The Fellowship of Christian Athletes: Empowering athletes through the Christian faith

In the year 1954, a ministry was born. Four men who were simply having a meeting had no idea what this decision was going to mean to athletes across the globe in years to come. Don McClanen was touched by God and was determined to take that inspiration and put it into action. With that determination, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) was born. [See the FCA Timeline for more information about the birth and development of this organization].

The 'Founding Fathers' of FCA
From left to right: Dr. Louis Evans, Dr. Roe Johnston, Don McClanen, Branch Rickey
courtesy of www.timeline.fca.org

Throughout the years, FCA has grown into a worldwide organization that is "serving local communities by equipping, empowering and encouraging people to make a difference for Christ." (FCA Mission statement). The organization achieves this goal in various ways. 

FCA has created what they call, "The Four C's of Ministry." Right away we can see how this helps FCA stand out amongst other ministries. The four C's include: Coaches Ministry, Campus Ministry, Camp Ministry and Community Ministry. Each ministry seeks to empower coaches and athletes through bible studies, support groups, spiritual training and various other outlets all in the hope to instill a stronger religion through athletics. 

Illustration of the "Four C's of Ministry"
courtesy of http://bigcountryfca.org/mission-vision

College of Charleston FCA Huddle enjoys a
night out to share a meal and scripture
before the Thanksgiving holiday

Bringing the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to middle schools, high schools, and college campuses across the nation has sparked what FCA calls "Huddles." The best way to understand a Huddle is to think of a bible study: a group of individuals coming together to share, study, and talk about scripture. The unique aspect to these student-athlete Huddles is how the scriptures intertwine sports with the message. This is special for the student-athletes because they can take what they learn through the studies and apply it to their everyday lives (given that the majority of their day is consumed with athletics). 

Student-athletes are responsible for leading FCA ministries on their campuses. However, each ministry will have coaches/sponsors who provide support as well as an FCA staff member (such as an area director) to provide the training and encouragement it takes to conduct a campus ministry. As Lowcountry Area Director, Emmett Morgan stated in an interview, "My role is to strengthen coaches and athletes in their faith and encourage them to share that faith with others."

Me (Alexa Chiarelli) pictured
with area director, Emmett Morgan

Here at the College of Charleston, FCA's Huddle is specifically for registered student-athletes at The College. The Huddle ranges from 15-25 members. Yes, this number may seem small but we have to keep in mind the busy schedules of student-athletes. Trying to arrange schedules unfortunately sometimes results in a small group. As a member of FCA myself, although a bigger huddle would be nice to see, I enjoy having a small group. With the small size, this enables each member to be able to share personal stories, ask specific questions, and really draw conclusions about scripture that pertains to personal aspects of individual lives.

It is great when you get to hear everyone's stories and how the Christian faith is impacting them on and off the playing field. As FCA member and Huddle Leader Madison Tarleton stated, "FCA has been really good for me to understand myself as an athlete, as a student, and as a Christian...all these things that I like to call my hyphenated identity."

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is currently celebrating their 60th anniversary. Throughout the years, FCA has exploded into a phenomenon and has become the "heart and soul in sports" (FCA.org). FCA camps, that are held around the world, has grown from having to 256 campers in 1956 to 59,752 campers in 38 states, 25 countries, totaled at the end of 2013.

I am a proud member of the Lowcountry's Fellowship of Christian Athletes that is home to 55+ Huddles empowering over 3,000 student-athletes. I chose to give you a more in-depth look at this outstanding organization and would encourage you take a look at the other sources to this piece to really understand the impact and importance of this unique ministry.

One-on-One with Huddle Leader, Madison Tarleton
Q&A with Area Director Emmett Morgan
Timeline of FCA: FCA Through the Years
Interviews with Huddle members of the College of Charleston's FCA

FCA logo
courtesy of FCA.org

One-On-One with Huddle Leader, Madison Tarleton

Madison Tarleton is a senior student-athlete here at the College of Charleston. To the members of FCA, she is the face of the huddle. Tarleton is the Huddle leader and sometimes referred to the "unofficial FCA president." She comes prepared every week with a theme for the group's devotional and leads the conversation during the Huddle.

"FCA has been a great way to meet other Christian athletes," Tarleton says. "I think it's good that most of all our devotionals are related to sports...it really helps people understand their situation in a different lens they they normally would."

I had the chance to get a more in-depth look at how FCA has impacted and affected Tarleton's life. Watch the video below to learn more.

Madison Tarleton will sure be missed next year when we embarks on the next journey of her life post graduation. However, the members of FCA look forward to next (and final) semester with Tarleton.

Q&A with FCA Area Director, Emmett Morgan

I had the opportunity to speak with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Area Director, Emmett Morgan. Morgan has been involved with FCA since 2004 and has been making huge impacts with each passing year.

"I do see student athletes grow in their faith, initiate team Bible studies, pray together after games," Morgan says. "Those are my wins that let me know that the ministry is having an impact."

The College of Charleston is lucky enough to have Morgan as their region representative for the chapter here on campus. Morgan attends each bible study, or "huddle," that the chapter hosts every week and helps further the study the athletes have prepared for that evening.

He is always a key aspect to the group, especially when the scripture is difficult to comprehend or adapt to everyday life. Morgan always finds a way for the athletes to take what is trying to be conveyed and enable the student-athletes to apply it to their lives.

"My hope is that they will recognize they are athletes not by genetics but by a gift from God," Morgan stated.

Below are the responses from Emmett Morgan that really shape the picture of what it means to be an area director. I chose a different color to outline the answers Morgan has provided me with to make for an easy read. Enjoy!

Q: How did you get involved with FCA?

Emmett Morgan and his wife, Theresa Morgan

A: My first career after college was banking. First in retail banking doing various jobs at the branch level, and at the end, managing a Private Banking Group as a financial planner. Through the influence of my boss in 2001, the Gospel was shared with me in a way that for the first time I fully understood and ultimately wanted to live my life for Christ. I was doing well in banking, but felt a stirring in my heart to share the Gospel with young people in some sort of para-church ministry. I began researching what types of ministries were out there that would fill the need I felt, and ultimately landed with FCA in June 2004. I had never been involved with FCA prior to that and had not even heard of them. Having been an athlete and still athletic, I loved the platform FCA operated on and their ministry plan of sharing the Gospel “to and through” coaches and athletes.  

Q: Describe your role in FCA.

A: My role in FCA is Area Director – I am responsible for the ministry of FCA in middle schools, high schools, and colleges in Charleston, Berkeley, Colleton, and Dorchester Counties. This involves the expansion of ministry – getting into as many schools or recreation fields as possible; hiring staff; and implementing and overseeing the budget for the ministry and each employee (employees are responsible for raising their own support). FCA is highly volunteer focused, there are over 55 FCA Huddles in the Lowcountry with over 3,000 student-athletes and coaches involved. There are only 3 employees, which means the bulk of the ministry is done through coaches and student leaders.

Q: What does your role mean to you?

A: What it means to me is that God has blessed FCA with access to public school campuses and teams unlike any other ministry. I want to see that continue. At a greater level, in a time when more young people leave the church (age 14 – 25), I see FCA as a way to share the Gospel with student athletes at school as opposed to church. Ultimately, with coaches having such tremendous influence over their athletes, and athletes over non-athletes, I fear a day that a coach or athlete may be asked at Heaven’s Gate “I put X amount of athletes and kids under your control each season, what did you tell them about Me?” My role is to strengthen coaches and athletes in their faith and encourage them to share that faith with others.

Q: What kind of impact do you see on the student-athletes you meet with?

A: Sadly, my job is to cast seeds onto the ground and allow God to produce the fruit. I worked with FCA for three years before a student ever said that something we did or said at FCA had changed his life. However, I do see student athletes grow in their faith, initiate team Bible studies, pray together after games, and remember to thank God for a touchdown or win. Those are my wins that let me know that the ministry is having an impact.

Emmett with his adorable daughter Emi!

Q: What do you hope for the most for the student-athletes who are involved with FCA?

A: My greatest hope for student-athletes involved with FCA is that they will be strong in their faith, at a time and in their age, when being religious is often mocked or disregarded. My hope is that they will recognize they are athletes not by genetics but by a gift from God, and they will use the influence they have been given to live out their lives as strong Christians.

Q: What is your favorite aspect about FCA?

A: In a time when the vocal minority has the influence to force the Christian majority to not have prayer in school or before games, it gives me tremendous delight that FCA goes onto public school campuses and holds Bible studies in the classrooms. It gives me tremendous delight that FCA is often the largest club on a campus. Lastly, I love when a student comes up through middle school involved in FCA, goes to FCA at high school, and then is still involved at college. The biggest “win” is to see a coach, who was involved with FCA in middle school, and now at age 40, 50, or 60, is still doing FCA with his fellow coaches or his team. (I haven’t been involved long enough to see that happen yet), but I do see it in coaches that were involved with FCA even before I was born.

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes Through The Years

1954: The Fellowship of Student Athletes is established

Basketball coach Don McClanen sparked the idea of The Fellowship of Student Athletes after being touched by God. “If athletes could endorse automobiles or cigarettes, why couldn’t they endorse this thing that was about life?” McClanen stated. After speaking with a group of Pittsburg businessmen, this program was launched and grew quickly: Creating leadership in coaches, opportunities for athletes to share their minister through sports, and changing communities across the nation.

1956: The First National Camp was held in Colorado with 256 athletes and coaches in attendance. These camps grew throughout the years: by 1969, 16 National Camps were held with 7,000 attendees, in 1995, 13,048 individuals attended FCA National Camps, and today there are 400 camps in 35 countries where individuals can go for “inspiration and perspiration.” Camps are held for a week at a time and include 7 different types: Sports, Leadership, Coaches, Power, Partnership, Team, and International.

1966: Huddle program established

A Huddle program is anything that relates to FCA that is not constituted as a camp. This includes bible studies on college campuses, middle and high schools, coaches’ bible studies, and the sort. For example, the Huddle here on the College of Charleston’s campus meets every week with about 20 members. The study lasts for a little over an hour and consists of a study of scripture in relation to athletics.

1974: The Fellowship of Student Athlete’s National Conference Center opened in Indianapolis, IN

This area was set up for the purpose of hosting camps and events. Various church and sport groups have primarily used the facilities to host camps for sports such as football, basketball, and tennis, just to name a few. A local college in the central-Indiana area, Wabash College, has used the facilities for pre-season training for a handful of years now. Wabash football Coach Chris Creighton stated, “We've used it for a time of team bonding and it's the ideal place to do that.”

1995: The Fellowship of Student Athletes is established on the World Wide Web: www.fca.org This website holds many purposes. It is a site you can go to and learn just about anything related to FCA there is (FCA camps, how to start a huddle, FCA gear, etc.). However, it is so much more than just informational. This website also contains other branches such as FCA resources. This page includes devotionals, bible studies, videos, and other resources that students, coaches, and leaders can use to further their bible studies on their own. This is extra helpful when students miss a few weeks of FCA sessions or during the summer when FCA does not meet on a regular basis.

1996: One Way 2 Play (OW2P) is launched

This program is a “systematic Christ-centered program developed to confront the problem of drug use among students by instill values, encouraging goal-setting and establishing accountability through positive peer pressure” (OW2P Playbook). Students recognize this commitment by signing a card that states they will be alcohol and drug free for they understand this is the only way to play without jeopardizing their future success.

2012: The previously existing magazine undergoes a name change and currently holds this name today: FCA Magazine

The magazine is published bi-monthly and contains feature stories from Christian coaches and athletes. Each story provides an account from athletes and coaches that relate to sports through their religious beliefs and experiences. It gives the readers a first-hand account to how integrated religion and sports truly is. It also features stories from professional athletes and shines a positive light on those individuals who tend to have a negative light in media.

Up-close with the Members of FCA

The members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes on the campus of the College of Charleston are being touched by the word of God each week. They took the time to share their accounts of how being a member of FCA has shaped their lives in special ways. Take a look at the video below to see the impact FCA is making in the lives of these members.

Each of these members are can be found at CofC's FCA Huddle each week learning about how to bring the Christian faith onto the playing field with them. Their words are meaningful and as a member myself, I couldn't agree more with the words they shared.