DENVER, Colo., April 4, 2017 — Greek culture is rooted in the values of community, academics, philanthropy, integrity and friendship. It offers college students opportunities to develop leadership skills that will be valuable for the rest of their lives. The Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) has 125 FOCUS Greek missionaries on 65 campuses across the U.S., such as the University of Alabama, the University of Florida, Oklahoma State University, University of Texas-Austin, Texas A&M, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Most FOCUS Greek missionaries were involved in the Greek system themselves while in college. Today, they invest in Greek students by developing authentic friendships and helping them grow in their faith through Bible studies, daily Mass and other activities.

By encouraging students to share Christ’s love and truth with their peers in sororities and fraternities, missionaries exemplify 2 Timothy 2:2: “And what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

“The FOCUS Greek movement at Texas A&M is thriving by our Lord’s grace!” said FOCUS Greek missionary Fallon Scanlan. “We began outreach in the Greek movement only last year, and we now have eight Greek Bible studies with a total of 30 Greek women and 10 Greek men.”

“Several student leaders are discipling other students and investing deeply in their sorority chapters,” Scanlan added. “This has led to a transformation of culture within the Greek movement on campus and has especially provided community for Catholics within those chapters!”

One student Scanlan disciples is Jordan Gardenhire, a senior at Texas A&M University and a member of Chi Omega. She leads a Bible study in her sorority and has committed to becoming a FOCUS missionary after graduation in May.

“Through discipleship, Fallon has showed me the importance of investing in the lives of others,” said Gardenhire, who is originally from Dallas. “Just her commitment to be a friend to me has taught me an immense amount about Jesus’ character.”

FOCUS Greek missionaries first served on campus in 2009. Since then, missionaries have welcomed thousands of participants to Bible studies.

In addition, FOCUS Missions has nine Greek FOCUS mission trips this academic year to locations such as Haiti, Nicaragua and Rome, where students serve and share their faith with community members.

About FOCUS

The Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) was founded in 1998 and invites college students into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church, inspiring and equipping them for a lifetime of Christ-centered evangelization, discipleship and friendships in which they lead others to do the same. During the 2016 – 2017 academic year, nearly 600 missionaries are serving full-time on 125 college campuses, located across 38 U.S. states and in two pilot locations in Austria. More than 20,000 FOCUS alumni have been prepared to evangelize parishes throughout the U.S. Within this number, more than 600 have made decisions to pursue Catholic religious vocations. By 2022, FOCUS expects to launch 75,000 alumni into America’s 17,000+ Catholic parishes. FOCUS missionaries are typically recent college graduates who devote two or more years of their post-collegiate lives to reach out to peers on campus. To learn more, visit us at www.focus.org.

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