St. Paul's Newman Center - NDSU at 1141 North University Drive, Fargo, ND 58102 US - FOCUS - Vision for Life

Small Group Bible studies:
"And what you heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will have the ability to teach others as well." 2 Timothy 2:2

Scripture is systematically studied according to the Church's guidelines. Bible study leaders are either FOCUS campus staff or student leaders who have been trained in our program and demonstrate depth of faith. The goal is two-fold: 1) to know Jesus Christ better and to understand and love the Church he established, and 2) to establish and deepen Christian friendships. 

Large Group Leadership Training:
"But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

Our large group events are a place for brand new students to get a non-threatening introduction to the Christian life, and a place for student leaders to be challenged. FOCUS missionaries invite those students who show leadership potential to organize large group events on campus, featuring skits, music, testimonies and a short teaching by a FOCUS missionary.

Fellowship:
"Every day they devoted themselves to the to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart." Acts 2:46

Fellowship is essential in the Christian life, and it naturally brings others in. Take the example of charcoal: when the coals are all together, they glow with heat for hours and hours. Pull one coal away from the pile, and it quickly cools off. Intramural sports teams, ski trips, BBQs and conferences are opportunities to deepen bonds of friendship and help keep the fire burning. 

Core Values

Dynamic Orthodoxy
At first glance, the phrase ‘Dynamic Orthodoxy’ may sound like a contradiction.  ’Dynamic’ comes from the same root as the word dynamite.  St. Paul uses the word to describe the gospel and the story of the cross calling it the “power of God for salvation” (Rom 1:16, 1 Cor 1:18).  ’Dynamic’ is also often used to express change.  ’Orthodoxy’ comes from two Greek words, orthos that means right or correct, and doxos means teaching.  Dynamic Orthodoxy means powerful right teaching.  Teaching that is true and correct is powerful in itself, it is truth that is life-changing.  Dynamic Orthodoxy entails a total commitment to all that Christ teaches through His Church. 

These truths of the Catholic faith are not only intended to enrich our minds but to change our lives.  “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2).  Dynamic Orthodoxy means being converted by all of Christ’s teaching and having a new mindset, the mindset of Jesus.

Living Tradition
Another way that our mind and life can be formed is through the Tradition of the Church.  For over 2000 years, the teachings of Jesus Christ and the “deposit of faith” first given from Christ to the Apostles, has been handed down through the centuries to us today.  Tradition actually comes from the Latin word tradere, which means, “to hand on”.  Christ handed on all that His Father gave to Him to His apostles.  His apostles handed it on to their followers and so on down to the present day.  This is also called “Apostolic succession”.  We see this in Sacred Scripture as well when St. Paul instructs his mentor, Timothy, to “guard the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us” (2 Tim 1:14).

We are also called to hand this truth on to others.  This means taking the timeless truths of the faith and presenting them in a timely fashion.  We are neither liberal nor conservative; our aim is to be faithful.  As one pastor has said, “We’re neither left wing nor right wing, we’re for the whole bird!”  We stand with the conviction that God loves all people, from every nation on earth and that He founded and established the Catholic Church to share His love and truth with the world.  We aim to live out the Church’s teachings in the modern world.  Jesus commanded us also to hand on our faith, “go therefore and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28: 19-20).

Vital Unity
Vital Unity is a unity that is alive and life-giving.  Jesus prayed at the Last Supper for all people of all time who would believe in Him through the teaching of the Apostles. He prayed that “they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in thee, that they may be in us” (Jn 17: 21).  Even as the Father and Son were one in heart and mission so we must be one in heart and mission.  Our faithfulness to Christ leads us to work for the unity Jesus prayed for.  We strive to have an intense love for one another. (c.f. Jn 13:35)  We love and follow the Pope, our Bishop, and our pastors with whom we work.  They are spiritual fathers to us.  St. Ignatius of Antioch, a Christian bishop martyred in 117, wrote about the respect that Christians owe their bishop:

Let us be careful, then, not to set ourselves in opposition to the bishop, in order that we may be subject to God. … For we ought to receive every one whom the Master of the house sends to be over His household, as we would do Him that sent him. It is manifest, therefore, that we should look upon the bishop even as we would upon the Lord Himself. (Ignatius of Antioch to the Ephesians)

We seek to foster unity among Catholics and also work to increase our unity with our Protestant brothers and sisters in Christ.  One way to come at matters of unity were suggested by St. Augustine, when he  said, “in the essentials of our faith, let there be unity; in the non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, charity.”

Heroic Generosity
God has given the world great gifts: Love, Creation, Provision, Time, the Messiah, too many blessings to name.  Since we, as human beings, have been made in the image and likeness of God, we too seek to imitate Christ through the intense gift of ourselves to God and others.   Knowing that God will never be outdone in generosity, it opens us up to a wonderful journey of trust and faith.  Jesus heroically gave Himself up for us on the Cross and we are called to also give of ourselves and to carry our crosses as well.

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in the appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
(Phil 2: 5-11)

Jesus’ self-emptying and pouring Himself out in love’s service is our model for how we, as Christians, are to live.  Pope John Paul II repeatedly said, “Only in a true and sincere gift of self will one find himself”.  A basic philosophical principle is “action follows upon being”.  This means that you can’t give something that you don’t have.  You must first “live it” before you can “give it”.   You have to “walk the walk if you want to talk the talk”.  If I don’t know and love Jesus, I can’t show Him to you.  This involves Heroic Generosity with your entire life – body and soul.  The goal is to put yourself and your relationship with Jesus Christ in order before you expect others to do the same.  St. Francis of Assisi said, “Sanctify yourself, and you will sanctify society.”

FOCUS - A Short History

Curtis Martin founded FOCUS (the Fellowship of Catholic University Students) in 1997. The intent was to design a campus-based ministry that would foster among college and university students a deep conversion to Jesus Christ within the framework of the Roman Catholic Church.

The pilot program was established in January, 1998 at Benedictine College, Atchison, Kansas, with two staff members and 24 students. Six years later, in 2004 over a third of the college population is involved in FOCUS activities. At the invitation of Archbishop Charles Chaput, Archdiocese of Denver, a FOCUS program was established in the fall of 1998 at University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. Archbishop Chaput, who is supportive of the program, recently said, "No one does a more dynamic job of reaching college students for Christ than FOCUS."

FOCUS is now established at 32 campuses in 13 different states, with plans to expand to several additional campuses next year. If you would like to support the mission of FOCUS or is interested in becoming a FOCUS missionary, please e-mail  ndsu@focusonline.org

For more information please visit, www.focusonline.org