Year In FOCUS

Fall Kickoff

FOCUS starts each school year with a series of big events to connect with fellow students and to start new friendships. In years past, we’ve had smoothie nights, root beer float nights, and piñata parties!

Fall Retreat

Our Fall Retreat is a short weekend getaway in September. There are a couple of talks, but the primary purpose is to start or deepen new friendships! We even let the people new to our community come for a reduced price. :-) Activities include relay races, walk-and-talk discussions about the weekend’s topics, and a fireside communion and worship service.

Christmas Party

Our Annual FOCUS Christmas Party is a themed costume party with food, fun themed games, and Christmas caroling. Past themes have included "Cowboy Christmas," “Christmas Morning,” “Pirate Christmas,” “Spy Christmas,” and “Disney Christmas.”

Christmas Caroling

Usually our last event before adjourning for the Christmas break, we’ll go around campus housing and sing our favorite Christmas carols.

Winter Camp

Perhaps the most anticipated event of our school year is Winter Camp. We get away from the fast pace of college, growing in fellowship with one another and taking the time to truly meditate on God.

Our Winter Camp is a longer camp, typically on a weekend coinciding with MLK day. We spend about 4 days and 3 nights out at Bridgeport Camp & Conference Center in Bridgeport, Texas. The longer time and the distance away from college allows for deeper study of major topics, which in the past have included studies over Revelation and Acts. We also invite guest speakers to join us for the weekend to facilitate these talks and discussions. Of course, it wouldn’t be a FOCUS camp if there weren’t ample time for fellowship and plenty of outdoor and indoor activities to choose from. Highlights also include our fireside communion and encouragement time.

Valentathlon

Do you have what it takes to become next year's Valentathlete? Each February, you can expect our annual Valentine's Day competition. The only word we can think of to describe this event is, well, ridiculous. Activities vary greatly year to year, but some form of dancing and racing always make the cut.

Spring Break Service Projects

FOCUS plans service project events every day throughout the Spring Break week, creating community service opportunities for those who remain in the UTD area. Students may choose to serve on just one or two projects or participate the entire week. It’s a great way for us to give back to the community at-large through serving others.

Banquet

As the school year draws to a close, we take time to celebrate the year in our ministry. We enjoy a meal together, honoring God for the work He has done, and recognizing those who have put in great amounts of effort and time to ensure that He is glorified through us. We also take time to honor those who are graduating from college and from our ministry.

Student Institute of Campus Ministry (SICM)

Each year, we take a group of prospective student leaders to SICM, a weeklong student ministry conference in Bellingham, Washington. There, students spend the week in study-intensive workshops and lectures designed to grow and mature ministry leadership skills. Students live with host families who support them throughout the week with lodging and food.

School of Ministry

Summer is a time of rest and relaxation, but it serves as an opportunity for our ministry to learn, build, and grow through study. The FOCUS School of Ministry runs through the summer months and comprises of topical bible study and book discussion on various ministry topics, some of which include inductive bible study methods, roles in ministry, and evangelism.

Summer Dance Party

The summer months tend to produce cabin fever; the only prescription being either more cowbell or a chance to boogie down—we’ve taken the latter. The FOCUS summer dance party is a chance to put on your dancing shoes and show off those rad dancing moves (or lack thereof). Past themes have included a masquerade ball, disco night, 50s sock hop, and 80s prom night.