We encounter God in an intimate relationship through daily prayer, the sacraments and the Scriptures.
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” – St. Mother Teresa
God has called me to serve college students in the great state of Texas for my third year in a row at Texas State University! You’ll typically find me hanging out at Our Lady of Wisdom, walking around campus, or floating on the river.
When I was a sophomore in high school, I had a reversion to the faith and came to understand God as good and loving. After that initial encounter with Him, I figured that was it…there was nothing more to the Christian life than this. I believed that I had reached the peak. When I came to college, however, I quickly realized that there was so much more the Lord wanted for me. My freshman year at UT, a missionary sat down with me and asked, “Taylor, do you have a relationship with God the Father?” I realized that although I had encountered the Lord, I didn’t actually know Him. I didn’t even know what that looked like. From that point on, a couple of my friends showed me how to pray, challenged me to go to daily mass and daily prayer, and formed me in the faith. I couldn’t see it at the time, but they were actually giving me the tools I needed to know the Father deeper. In John 17, Jesus says to the Father, “I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.” This was Jesus’ mission: to bring all of humanity back into communion with God, who desires so deeply to know and be known by all of us. This is my mission as well, to make the Father known so that everyone may know they are no longer orphaned, but loved by a good Father. It has been such a privilege to see God move in the hearts of those at Texas State these past couple of years, and I cannot wait to see what else He has in-store this year!
I cannot do this mission alone. As St. Mother Teresa once said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” That is the goal with this mission, to invite others into the greater call of changing the world because one person cannot possibly do it on their own. I cannot change the world on my own, and I cannot even serve the students at Texas State on my own. That’s where you come in. It is through your support that I will be able to live out this mission to reach the world for Christ. You are just as much a part of this mission as I am!
Today’s young people are the world’s next generation of leaders. College is the time in which these future leaders are formed and sent out into the world to share what tools they’ve been given during their time on campus. FOCUS’ mission is to equip students with the tools necessary for them to share the Gospel with those they will encounter in their everyday lives. As part of my support team, you will not only be giving to the students I will be working with directly at Texas State, but to those whose lives they will go on to impact, and so on and so forth. If you are interested in partnering with me, please let me know of the best way to reach you and I will schedule an appointment. I’d be honored to share this mission with you!
We encounter God in an intimate relationship through daily prayer, the sacraments and the Scriptures.
By building genuine friendships, we meet students on a deeper level.
We teach students how to share the gospel, who in turn teach other students how to pass it on.