Sometimes life's detours lead not away from our purpose, but straight toward it.
When Jax Hudson first appeared at Chapman University in 2023, he was coming off an injury and looking to restart his football career in a new environment far from home. Meanwhile, McKenna Nolasco was on her own journey, one that detoured onto a path that didn’t include the sport she loved and grew up playing.
As a high school student, Hudson was introduced to God and started attending church with friends. The kicker said his dad is an atheist, and his mom grew up attending church but didn’t practice her faith.
He enrolled at Tiffin University in his home state of Ohio as a freshman and was a member of the football team, but after an injury, he knew his life had veered off course.
“I realized I wasn’t being the Christian guy I thought I was,” Hudson said. “Everything that mattered to me was wrapped up in my sport. I needed to change the scenery; being in that place wasn’t good for me mentally, spiritually or physically.”
He took a gap semester and then made the move to Chapman University in Orange, California, where he said, “God humbled me in a lot of ways.” At Chapman, Hudson first got involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
By then, Nolasco was a fixture in Chapman’s FCA Huddle. A decorated athlete who played on both the boys and girls soccer teams in high school and won league MVP honors in soccer, basketball and volleyball, Nolasco doesn’t remember a time when she wasn’t a part of a church. She attended a Christian school from preschool until she graduated from high school. The Christian life was normal for her.
“I definitely believed [in God],” Nolasco said. “I served on the worship team at school and was involved in different clubs, but I’ll say that I feel like I just got attuned to that routine and didn’t go out of my way to work on and practice my faith.”
Finding a deeper connection through FCA
When Hudson and Nolasco were invited to the FCA Huddle by teammates, their lives changed.
“Coming here [to Chapman] and to FCA, I was able to take charge of my faith and be independent,” Nolasco said. “I’ve seen God work through my life where I never thought I would.”
God was even there when Nolasco made the unexpected decision to hang up her soccer cleats. Following her sophomore season, she stopped playing the sport she loved.
Like Nolasco, Hudson’s faith and involvement in FCA and a local church changed his outlook on life and his relationship with God.
“I just kind of took off with my faith,” he said. “Now I feel like God’s really blessed me with a lot of opportunities and gifts.”
One of those gifts is the ability to lead, which he exercises as the co-president of Chapman’s FCA Huddle. The other co-president? Nolasco.
Vulnerability in fellowship
Together with several other student leaders and Orange County FCA College Representative Christine Dickerson, Hudson and Nolasco help Chapman students of many backgrounds and experiences encounter God’s love.
“FCA provides a place where you can dig in and be vulnerable,” Nolasco said. “I think that’s the hardest part. You have to be super vulnerable when you are talking and developing a relationship with God because you have to be humble enough to recognize how broken you are and then come to God from that place.”
Nolasco explained that FCA has connected her with people she might not have known otherwise.
“There’s an extra level that you get to in the Huddles,” Nolasco said. “I’ve never been exposed to that kind of environment before. It’s so powerful. I can’t say that I’ve ever had a group of people to whom I’ve been able to talk like that and have that fellowship on a deep spiritual level.”
Building a transparent, supportive community
That relational depth has helped Chapman’s FCA grow as students from all walks of life engage. Hudson was surprised to see some students at a Huddle. He’s excited that they feel comfortable enough to be a part of it.
“It’s come as you are,” he said. “There are no prerequisites. We want to see how many people we can get here so we can let them know [about God’s love] and they can be exposed to God, His Word and things they wouldn’t know otherwise. It’s awesome to develop a relationship with them on a deeper level than just as teammates.”
Dickerson said that mentality counters societal norms, which makes Chapman’s FCA Huddle an attractive group for students.
“We’re taught at such a young age not to be vulnerable and to have it all together,” Dickerson said. “Don’t show your emotions. Christianity can be intimidating because of that. So, I encourage our leaders to think about what it looks like to allow others into that space.”
Dickerson asks leaders to consider what God is doing in the midst of that vulnerability and how they be the salt and light on campus. Leaders join the students to do life together and through that, share the Gospel.
Bridging faith across campuses
The Chapman students see God reflected in their love for each other and through their worship alongside Huddles from other local colleges and universities. A few times each semester, they meet with FCA members from Vanguard University, Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine and Biola University for a night of worship, testimony sharing and Scripture study. The gatherings make a large world seem smaller.
Hudson has been a featured speaker at a few of the gatherings with other schools. The events are reminders of how God works beyond his campus’ borders.
“Everyone has gone through ups and downs,” he said. “And the only way out of it is through Christ.”
As co-presidents of Chapman’s FCA, Hudson and Nolasco embody the impact of choosing faith and fellowship. They have helped create a space where students can come as they are, share their stories and encounter God’s love amidst their challenges. Once marked by doubt and detours, both of their paths have led them to a place where they can inspire others to find meaning and connection in their lives.