Jakob Christiansen

Hello, My name is Jakob Christiansen, and I am a First-Year FOCUS Missionary!

Where I serve

I’m both excited for and blessed to have the opportunity to serve at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois!

My Story

Growing up, I attended Mass with my family and was involved in the Church, but God always felt more like a distant authority figure than someone I could actually know. I entered college with a hunger to find the answers for a lot of my deep questions but relatively unsure of the role that my faith would play in my life going forward.

The spring of my freshman year at Michigan Tech, after getting involved in the Catholic community at St. Albert the Great and joining a Bible study, I had a powerful encounter with God during Eucharistic Adoration. In that moment, everything shifted — God was no longer a moral code to follow but a Father who loved me more than I could comprehend. This experience gave me a sense of peace and conviction that inspired me to go deeper in my faith and get more involved in the Catholic community in Houghton. Throughout the experience of growing in faith alongside some of my closest friends, my sense of self-worth began to come from my identity as a son of God rather than what I could do or achieve.

After graduation, joining FOCUS was not initially on my radar. I got a job that I was excited about as a project engineer in renewables construction and spent the next year on projects in Florida and North Carolina. But as I met people in the post-college chapter of life, I kept recognizing that they also had the same hunger for connection and meaning that I had carried into college — and for the first time, I felt equipped to share what had changed me in a way that felt authentic. I became convinced that God had placed me there for a reason, and that I couldn’t ignore it. That conviction led me back to FOCUS — where I get to bring God to others in the same way that the community at Michigan Tech and my college experience did for me.

Your Impact

The mission I am taking on and the work I will be doing on campus would not be possible without a village of generous supporters, and I would love to invite you to join that village! Your support will enable me to be radically available to students at Eastern Illinois University in a way that allows them to encounter the truth, beauty, and internal peace that I believe can only be found in a relationship with God.

If you have any questions about or interest in the mission, I would love to set up a time to talk! Please email me at [email protected].

Give Now

If you have any questions or need help setting up your gift, please contact us at [email protected].

Find other missionaries

FOCUS brings the joy of the Gospel to colleges and parishes across the United States (and beyond)!

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Know, Love and Serve God

We encounter God in an intimate relationship through daily prayer, the sacraments and the Scriptures.

Build Virtuous Friendships

By building genuine friendships, we meet students on a deeper level.

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Teach Others to Share Christ

We teach students how to share the gospel, who in turn teach other students how to pass it on.

Host	Retreat Type	Start Date	End Date
Tulane University	Way of the Disciple	09/05/24	09/07/24
University of Nebraska Lincoln	The Sanctifier	09/13/24	09/15/24
Parish Outreach	The Father’s House	09/16/24	09/18/24
Kansas State University	The Father’s House	09/20/24	09/22/24
University of Delaware	Rec	09/20/24	09/22/24
University of South Carolina – Columbia	Rec	09/27/24	09/29/24
St. Francis University	The Father’s House	10/04/24	10/06/24
Nicholls State University	The Father’s House	10/04/24	10/06/24
Northwestern State University	The Father’s House	10/11/24	10/13/24
University of Memphis	The Father’s House	10/11/24	10/13/24
Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville	The Father’s House	10/18/24	10/20/24
Ohio State University	The Father’s House	10/18/24	10/20/24
University of Dallas	The Sanctifier	10/24/24	10/26/24
Central Connecticut State University	The Father’s House	10/25/24	10/27/24
Universidad de Monterrey	The Father’s House	10/25/24	10/27/24
California State University – Fullerton	The Father’s House	10/25/24	10/27/24
Sts. Anne and Joaquim, Fargo, ND	Way of the Disciple	11/01/24	11/03/24
University of Krems	Men’s	11/01/24	11/03/24
University of Mary	The Father’s House	11/08/24	11/10/24
DePauw University	Rec	11/08/24	11/10/24
Philanthropy Engagement	Way of the Disciple	11/15/24	11/17/24
University of Passau	Rec	11/21/24	11/23/24
Texas A&M University	The Sanctifier	02/07/25	02/09/25
FOCUS Greek Southeast	The Father’s House	02/14/25	02/16/25
FOCUS Greek Midwest	The Father’s House	02/14/25	02/16/25
Worcester Polytechnic Institute	The Sanctifier	02/14/25	02/16/25
FOCUS Greek Southwest	The Father’s House	02/21/25	02/23/25
Wayne State University	The Father’s House	02/21/25	02/23/25
University of Illinois-Chicago	The Sanctifier	02/21/25	02/23/25
Queens College of the City University of New York	The Father’s House	03/07/25	03/09/25
Nicholls State University	Way of the Disciple	03/07/25	03/09/25
Grand Valley State University	The Father’s House	03/28/25	03/30/25
University of Northern Iowa	Way of the Disciple	04/03/25	04/05/25
University of Nebraska Lincoln	The Father’s House	04/04/25	04/06/25
Arizona State University	Men’s	02/07/25	02/09/25
University of Nebraska at Kearney	Rec	09/27/24	09/29/24