Brock MartinYoung people are the future leaders of the Church".SEEK24, young people in the light of ChristJames Harrison is one of the four young people Americans who brought the FOCUS (Fellowship Of Catholic University Students) missionary movement to Germany in 2018 at the request of Bishop Stefan Oster of Passau. The mission of FOCUS is to share the hope and joy of the Gospel with university students. Bible groups, regular prayer and leisure events, such as the SEEK conference on New Year's Eve, and not least, personal friendships with the students, form the framework for this. Harrison initially worked as a missionary at the University of Passau for four years. In 2022 he became regional director of all European FOCUS branches.
Founded in 1998 by American Curtis Martin, the movement is currently represented in eight universities in the United States: in the Irish cities of Belfast, Dublin and York, and in the German-speaking region, in Düsseldorf, Passau, Krems, St. Pölten and Vienna. In the United States, missionaries are currently working at 210 universities. As the main organizer of this week's SEEK conference in Cologne, Harrison talks about his work for FOCUS in an interview with the Tagespost. His goal: to bring the faith in Jesus Christ to life in Europe.
Mr. Harrison, how did you become a FOCUS missionary and end up in Germany?
- I became a FOCUS missionary eight years ago. At my university there was no FOCUS. But as a student, I began to search more and more for the truth. I wanted to understand what is real, whether God is real and how He acts in the world.
I was pretty much alone with these questions and was trying to answer them with the help of books, podcasts and YouTube videos. That's how I came across the FOCUS website and was immediately excited about the idea of sending young adults to preach the Gospel to students. I imagined how different my own college life would have been with FOCUS.
I realized: I can't change the past, but I can do something for the future. That's why I got in touch with FOCUS. In my senior year, I met online with a missionary every week. He taught me how to pray, explained the sacraments and taught me how to tell my friends about Jesus.
Soon after, I was already leading my own Bible study group and, after graduating, became a missionary myself. First for two years in California and since 2018 in Passau. Actually we were supposed to be sent to Ireland. But then the diocese of Passau asked for missionaries. Two months later we were there - and we had to learn German.
What was it like to come to Germany so spontaneously and found an American missionary organization?
- The first phase was incredible. Very exciting, everything was new. Then came the first difficulties: Culture shocks, the language barrier. We had to learn to understand the Germans, not only linguistically, but also humanly. But God makes use of all the difficulties. We were able to trust that everything would work out. We are very grateful: the people here are a gift and have taught us a lot. We have learned how universal the Church is.
What obstacles does FOCUS encounter with German students in proclaiming their faith?
- We see challenges of a cultural and ecclesiastical nature. Culturally, there is a general skepticism towards authority. Germans are learning to be skeptical, also of the Church. The Church, in turn, is weighed down by its past scandals and errors. Our task is therefore to explain to people that perhaps not everything they have learned about the Church and God is true.
Secondly, the concept of accompaniment is quite unknown here. In Germany there are many organizations that teach people to grow in faith and to pray. And that is important and good. But the fact that a Christian enters into another person's life to help them grow in faith, to accompany them on this journey of discovery... that is still rarely seen in Germany. For example, when you offer a prayer evening and people come who don't yet know Jesus: then you have to keep in contact with them and build a personal relationship. We want to live an evangelization of individual support, of building personal relationships.
As a general rule, four missionaries are sent to the universities, preferably two women and two men. How is it that they still reach a large group of students?
- Because of the multiplier effect: students come to our Bible study group, grow in faith and create their own Bible study group. From them emerge new leaders of Bible groups, and so on. We missionaries do not want to be the only ones to transmit the faith, but to form a team around us with the students.
SEEK conferences are very well known and popular among Catholic students in the United States. Many have intense experiences of God there. How did the idea of organizing a SEEK conference in Cologne come about?
- The desire to hold a European SEEK conference has existed for a long time. During the Covid pandemic, very small, local SEEKs were held in Passau, Vienna and Ireland. The experience was good and many students attended. Since then, we have been trying to organize a large European SEEK conference. The permission was granted in November 2023. First of all, we had to find a suitable venue. We had been planning it since January, with a team of three people. Naturally, we worked closely with the US SEEK organizers. We also received great support from the vocation ministry of the Archdiocese of Cologne.
How did you select the speakers for the event?
- The five guest speakers, or rather "keynote speakers", are Kathy from Ireland (Evangelical Free Church Living Word), Katharina Westerhorstmann from Germany, Father Louis Merosne from Haiti, Father Patrick from Ireland and Father John Riccardo from ActsXXIX. We were looking for experienced speakers who know FOCUS. At the same time, they should know Europe, especially the places where we have missionaries. So Ireland and the German-speaking area. Those were the selection criteria.
What are the future plans for SEEK's European conferences?
- SEEK has been held in the United States for almost 25 years, and it just keeps growing. This week it was held for the first time in two locations: Salt Lake City and Washington D.C. I would like to see an equally positive development in Europe. And this week in Cologne is the starting point. We celebrate faith and refuel, so that the Gospel comes alive in people and they feel how much God loves them. They should receive this fire and take it home with them. In short, SEEK serves as an encounter with God and an incentive for mission. There is no SEEK scheduled for next year in Europe, as we are flying to the USA with the students. But another one is planned for two years from now. Preparations will start soon.
This is a translation of an article that first appeared on the website Die-Tagespost. For the original article in German, see here . Republished in Omnes with permission.
