This story appears in FCA Magazine’s September/October 2015 issue. Subscribe today!

At the end of every summer, with campuses about to come alive as another school year commences, it’s always our prayer that the coaches and athletes who attended or served at an FCA Camp left inspired and changed by what they heard. We also pray for God to embolden them as they step back onto school campuses, which can often be dark environments desperately in need of the light of Christ.

FCA has evolved over the past 60-plus years. We have our “Four C’s” of ministry—Coaches, Camp, Campus and Community—and while camp might be what we’re most known for, we’ve realized it’s one of the other three that can drive our entire ministry and where we’ll see the most long-term and lasting impact.

The coaches.

Over the last several years, we’ve refocused our efforts as a ministry to make the coach our top priority. That’s not to say, of course, that the other three C’s are getting the short end of the stick. But we’ve seen and heard amazing stories of athletes—and entire communities—being impacted by FCA ministering to and through one or more coaches on a campus.

Both male and female coaches at all levels need to know the power and potential that comes with their position. Whether they’re conscious of it or not, they’ll influence their young athletes in a positive or negative way.

I reflect back on my early career as a coach at the University of Colorado in 1972, when I was strongly influenced by freshmen football coach Dan Stavely, who introduced me to FCA. We would walk across campus, and scores of young men and women would yell his name and say, “See you at the FCA Huddle meeting Thursday morning!”

At my first FCA Camp, I watched six yellow school buses drive into Estes Park, Colorado. Who orchestrated such a convoy? None other than a high school football coach from Chicago named Jim Rexilius. He was passionate about getting as many athletes as possible to FCA Camp, so they could then return home to influence their respective campuses.

Those two men, both coaches, influenced me immensely over the years. Their model of Christian character and service and their love for athletes is still talked about to this day—long after each went home to be with Jesus.

For more than six decades now, FCA has been making a difference in the lives of coaches and athletes, introducing them to the exciting adventure of following Jesus Christ. More recently, as we’ve zeroed in on the coaches, we’ve seen the power of the “Four C’s” come alive.

Coaches encourage their athletes to attend an FCA Camp, and those athletes return to campus and share their experience with others. As more come on board and join the campus FCA Huddle, entire communities are transformed. How exciting!

While we’ve focused on coaches, it goes without saying that every teacher, administrator or member of a community has the opportunity to make an impact this school year. FCA continues to be a powerful ministry thanks to God’s grace and the wonderful men and women out there who see the need for Christ on their campuses and in their communities and answer the call to take Him there through FCA. Keep doing what you are doing and giving God all the glory.

Model the Master,

Les Steckel

FCA President/CEO

–This article appears in the September/October 2015 issue of FCA Magazine. To view the issue digitally, click here: September/October 2015 FCA Mag Digital 

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