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Fellowship of Catholic University Students, or, more commonly, FOCUS, is a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
outreach program for American college students founded in 1997 by Curtis Martin and Dr. Edward Sri at
Benedictine College Benedictine College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas, United States. It was established in 1971 by the merger of St. Benedict's College (founded 1858) for men and Mount St. Scholastica College (founded 1923) for ...
.


Origin and purpose

FOCUS exists to
evangelize Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...
. The mission statement of FOCUS is to “Know Christ Jesus and fulfill His
Great Commission In Christianity, the Great Commission is the instruction of the Resurrection appearances of Jesus, resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciple (Christianity), disciples to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. The Great Commission i ...
.” How FOCUS does that is by sending missionaries to college campuses to encounter students and invite them into a lifelong relationship with Jesus. Many students experience profound healing as they give their life over to Jesus, and many join the work of evangelization that the entire world might be saved. FOCUS established its pilot program in January 1998 at
Benedictine College Benedictine College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas, United States. It was established in 1971 by the merger of St. Benedict's College (founded 1858) for men and Mount St. Scholastica College (founded 1923) for ...
in
Atchison, Kansas Atchison is a city in, and the county seat of, Atchison County, Kansas, United States, along the Missouri River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 10,885. The city is named in honor of US Senator ...
, with two staff members and 24 students. Curtis Martin discussed the mission of the organization with
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
that same year. At the invitation of
Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
Charles J. Chaput, former archbishop of Denver, a FOCUS program was established in the fall of 1998 at the
University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNCO or UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado, United States. It was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has offi ...
, Greeley. The group is now headquartered outside of Denver. FOCUS currently has over 500 full-time staff members. FOCUS takes recent college graduates, trains them in the teachings of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
,
Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...
and practical aspects of ministry, and sends them out typically in teams of four to serve on college campuses. FOCUS staff members make an initial two-year commitment to this full-time work on campus. FOCUS works with the approval of the local bishop and the support of the local
pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...
, as well as existing campus ministries."Fellowship of Catholic University Students Heads Back to Campus, Adding 16 New Schools"
''National Catholic Register'', September 2, 2012.


Operations

The greater part of FOCUS' work occurs in Bible studies, conducted as small groups meeting weekly to discuss a Scripture passage, typically led by a missionary for the organization. The organization calls this small-group model “the method modeled by the master,” that is, it purports to base its modes of evangelization on Jesus’ actions in the
gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the second century AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sen ...
. FOCUS Bible studies are either all-male or all-female. Meetings generally follow formats and lesson plans distributed by the organization and made available online. A Bible study leader will typically meet one-on-one with a couple of select members once a week outside of study sessions in what are called “discipleship” sessions. Missionaries are typically recent graduates who have some experience with the organization's Bible studies as undergraduates, who dedicate a year or two of service stationed on a campus with a FOCUS program. Missionaries, who make a living by fundraising salaries, undergo a five-week training program at the organization's Denver Support Center the summer prior to their assignments. Beginning in 1999, FOCUS began to host a series of alternating conferences. The larger of the two,
SEEK SEEK Limited is an Australian employment website for job listings, headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. Seek also operates in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. History Seek was founded ...
, is largely educational and social in nature. The smaller Student Leadership Summit (SLS) was more directly aimed at training undergraduates and other young and ministerial professionals in the organization's methods. Both conferences feature high-profile speakers, exhibitors, and social events. The organization has hosted both conferences since 1999, with the final SLS held in 2019 and SEEK becoming annual. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the in-person 2021 and 2022 nationwide conferences were cancelled, prompting some universities to join together at common locations to watch livestreamed talks. In 2023, SEEK was again held in-person at The Dome at
America's Center America's Center is a convention center located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, and is situated next to the Dome at America's Center, the former home of the National Football League's St. Louis Rams (now the Los Angeles Rams) and the current h ...
, where it returned for 2024 instead of changing locations like past years. The organization also hosts service trips and retreats scheduled to coincide with typical undergraduate term breaks.


Founder

Curtis Martin is the founder of FOCUS. Martin holds a master's degree in Theology and is the author of the best-selling book ''Made for More'', and co-host of the
EWTN The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) is an American basic cable television network which presents around-the-clock Catholic programming. It is the largest Catholic television network in America, and is purported to be "the world's larges ...
show ''Crossing the Goal''. In 2004, Curtis and his wife Michaelann were awarded the Benemerenti Medal by Pope John Paul II for their outstanding service to the Church. In 2011, Curtis Martin was appointed as Consulter to the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization by Pope
Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignation on 28 Februar ...
.


Current campuses

As of September 2021, FOCUS serves on 205 campuses with about 800 missionaries. FOCUS is on campuses in 41 states, and they also have a presence at the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
in
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
,
University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...
in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
,
Dublin, Ireland Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, and the
University of Passau The University of Passau (''Universität Passau'' in German) is a public research university located in Passau, Lower Bavaria, Germany. Founded in 1973, it is the youngest university in Bavaria and consequently has the most modern campus in the ...
and the University of Dusseldorf in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
.


Notable people

Michelle Duppong Michelle Duppong (January 25, 1984December 25, 2015) was an American Catholic laywoman who served as the Director of Adult Faith Formation for the Diocese of Bismarck before dying of cancer at the age of 31. Previously, she worked as a campus m ...
, a former FOCUS missionary who died of cancer in 2014, is under consideration for
sainthood In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...
in the Catholic Church.


See also

*
Catholic spirituality Catholic spirituality includes the various ways in which Catholics live out their Baptismal promise through prayer and action. The primary prayer of all Catholics is the Eucharistic liturgy in which they celebrate and share their faith together, ...
*
Life Teen Life Teen is a Catholic youth ministry organization in the United States. Overview Life Teen's mission statement explains, "As a Eucharist-centered movement within the Roman Catholic Church, Life Teen leads teenagers and their families into ...
* Saint Paul's Outreach * NET Ministries *
Catholic Christian Outreach Catholic Christian Outreach Canada (CCO) is a Catholic missionary organization that is present at several Canadian universities. It seeks to bring students into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, equip them to live in the fullness of the ...


References


External links


Official websiteArticle on FOCUS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fellowship Of Catholic University Students Christian organizations established in 1998 Catholic student organizations