In 1954 a Christian organization was founded on the basic premise of furthering the cause of Jesus Christ in the lives of athletes. The development of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) has grown rapidly over the past 56 years to the point where FCA impacts nearly 2 million people annually as the organization has grown into the largest sports ministry in the world. The idea of impacting the world for Christ is not lost on us at Erskine. While I have been involved with FCA since my days as a collegiate athlete, I was impressed 12 years ago during my first week on campus that then FCA president, Adam Hare, was one of the first people to introduce himself to me. Even then, FCA was drawing nearly 75 kids to weekly huddle meetings.
Through the past few years we have seen tremendous leadership in FCA by students like Matt Herring, Kendal Shaffer, and current leader Shawn Glover. Those three leaders also were and, in Shawn’s case, still are, inspirational leaders on their teams. They have led growth in FCA on campus by not excluding non-athletes from the organization. In fact, a large proportion of those attending FCA weekly are not student-athletes. Some would argue that FCA is for athletes and coaches only but in fact the vision of FCA is to use the influence of athletes and coaches to impact the world for Jesus Christ. I learned that lesson many years ago when I was asked during my college years to speak at a youth retreat at a church in Tennessee. Upon the invitation I asked the youth pastor what it was I supposed to talk about. I was instructed to talk about how a competitive athlete could be a practicing Christian. That seemed like a fairly tall task for a college student who had never even thought about it before. For so long I had never thought an athlete could display their Christianity through the avenue of sport. My attitude towards athletics changed because of that retreat talk. I realized that demonstrating Christian morals and values needed to be part of my athletic existence, and I could use my sport as a platform to impact other people in following Christ.
So I am in awe of Kendal, Matt, and Shawn who learned that lesson far earlier than I. Because of their actions, FCA is booming at Erskine. So much so that one night in September, 19 young people gave their lives to Christ on campus. It didn’t matter whether they played sports at Erskine or not. What mattered is that they all joined together to play on the best team of all. On God’s team, losing will never be the issue. So keep “Unleashing the Power” Erskine FCA; what a tremendous movement of God you are a part of.
Through the past few years we have seen tremendous leadership in FCA by students like Matt Herring, Kendal Shaffer, and current leader Shawn Glover. Those three leaders also were and, in Shawn’s case, still are, inspirational leaders on their teams. They have led growth in FCA on campus by not excluding non-athletes from the organization. In fact, a large proportion of those attending FCA weekly are not student-athletes. Some would argue that FCA is for athletes and coaches only but in fact the vision of FCA is to use the influence of athletes and coaches to impact the world for Jesus Christ. I learned that lesson many years ago when I was asked during my college years to speak at a youth retreat at a church in Tennessee. Upon the invitation I asked the youth pastor what it was I supposed to talk about. I was instructed to talk about how a competitive athlete could be a practicing Christian. That seemed like a fairly tall task for a college student who had never even thought about it before. For so long I had never thought an athlete could display their Christianity through the avenue of sport. My attitude towards athletics changed because of that retreat talk. I realized that demonstrating Christian morals and values needed to be part of my athletic existence, and I could use my sport as a platform to impact other people in following Christ.
So I am in awe of Kendal, Matt, and Shawn who learned that lesson far earlier than I. Because of their actions, FCA is booming at Erskine. So much so that one night in September, 19 young people gave their lives to Christ on campus. It didn’t matter whether they played sports at Erskine or not. What mattered is that they all joined together to play on the best team of all. On God’s team, losing will never be the issue. So keep “Unleashing the Power” Erskine FCA; what a tremendous movement of God you are a part of.
