ABOUT FOCUS
Exploring
a Life of Faith
FOCUS explores with independent school students a life of faith that is real, adventurous, intellectually sound, and eminently practical.
BACKGROUND
About FOCUS
We are a diverse community of students, alumni, parents, faculty, clergy, and professionals from a variety of Christian denominations drawn together by a common faith and purpose. Through relationships, area meetings, programs, and events, we offer a safe space for students to consider life’s most important questions.
11
Local Area
Ministries
19
Yearly National
Programs
56
Staff & Board
Members
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
FOCUS has the privilege of engaging students during an especially formative stage of their individual journeys.”
Dan Walker
FOCUS Executive Director
What is FOCUS?
Fellowship of Christians in Universities & Schools (FOCUS) is a diverse community of students, alumni, parents, faculty, clergy, and professionals from a variety of Christian denominations drawn together by a common faith and purpose. Through relationships, area meetings, programs, and events, we offer a safe space for students to consider life’s most important questions. We have eleven local Area Ministries and offer 19 National Programs each year.
What does Local Area Ministry look like?
Who attends FOCUS?
FOCUS welcomes students from both independent (i.e. private) and public schools to all its meetings, events, and programs. However, FOCUS was founded to fill an important gap: many independent school students have limited opportunities to explore the Christian faith. Our primary aim is to enable independent school students to discover – in a non-coercive setting – the reality of faith for themselves.
FAQS
Most Asked
FOCUS Questions
OUR HISTORY
The Early Years of FOCUS
The roots of FOCUS go back to the 1960s, when founder Peter Moore first began to organize gatherings for New England boarding school students to explore Christianity in fresh and lively ways. The program grew as faculty, heads of school, alumni, and parents recognized the need for informal opportunities on campus and off to explore Christian faith.
This early FOCUS community nurtured an effort that would eventually extend from the Northeast, down the Atlantic seaboard, and to San Francisco.
June 1961
The first FOCUS house party took place in the Adirondacks, sponsored by the fledgling organization, University and Private School Camps, the forerunner to FOCUS. The program and new organization were both inspired by the English branch of Scripture Union that sponsored similar camps in which Peter Moore had participated while at Oxford.
1963
The first Winter House Party was held at Gray Ledges in New Hampshire.
1963
The first Winter House Party was held at Gray Ledges in New Hampshire.
1965-1976
Pawling, New York was the site of camps in June and September, first at Carroll Lodge, then Holiday Hills, a YMCA facility.
1970-1971
Peter Moore and Whitey Haugan, then the chaplain at Ethel Walker, collaborated on an outreach on Martha’s Vineyard centered in a rented house, the Vanderhoop homestead just beneath the lighthouse at Gay Head.
1971
 FOCUS was formally established as the Fellowship of Christians in Universities and Schools, an independent organization with a Board of Trustees of faculty, parents, and alumni.
1973
Land with two rustic buildings on Lambert’s Cove Road on Martha’s Vineyard was donated to FOCUS. This became the FOCUS Study Center.
1970s
Beginning in the mid-70s, FOCUS began to expand beyond the camps and a regular pattern of school visits in New England with the establishment of regional programs in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New York. Soon there were regional centers of activity throughout the Northeast.
1979
The first Princeton Weekend was held with John Stott as the program’s speaker.
June 1961
The first FOCUS house party took place in the Adirondacks, sponsored by the fledgling organization, University and Private School Camps, the forerunner to FOCUS. The program and new organization were both inspired by the English branch of Scripture Union that sponsored similar camps in which Peter Moore had participated while at Oxford.
1963
The first Winter House Party was held at Gray Ledges in New Hampshire.
1965-1976
Pawling, New York was the site of camps in June and September, first at Carroll Lodge, then Holiday Hills, a YMCA facility.
1970-1971
Peter Moore and Whitey Haugan, then the chaplain at Ethel Walker, collaborated on an outreach on Martha’s Vineyard centered in a rented house, the Vanderhoop homestead just beneath the lighthouse at Gay Head.
1971
 FOCUS was formally established as the Fellowship of Christians in Universities and Schools, an independent organization with a Board of Trustees of faculty, parents, and alumni.
1973
Land with two rustic buildings on Lambert’s Cove Road on Martha’s Vineyard was donated to FOCUS. This became the FOCUS Study Center.
1970s
Beginning in the mid-70s, FOCUS began to expand beyond the camps and a regular pattern of school visits in New England with the establishment of regional programs in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New York. Soon there were regional centers of activity throughout the Northeast.
1979
The first Princeton Weekend was held with John Stott as the program’s speaker.
sTAFF & BOARD
FOCUS is Built
on Relationships…
And relationships are all about people! Our staff and board are made up of individuals who are dedicated to the mission of FOCUS and the students we serve.
#MYFOCUSSTORY
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