Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D. Bishop | Archdiocese of Louisville

Four 2024 graduates of the University of Louisville have chosen to become full-time Catholic missionaries with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS). After attending missionary training this summer, Luke Verst, Sarah Cullop, Luke Yunker, and Randy Royer will head to college campuses around the country to accompany students navigating their faith on campus.

All four were involved in the University of Louisville’s Catholic Campus Ministry, located in the university’s Interfaith Center. The ministry is staffed by Dominican Father John Baptist Hoang, chaplain; campus minister Laura Makin; and four FOCUS missionaries.

Gabrielle Krumpelman, who served as a FOCUS missionary at UofL during the 2023-2024 school year, explained FOCUS’ mission in a recent interview. "The mission is to know Christ Jesus and make him known," she said. "As missionaries, you are entering into relationships with students. ... You are in relationship with Christ and bringing people in to encounter him."

Founded in 1998 at Benedictine College, FOCUS sends missionaries to college campuses to intentionally walk with students in their faith journeys. They serve students through weekly Bible studies, mentoring, and outreach events while also providing opportunities for mission trips, pilgrimages, retreats, and conferences.

Additionally, missionaries fundraise their entire salaries by cultivating relationships with mission partners who support them through monthly donations via email updates and phone calls.

In teams composed of two females and two males, FOCUS missionaries aim to form other missionary disciples by investing in students' lives and inviting them into a relationship with Jesus within the Catholic Church. "It can be easy to get lost (in college years), but it is also a ripe time to encounter the Lord," said Krumpelman.

In the 2023-2024 school year alone, FOCUS sent 981 missionaries to 234 locations. In Kentucky specifically, besides the University of Louisville, they send missionaries to three other campuses: the University of Kentucky, Murray State University, and Western Kentucky University.

Catholic Campus Ministry at the University of Louisville has partnered with FOCUS since 2018. Before the class of 2024 graduated this year, one Louisville graduate had previously become a FOCUS missionary.

Krumpelman noted that the class of 2024 was special. "These students received formation from FOCUS missionaries for a full four years... not just a few years," she said. Having consistent support from both Father John and Laura Makin contributed significantly towards creating seniors who "had come to know and love the ministry."

Krumpelman further explained that these graduates had many opportunities for ministry involvement through mission trips or student outreach on campus. "This class had an openness for mission... they developed a heart for that."

The class of 2024 also experienced an unusual start due to entering their freshman year amid pandemic protocols such as masking and social distancing. This unique beginning created a strong sense of community among first-year students seeking connection after being isolated during their final high school months.

Luke Verst noted that while many groups struggled during this period's restrictions on regular activities; Catholic Campus Ministry found ways around these challenges—offering fellowship while adhering strictly safety measures—thereby attracting first-year students needing social engagement.

Krumpelman developed close mentoring ties particularly with Sarah Cullop—the only female graduate among those becoming new FOCUS missionaries—which began when Cullop started attending daily Masses at Interfaith Center before joining then leading Bible studies aimed towards non-Catholics under Krumpelman's guidance eventually getting more deeply involved into outreach ministries led by fellow focus members like herself seeing natural zeal within young woman she mentored closely over time

This article marks beginning series focusing upon future stories about latest batch fresh graduates embarking upon journey becoming next generation devoted catholic-focused university based spiritual guides