After spending two years as a FOCUS missionary at James Madison University, Christ called me to serve as the Team Director at the United States Coast Guard Academy! Never in my life would I have expected to be invited into such a unique mission, but the Lord (clearly) knows my needs and my heart more intimately than I could dream of knowing myself. Though all I had to offer was a small and humble “yes” to serving on the Coast Guard Academy FOCUS Team, Jesus has abundantly blessed that response by changing and transforming my life forever. My job, at its core, is to share this healing love of God with some of the most impressive, passionate, well-connected students (they are most commonly referred to as ‘cadets’) that I have ever met. Life is an adventure with Jesus!

My team from left to right: Elena, Colin (me), Ryan, and Tori.

As a missionary of Jesus Christ, my greatest desire is to lead souls to Him. My life has been transformed by Jesus and I want nothing more than to bring this joy to others and introduce them to the life-changing message of the Gospel.

When I studied at Virginia Tech, I was introduced to the FOCUS missionaries through our campus ministry. One missionary in particular sacrificed his time, money, and comfort to meet me where I was at, drawing me out of the pit of my despair and into the ocean of God’s mercy. What a gift and a witness this was to Our Lord and the way He lived! In Jesus’ ministry on earth, He humbled Himself to meet us at our level, taking on our humanity, because He could not stand to be separated from us. Think about that! Almighty God, in His infinite wisdom and power, loves US so much that His earnest desire is to lay down His life for us… for you! This is exactly what the Virginia Tech missionary did for me. How could I not desire to do the same?

Five years later, I am still gratefully serving as a campus missionary. As FOCUS missionaries, we strive to imitate Jesus’ model of ministry to the best of our abilities. In His ministry, Jesus spoke to large crowds during His many sermons, He healed many people and performed great miracles; Jesus even invited large crowds of disciples to follow Him. However, most of His time was spent with just the Twelve Apostles, with Peter, James, and John at the core of the group. In imitation of that model, missionaries spend copious amounts of time with students who desire to live as disciples of Jesus (1 Thessalonians 2:8), teaching them to pray and developing their apostolic skills to eventually fulfill Jesus’ final command: “go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…”

My missionary lived this way with me until it became my very way of life! I now have the privilege of doing the same with many cadets at the Coast Guard Academy. What a gift!

When I answered the call to join FOCUS, I made the decision to rely solely on the spiritual and financial support of mission partners to help me through this mission. I’ve been blessed with the most amazing people who have journeyed with me as I serve on campus!

Through the generous prayerful and financial contributions of my mission partners, I have seen many souls turn their lives over to Christ; something that would not have been possible with spiritual and financial barriers in the way.

My goal is to reach the entire campus for Jesus, and through the campus, the entire world. Please join me… I’d be honored to share this mission with you! Let me know of the best way to reach you and I will schedule an appointment. May the peace of Christ be with you.