Before I explain WHAT my mission is, I want to share my WHY.
I have had the pleasure of seeing the fruits of one FOCUS missionary’s yes. Maegan Martin, my best friend and mentor, arrived on Nicholls’ campus my sophomore year. She loved me unconditionally and deeply invested in our friendship, teaching me how to be a woman, how to be a true friend, and how to best love the other women in my life. Because of Maegan’s yes, the way that she invested in me, and the way that she taught me how to invest in others, now in my senior year, I am surrounded by other girls on my softball team striving for excellence, frequenting the sacraments, and pursuing a relationship with Jesus. Because of the collective yes of all of the missionaries on Nicholls’ campus, we have 55 students in formal one on one discipleship, 28 students leading Bible studies, 236 students in Bible studies, and over 100 students who have attended a FOCUS conference or a mission trip.
Maegan Martin’s yes to mission changed my life. I firmly believe that my yes to being a missionary will change countless lives as well. College-aged women are longing to be loved. They are longing to find meaning in life. They are longing to be fulfilled. The world provides a quick-fix to these deep desires. The college culture provides instant gratification. Trying to fill our hearts with what our college world tells us will make us happy is like stopping at a fast food restaurant for dinner every night. The fast food seems to taste good and fill our bellies, but it doesn’t even compare to the nourishment of a healthy home-cooked meal for dinner every night. Jesus is our home-cooked meal. He is the satisfying, fulfilling, and healthy nourishment we are hungry for. The Church is our home. The sacraments are the utensils and ingredients needed to produce the home-cooked meal that satisfies our souls. So, if you are a college student come home. Let FOCUS lead you to this delicious home-cooked meal. If you are out of college, please come on mission with me. Support me in my mission of bringing college students to the One who will heal our aching hearts and satisfying our deepest longings.
What Is My Mission?
My mission begins this summer when I report to Ave Maria University for five weeks of training. There I will undergo human, spiritual, intellectual, and apostolic formation. On the second week of training I will find out where I will be placed for the school year, and I will be able to meet my teammates. Typically, there are at least four missionaries on every FOCUS campus. Since I have been involved with college athletics, I will be specifically trained as a Varsity Catholic FOCUS missionary, which is the athlete outreach branch of FOCUS. After five weeks of training, I will return home to fundraise my salary before I report to campus when the semester begins.
Once I arrive on campus, I will continue building my relationship with Jesus. All FOCUS missionaries attend daily mass and a daily holy hour. We also continue our formation through a reading program as well as regular meetings with our teammates, mentors, regional directors, and spiritual directors.
My mission on campus will be to build authentic relationships with students. I will run Bible studies for female athletes, and I will deeply invest in the friendships I make with the girls on campus. My job consists of being radically available to my girls and to walk with them daily leading them to Jesus through friendship and by example. Not only do I have the opportunity to lead girls to Christ but I am also expected to teach them how to do the same. I will mentor girls one on one, teaching them how to pray consistently in order to sustain a real relationship with Jesus, how to lead their own Bible studies, and how to mentor other girls in one on one discipleship.
I will also be in charge of hosting Varsity Catholic events for athletes, leading sports-centered mission trips, and bringing a group of students to FOCUS conferences like SEEK and SLS.
The Goal
FOCUS’ mission is to evangelize the whole world through deep and meaningful relationships. Many of us have been on retreats only to return home with a spiritual high which slowly vanishes within a week or two. One on one mentoring done by FOCUS missionaries helps college students to create and sustain a solid foundation in their relationship with Christ. This form of discipleship also teaches college students how to continue the process of mission by leading Bible studies and investing deeply in those closest to them as the FOCUS missionaries have done with them. A FOCUS missionary’s duty is not to invest in every single person they meet. This would be impossible and would lack depth. Instead of staying shallow with a multitude, FOCUS missionaries invest deeply in a few and teach those close friends how to do the same. Through this model, it is possible to reach the entire world in 20 years.