to the quality of our relationships, to how well we know and trust one another...There is one core principle for developing these relationships. People must be engaged in meaningful work together if they are to transcend individual concerns and develop new capacities." 

Community-college ministry feels more & more like the unknown. Please pray for us as we, as a pastoral team, are forged in the fire of ministry work alongside one another. Pray that we would develop trust and love among one another as we venture into this unknown. We are learning that God tends to first work in us before he works through us. 

Enjoy the pictures below - thank you for your support! 

Our 2026 FOCUS Winter Retreat! 

Winter Retreat 2026 was a huge success; our students had a blast and it was so encouraging to get to worship with one another. 

Our Richland FOCUS men! I'm so grateful for all of these guys and their hearts. (From left to right: Caleb, Adrian, Arnold, Me, Adam, Jack, and Ricardo)

We were iced in for a few days but we made the most of it ❤️

Why does Anaya look like a middle-schooler here? She is becoming more playful and high-energy as she enters her ... "mid-2s" (is that what they're called?).  

Our first men's core of the year! I love our meeting room and the guys who showed up - I'm pumped for our upcoming semester together! 

Our Richland FOCUS ladies! So grateful for all of them ❤️✌🏾

We're halfway through the year and I am blessed beyond measure by the students God has brought to our ministry. They are all wise, intuitive, brilliant, and relational - I'm praying that we continue to grow closer to one another as the year continues on! 

Thank you for all of your ministry support! Our 2026 FOCUS Winter Retreat was a huge success - God is doing something powerful on His college campuses; pray that we would stay the course and remain faithful in the midst of leading into the unknown! 

Thank you for your support - if you need prayed for anything in your life; do not hesitate to reach out to me! 

Your brother & campus missionary,

Sirak