After graduating from the University of West Florida (May 2026), studying Construction Management, I responded to God’s invitation to invest in college students and walk with them as they grow in their faith and come to know Jesus in a personal way. I was sent to Auburn and I am excited to see what the upcoming year has in store!

Living in relationship with Jesus has been the most radical, joyful, and unpredictable adventure of my life. It has taken me to places and brought me people that I would never have thought possible. The Lord continues to surprise each day with his goodness and I am excited to discover what He has in store for me as I step into my role as a FOCUS missionary.

My name is Cole Hepworth. I grew up a cradle Catholic — Mass every Sunday, all the sacraments, the whole picture from the outside. But I never took it seriously. Through high school and into college, I had my identity wrapped up in all kinds of things: how I performed, what people thought of me, what I was chasing next. None of it could satisfy me. There was always something lacking, always a restlessness underneath it all that I couldn’t explain or shake.

At the beginning of my freshman year of college, the Lord quietly stirred something in me I had never felt before — a desire to start attending Mass more than just on Sundays. Slowly, that once-a-week became more frequent, and somewhere in that process, I began to realize it was Him I was desiring. I had known about God my whole life, but I had never truly encountered His goodness — and it had been right in front of me the entire time. I began to pray, poorly and haltingly at first, but the Lord met me there. Slowly but surely He probed at my heart and began to reveal what it is I had always longed for. Everything I had been searching for — in friendships, in achievements, in all the things I thought would fill me — was already found in Him. Our hearts were made for Him, and there is nothing in this world that can provide what they truly desire.

The summer after my freshman year, I served at Covecrest with Lifeteen, and that experience opened me up even further. I began to realize just how spiritually young I still was, and just how much more of His goodness the Lord had in store for me. Over the following year, committing to daily prayer, He continued to guide me and provide for me in ways I never thought imaginable. It was out of that ongoing transformation that I began to sense a call to full-time mission after college. My older sister had been a FOCUS missionary, which first sparked my curiosity, and after being invited to an interview weekend, the Lord made it clear — this was my invitation. There are students on every college campus living exactly where I was: going through the motions, searching for something they cannot name, not yet knowing that what their heart desires has a name. I cannot reach them alone. When you partner with me, you are sending the Gospel into that search — and I know firsthand what happens when someone finally finds what they were looking for.

When I decided to say yes to the Lord’s call for me to join FOCUS, I made the decision to rely more radically on the Lord’s goodness. And that from His abundance he will provide financial support of mission partners to make serving students full-time possible. It has been a delight to invite people to come on missions with me in various ways. Please contact me if you are interested in learning more about how you can join me on this mission to lead students to a life with Christ! I’d be honored to share this mission with you.