Information / FAQs

What are the application deadlines?

The application deadlines are dependent on the Interview Weekends.  Below you will see where and when each Interview Weekend is scheduled for and the deadline associated with it.  We hope to be able to bring you to the same Interview Weekend which is hosted in your region.  Remember, Interview Weekend invitations are not guaranteed.

In order to know which Interview Weekend I should attend, can you tell me which states fall under each region?

The references I put in my application are having a hard time locating the email that was sent to them which included the link to the online reference.  Where can I get the link to send it to them?

http://app.perfectforms.com/player.htm?f=jCHgAgQB

What is the time commitment?

FOCUS missionary staff make an initial two-year commitment, starting in late May with summer training. Most of our missionaries have stayed on campus several years; others have gone on to explore religious life, get married, take another job, or enter graduate school.

What are the job requirements?

• A hunger to know Jesus Christ more intimately on a personal basis
• A burning desire to see lives transformed by Jesus Christ
• A willingess to meet college students on their turf
• Faithfulness to the Roman Catholic Church
• An undergraduate degree in any field

FOCUS is loyal to Jesus Christ and our Holy Father the Pope. We are faithful to the teachings of the Church. We support our priests, bishops and religious. We encourage our students and staff to explore God’s call in their lives, whether it be to the married, single or consecrated life. We hope to present the timeless truths of the faith in a timely way.

Missionary life requires availability. FOCUS missionaries are asked to “dive in” to college life again – keeping late hours, reaching out in the residence halls, joining intramural sports teams, eating lunch in the school dining hall. Because many of the students in our Bible studies are underclassmen (18-21 years old) we find the more effective staff members are able to identify with and engage this age group. Our current staff is between 22-36 years old.

Does FOCUS have a mission statement?

“To know Christ Jesus, and to fulfill His Great Commission, by first living, then communicating the fullness of life within the Family of God, the Church."

Where will I serve?

Our missionaries make a commitment to serve at any campus where FOCUS has a program. Every year we add new campuses to our growing movement. Check out the Campuses section of the website for a current list of campuses.

What will I do?

First, you’ll attend our summer training, which is best described as one part graduate school, one part boot camp, and one part retreat. We take courses in Scripture, Apologetics, Discipleship, Church Teaching and Fundraising. We have time to plan for the upcoming year on campus and to build relationships with our campus teams. Other components of summer training include: prayer, daily Mass, opportunities for the sacrament of Reconciliation, practical workshops and plenty of fun times.

You’ll be on campus a few weeks before school begins, with your team (typically two men and two women). FOCUS teams pray regularly together each week (and, in most cases, every day), attend daily Mass as often as possible, reach out on campuses, lead Bible studies, and engage students on their level to build their leadership skills and eventually challenge them to reach out.

Our staff members are also often found eating in the cafeterias on campus, playing intramural sports, staying up late in coffee shops, and throwing spontaneous BBQs, just to name a few activities.

Be ready to watch lives transform!

Is this a paid position?

Like other missionary organizations, FOCUS missionary staff members raise 100% of their living expenses while serving with FOCUS. Each missionary staff member cultivates a support team of families and individuals who become partners in our work. In addition to providing financial support, a support team also becomes a wellspring of prayer and moral support.

Our summer training includes excellent instruction in fundraising, as well as coaching and personal attention from other FOCUS staff.

FOCUS missionaries are on a health insurance plan, and are provided with a campus ministry expense account to help facilitate outreach on campus.

Do I have what it takes?

Let God decide that! We are not looking so much for ABILITY, as for AVAILABILITY. Our staff members have a wide variety of backgrounds and undergraduate degrees, from marketing to philosophy, from history to psychology. They come from state schools and Catholic schools; they are cradle Catholics and converts. What characterizes them all is a love for Jesus Christ and the Church He founded.

We also ask that during the first year on campus, FOCUS staff embrace a fast from romantic involvement using that first year to pour oneself into service and prayer. In addition, FOCUS provides staff development in the areas of dating, courtship and discernment, so that when we do embrace our vocations, we do so with a rock solid foundation on Jesus Christ.

Above all, the question every potential staff member should ask him/herself is…

“Do I have the heart for this mission?”