The Seek Experience

College students only care about partying, drinking, dating, being irreligious and rebellious, having sex, friending, de-friending, tweeting, tumblring, instagramming, immersing themselves in fraternity or sorority life, making money, and being free—to do all the aforementioned. That is what popular television programs, 24-hour “news” channels, and social media tell us, at least. The beauty of SHALOM WORLD television is that we can show viewers on a global level the Truth.

This past January, when the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), a Colorado-based evangelization and missionary organization hosted its bi-yearly SEEK conference in Nashville, Tennessee, it was not just a handful of faithful Catholic students who registered and showed up. SEEK 2015 was 10,000 Catholic college-students strong!

And what viewers of SHALOM WORLD saw during the live telecast of the conference was the Truth of what college students believe, honor, and worship—Jesus Christ, alive in the Blessed Sacrament and alive in their hearts. The flame that SEEK 2015 sparked, ignited, or re-ignited is taken back to campuses all across the United States and through missionary activities, it will spread all around the globe!

“It’s a wonderful thing to be here at the SEEK conference with so many young people who have opened their hearts to the Lord. It is my prayer, my hope that all of those who are taking part in this [event] will experience the joy of the Gospel and the love of the Lord in their lives. It is so important today that we have media outlets that express the fullness of our Catholic faith. SHALOM WORLD does this in a wonderful way.”

Archbishop William E. Lori

Archdiocese of Baltimore

“It was a blessing two years ago to have 6,000 students and to have 10,000 this year is amazing! We’re an evangelization organization, which means we’re reaching out to college students and evangelizing.

So, growth is what you’re looking for. We have an evangelical imperative to share the faith with people and as we do that, we are watching young people come alive, and as they come alive they share the Good News with their friends. So that snowball, if you will, of evangelization is what we’re experiencing here in Nashville. And we’re grateful to God for that. We can do the work, but He has to cause the growth.”

Curtis Martin, CEO & Founder of FOCUS

“SEEK2015 changed so many lives—including mine. I was awed by the thousands of college students seeking and finding Christ through fellowship, Adoration, Mass, inspirational seminars and the many other opportunities during those five days. I’m even more excited about the future of FOCUS and the Catholic Church as these virtuous, young leaders continues to restore hope to our campuses and communities.”

Craig Miller, President of FOCUS

As a college student and being in FOCUS was really, really important for I had a mentor, I had a FOCUS missionary who invested in me. It made a world of difference for me because I had questions and she gave me answers. I wanted to know more and she just helped guide [me] on that path. I [think] it’s so important to have someone during that time where you have so many questions; to have someone just few steps ahead of you on the journey. As a FOCUS students, I felt so fortunate to have that community, that fellowship, and that mentor. And when they asked me to consider applying, it was probably a world away from what I thought I was going to be doing. I had a dream of starting a camp. So I thought I need to get into the camping industry. I need a camp mentor. I need to get into that world. I need to get into grad school. But, I felt this tug on my heart, this pull and God was saying, Be with Me. Let me tell you more about Who I Am. Let Me tell you how to share with other people. And the FOCUS Missionary position was that time for me to personally grow and then to give, in a way that I was given.

Annie Powell,

Director of Camp Wojtyla, Colorado

former FOCUS Missionary

“The SEEK 2013 conference was really big for me. I had a lot of bad things going on in my life at that point. My best friend had just committed suicide and I was in a state of depression and I got plugged into a FOCUS Bible study. And I got hounded a little bit to get registered for the SEEK conference, and I didn’t know what it was about and what I was going to find there. [Eventually], with ten minutes left for registration, I finally signed up. I just felt a really big push from God to sign-up. It was one of the best things I’ve ever done. The big turning point for me at SEEK 2013 was at Adoration. I felt like I truly experienced Jesus Christ for the first time at Adoration. From there I went back home. I got plugged in to RCIA and I learned a lot about the Catholic faith. And I decided to become Catholic a little while after that. I got confirmed and baptized and accepted into the Church all in one day over a year ago. I had a great respect for priests even before I became Catholic and now I respect them even more in how they lead their lives. So I started to discern my vocation after I became Catholic. I had a serious girlfriend at the time who I thought I was going to marry. I took a trip to a seminary in the Spring and I really liked that [experience]. Before the summer my girlfriend and I broke up and the summer was a time for reflection and through those thoughts of the seminary got stronger. I applied and was accepted into seminary. I was overwhelmed with joy and I knew that every step of the process was part of God’s plan.”

Jordan Roberts

Seminarian, University of St. Thomas

 

To know more visit: https://seek.focus.org/