Catholic college group sees campuses as mission turf

Published: 2006-02-09

DENVER (CNS) -- Members of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, known as FOCUS, consider themselves modern-day missionaries on college campuses. Last year, 1,500 college students from across the country attended the organization's national conference in Denver. This year, in January, the organization held regional conferences in Broomfield, Colo., Jersey City, N.J., and Chicago to accommodate at least 2,000 attendees. Tom Stroka, the fellowship's campus director at the University of Colorado in Boulder and a presenter at the recent Broomfield conference, said that although he was raised Catholic he did not have a regular prayer life or know much about his faith until he began going to the organization's programs. While participating in one of the fellowship's national conferences, he said he "got the big picture of what the FOCUS vision is and the culture it was creating on college campuses across the country." "The mission is to bring Jesus Christ and his Catholic Church and its fullness to college students. We do that through what we call 'spiritual multiplication,'" Stroka said.

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