- FOCUS (organization)
FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) was founded in 1997 by Curtis Martin and Ted Sri. The organization sends missionaries to campuses around the country at the request of the local Bishop. A typical missionary team consist of at least 2 male and 2 female missionaries who lead Bible studies and work with student leaders in discipleship relationships. FOCUS also holds national conferences and has a number of mission trip opportunities during the summer months.
Catholic outreach to American Students
The Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) is a
Catholic outreach program for American college students founded in 1997 by Curtis Martin and Ted Sri atBenedictine College .Through small group Bible studies, large group leadership training, and one-on-one discipleship, FOCUS's goal is to bring the "fullness of life and truth in the
Catholic Church to college students", and equips them to share this good news with their friends. FOCUS is working to play a vital role in the “new evangelization” called for byPope John Paul II .FOCUS established its pilot program in January 1998 at
Benedictine College inAtchison, Kansas , with two staff members and 24 students. At the beginning of the fall 2000 semester, more than one-third of the freshman class signed up for the FOCUS program.At the invitation of
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput , Archbishop of Denver, a FOCUS program was established in the fall of 1998 at theUniversity of Northern Colorado , Greeley. Archbishop Chaput has said, "No one does a more dynamic job of reaching college students for Christ than FOCUS."Curtis Martin met with
Pope John Paul II in 1998, and shared the vision of FOCUS with him. The Pope's words to Curtis were, “Be soldiers.” In just nine years, FOCUS now extends to 33 campuses in 18 states with over 150 full-time staff members. More than 2,000 students are involved in FOCUS on college campuses. FOCUS takes recent college graduates, trains them in the teachings of the Catholic Church, Scripture 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, as well as existing campus ministries.Current Campuses
Colorado
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Colorado State University
*Colorado School of Mines
*United States Air Force Academy
*University of Colorado at Boulder
*University of Denver
*University of Northern Colorado Florida
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University of North Florida Illinois
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Bradley University
*Illinois State University
*Illinois Wesleyan University
*University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
*Western Illinois University Iowa
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Loras College Kansas
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Benedictine College Maryland
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United States Naval Academy
*University of Maryland at College Park Massachusetts
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University of Massachusetts-Amherst Missouri
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University of Missouri-Kansas City Nebraska
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Nebraska Wesleyan University
*University of Nebraska-Lincoln
*University of Nebraska at Omaha New Jersey
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Seton Hall University North Dakota
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North Dakota State University
*University of North Dakota Pennsylvania
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Carnegie Mellon University
*Temple University
*University of Pittsburgh South Dakota
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South Dakota State University Tennessee
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Vanderbilt University Texas
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University of St. Thomas (Houston) Vermont
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University of Vermont Virginia
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George Mason University Wisconsin
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University of Wisconsin at Madison External links
* [http://www.focusonline.org/ Official FOCUS website]
* [http://www.catholic.org/prwire/headline.php?ID=1653 Article on FOCUS]
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