Taylor's Ministry Updates! (2021-2025)

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed my very creative and original title to this month's update. I'm excited to share some of the final things we've done this semester before students embark on finals week and start their summer breaks. While they've all been slowing down, God certainly hasn't! The Eclipse I hope you get to enjoy the eclipse last month! Whether you saw it in person or not, enjoy some pictures of SMU Focus watching it together alongside thousands of other students on campus. One of our seniors, David, got some incredible pictures with his professional camera! Note just how many people showed up to watch. Several thousand! Upon seeing it, Garrett voiced the good hope that that's only a fraction of the people who will soon join together in unity from every nation to praise our Lord! EOY Banquet We had our end of year formal last week, which went great! We spent time honoring our student leaders, our graduating seniors, all over a nacho bar donated by C...

Hi everyone! I hope the last month has treated you all well and that you've been enjoying all the beautiful weather lately. (At least for my friends in Texas) I've got a lot of exciting news to share this week, as I'm sure you gathered from the title of this month's update. So, let's dive in! Jaden's Baptism Let me introduce you to Jaden! He and I have been meeting up weekly to study the Bible, since August when we met at a FOCUS Welcome Week event. Jaden grew up around church, and both of his parents are committed disciples. However, in High School he lost interest in faith and started having doubts and questions come up with regard to whether it made logical sense to believe in the existence of a God, let alone Jesus. I told him since we first started meeting that no question is ever off-limits, and that God is big enough to handle every one of his doubts! And that I'd do my best to help him process through each one and point him to what scripture has to s...

Hi everyone! I hope you've been able to enjoy the warmer weather recently. Thank you for taking the time to read about what God has been doing on SMU's campus this month! Toby Speaking of warmer weather, ministry has also been heating up this month! I want to introduce you to my friend, Toby! He has a great story! He and I have been studying the Bible since the fall. Last year, a FOCUS student invited him to check out an event, but since Toby had grown up around Christians and never had much interest in God or faith, he turned the student down. After the summer, he decided to reach back out and ask about checking out a FOCUS event just to see what it's all about. He checked out my small group, and has since become a consistent part of the community! His interest in Jesus has absolutely blossomed and he has become the most enthusiastic member of the group! (Ironically, I think he had just left for soccer practice right before we took this picture) He's started hanging ou...

Hi everyone! I hope the first month of 2024 has been going well for you so far. I'm excited to share some of how the semester has kicked off in Dallas! Retreat (Round 2) I mentioned last month that there was another retreat coming in January, and we made it through! It was incredibly successful, and we had about 600 FOCUS students across the metroplex come out for the weekend! Dr. Daniel Lee is a professor of theology in Fuller Seminary and flew down to be our guest speaker! He did a great job and the SMU students told me he had a profound impact on them. Enjoy a clip from our Gospel worship night! Greatest SMU/UNT crossover in history Would you believe within 48 hours this whole area would be covered with snow? Snow day Speaking of which, Charli got to enjoy her first snow! Dorm Outreach Our new Dorm Outreach initiative has begun! I've been spending 3 hours per week in the lobby with a sign, inviting students to talk. The hope is that after a few weeks, enough familiarity and ...

Happy New Year! I hope you had a restful holiday season and feel some amount of reinvigoration going into 2024. There's so much I'm excited for in ministry this year. Bass Christmas But before we move forward into the new year, I wanted to share some pictures of Erin's and my Christmas! Christmas with Erin's side of our family! Oreo ball chefs Gingerbread extraordinaire Girls vs Boys  (Who won?) My nephew (Elo 3000) helping me win chess 4th Annual family Disc Golf tournament! I'll let you guess which one is my brother. Also, this was my first year taking the W! I plan to make it an annual occurrence. Christmas on Campus SMU Focus also through our own Christmas party! Here are some of the highlights. Catering courtesy of Olivella's! Had a solid turnout! You'll notice Luke a couple chairs behind me. He's a freshman and has been a part of my small group this year! He has a habit of beating me in chess. Retreat (Round 1) One perk of running a few days behind...