The Fellowship of Christian Athletes ( FCA ) is an international non-profit Christian sports service based in Kansas City, Missouri. FCA was established in 1954. It has staff offices located throughout the United States and abroad.
The FCA mission is "to lead every coach and athlete into the growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His church." His vision is "to see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes."
The organization's headquarters are located on Interstate 70 of the Truman Sports Complex.
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History
FCA was founded in 1954 by Eastern Basketball coach Oklahoma A & amp; M Don McClanen, who later resigned to become his permanent director. After watching sports stars use fame to support and sell general merchandise, McClanen wrote to 19 prominent sports figures who asked for their help in founding an organization that would use the same principles to share the Christian faith. Among the first supporters were Baseball Hall of Fame Branch Rickey, best known for breaking the MLB color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson to Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945, and professional athletes including Otto Graham, Carl Erskine and Don Moomaw. The FCA held its first advisory board meeting in September 1954 and was officially included as a non-profit organization in November.
After two years in Oklahoma, McClanen moved the FCA headquarters to Kansas City, Missouri. That year (1956), the FCA also conducted its first national camp, later called a national conference, which attracted 256 athletes and coaches to Estes Park, Colorado. The ministry continued its expansion by adding additional camp sites, setting up a national magazine and starting a school campus group called, "Huddles," within 10 years of the first camp. In 1979 the FCA completed and dedicated a new headquarters facility overlooking Kansas City, Truman Sports Complex, and the building was officially renamed the FCA National Support Center in 2011.
After more than 60 years of operation, the FCA has grown into a global Christian sports ministry that reaches over two million people per year at sport, college, secondary, junior and youth levels. By 2017, the FCA includes a staff of more than 1,500 ministry personnel "in more than 450 US staff offices.FCA has also expanded to 62 countries with 164 international leaders and countless volunteers who spread the good news of Jesus Christ."
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Trust Statement
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes operates by an internally written statement of faith. This statement consists of nine points based on Bible teaching and Christian principles. Each point has a corresponding scripture. All staff and ministry leaders agree and operate in accordance with the FCA statement of faith.
Core values ​​
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes lists four core values ​​for its ministry: Integrity, Serving, Teamwork and Excellence. Each core value has the corresponding scriptures.
Four C services
The FCA categorizes its services in accordance with the so-called "Four C" of service: Trainers, Campuses, Camps and Communities.
- The "Coach" service area includes Christian Bible lessons, prayer support, discipleship, mentoring, resources, outreach events and retreats for athletic trainers and send staff to national trainers, conventions and major sporting events to host and facilitate event services.
- The "Campus" service area includes student-led groups called, "Huddles," in junior high schools, high schools and colleges as well as team Bible studies, pastoral courses and Bible lessons for trainers. By 2016, over 9,000 school campuses report the presence of FCA and more than 450,000 are said to be participants. The FCA created the annual school assembly, the "One Way 2 Play" program, "Drug Free," and Fields of Faith.
- The FCA "Camp" ministry includes camps for athletes, coaches, ministry leaders, teams and youth both in the US and abroad. The FCA also partners with camps from other organizations. It offers seven types of camps: sports camps, leadership camps, camp coaches, power camps, camp partnerships, team camps and international camps. In 2013, the FCA reported 429 camps with nearly 60,000 participants.
- The FCA "Community" ministries involve church and business partnerships and reach out to parents and volunteers and services to professional athletes and coaches.
The FCA-Special Ministry of Sport targets athletes and coaches in baseball, cheerleading, endurance sports, golf, hockey, lacrosse, motocross, surfing and wrestling.
The first SSM was FCA Golf, founded in 1977. Followed in 1989 by FCA Lacrosse.
International Ministry
Since 2012, the FCA has expanded its efforts worldwide. In 2016, FCA International serves in 60 countries through 133 FCA International leaders who spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. FCA supports initiatives and partnerships that provide opportunities for leaders within the sports ministries in their own countries by equipping them with programs, services, support, resources and tools to grow their ministries. The FCA hosts 284 camps outside the US with more than 34,000 camped in 45 countries. In addition, the International FCA Association grew to 1,612 with 34,378 present; more than 5,000 made the decision to follow Christ.
Leadership
At the executive level, FCA operates under the direction of the president/CEO and the executive team that meets with the supervisory board.
The FCA requires leaders to agree on their vision, mission, and beliefs. All adult leaders must complete the Ministry Leader Application. Applicants must agree with vision, mission, statement of belief, non-denominational statement and statement of sexual purity. All leaders must also pass criminal background checks and have complete applications approved by local or regional Field Staff employees.
Criticism
In September 2015, the Roanoke and Roanoke County Virginia public schools ended FCA ministries for football players after at least two complaints. In an FCA activity called the "Watermelon Ministry," the organization has visited high school student athletes in team practice to offer watermelon slices and tell the players that all of their talents are from God. Two FCA videos from August 2015 of the now-stopped program show public school coaches standing behind their team while an FCA evangelist firmly warns them that to be a good player they must have Christian faith and read the Bible. In the third video, many high school coaches in Virginia talk about how FCA helps them recruit students to Christianity. One of the trainers, for example, stated: "We teach them not only about sports and how to live your life but how to live your life as a Christian I think it is very important, for us to have the opportunity to connect with all kinds of children, children, not just people who go to church, but maybe people who do not go to church.This allows us to draw them into a relaxed environment and really talk to them about the Gospel, which is why we do what we do We want to take the children to the gospel and see them follow Christ. "
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national non-profit organization, called the activity "predatory," "illegal" and "unconstitutional" in letters sent to the supervisors of the two largest Virginia jurisdictions involved.
School officials replied that they were unaware that the trainers were doing evangelism, and immediately stopped them. The Roanoke County Superintendent stated "The Roanoke County School believes in the separation of church and state We want to maintain and ensure that the practice is followed." A spokesman for Roanoke said: "When this information came to our attention we responded immediately, we met the right people and made it very clear that the separation of church and state is the law of the country We feel this problem is under control and we will monitor this very close. "
Through its media office, the FCA issued the following response, "Every student athlete has the right and freedom to participate in activities according to their respective religious beliefs, no impact for students who refuse to participate in FCA activities." But the FFRF letters noted that the impact could be peer pressure and coaches, alienating non-Christian students, and seizing parental authority.
The FCA sexual purity statement has been criticized because it includes statements against homosexuality that they sign the form (adult leaders) must agree to enforce.
Professional athlete
Since 1954, professional athletes and trainers have taken part in the FCA through various ministry activities, lectures, FCA camps, volunteer opportunities, and ministerial leadership roles. For approximately six decades, athletes and coaches from both large and small professional sports programs and top-tier colleges have been involved with FCAs to communicate their Christian faith and participate in community outreach opportunities. Among those who pioneered the organization were former Otto Graham stars, Rickey Branch, Bobby Richards, Carl Erskine and Bill Krisher. They will be followed by other influential sports figures including Tom Landry, Bobby Bowden, John Wooden, Roger Staubach, Jim Ryun, Betsy King, Herschel Walker, Reggie White, Tony Dungy, Shaun Alexander, Tom Osborne Shanna Zolman and Kay Yow , all of whom voiced their Christian faith through FCA outlets such as banquets, camps, and general meetings.
New stars connected with the FCA have included Josh Hamilton, Adam Wainwright, Brian Roberts, Tim Tebow, Tamika Arrests, Jennie Finch, Andy Pettitte, Tommy Tuberville, Jim Kelly, John Harbaugh, Leah O'Brien Amico, John Smoltz, Mark Richt , Colt McCoy, Andrew McCutchen and a number of public figures outside the world of sports such as comedian Jeff Foxworthy, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and duck star Willie Robertson. Influential Christian leaders such as Billy Graham, Chip Ingram, Anne Graham Lotz and Tommy Nelson have also participated in the FCA through the development of resources, camps or events.
FCA award winners
The FCA presents six national awards each year to athletes and coaches who have excelled in competition, community service, and certain Christian characters.
- Sportsman Bobby Bowden This Year: Named after former Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden, this award is awarded annually to the FBS Division I football player who commits himself as a model of faith in society, at classrooms and in the field. Candidates must have 3.0 GPA or better and should have support from his school, athletic director and football head coach. Winners include Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson (2016), Oklahoma Ty Tylington (2015) center, Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty (2014), offensive midfielder Texas A & amp; M Jake Matthews (2013), midfielder Auburn Ashton Richardson (2012) and quarterbacks Case Keenum (2011), Christian Ponder (2010) and Colt McCoy (2009). Grant Teaff Coach of the Year Award: Grant Teaff Coach of the Year Award named after former Baylor University football coach Grant Teaff, who also serves as executive director of the American Football Association and a member of the Supervisory Board National FCA. The annual award recognizes soccer coaches who exemplify Christian principles and maintain an active engagement with the FCA. Previous winners include Mike MacIntyre, Mike London, Tommy Bowden, Jerry Kill, and Tommy Tuberville.
- Grant Teaff Lifetime Achievement Award : The second FCA award named after Teaff recognizes a football coach who has, committed his life to be a Christian influence on the lives of the athletes. Homer Rice, Houston Nutt and Tony Dungy.
- Jerry Kindall's Character in a Coaching Award : Named after former Major League Baseball player and retired University of Arizona baseball coach Jerry Kindall, Character in Coaching Award is presented annually to a college or high school baseball coach who , best exemplifies Christian principles of Character, Integrity, Excellence, Teamwork and Service on and off the baseball field, ÃÆ' â € žÃÆ'¹ Previous winners include Rusty Stroupe, Scott Berry and Bubba Cates.
- John Lotz, Barnabas, Award : Named after former University of Florida bassist John Lotz and Bible biblical Barnabas was first mentioned in Acts 4 as, Enlightened Son, ÃÆ' â € žÃÆ'¹ honors this award a basketball coach who, showing the best commitment to Christ, integrity, encouragement to others and living a balanced life, the previous winners included Tom Crean, Don Meyer, Billy Kennedy, Homer Drew and John Wooden.
- Kay Yow's Heart of a Coach Award: First presented in 2008, the award was set up to honor former North Carolina State University bassist Kay Yow, died after nearly 22 years fighting cancer. The award recognizes a women's basketball coach who, during his career, has trained in accordance with biblical principles, and has trained athlete's heart, and body and mind. Previous winners include Sue Semrau, Deb Patterson, Sue Ramsey and Kay Yow.
See also
- Athletes in Action
- Sports To The Top
Note
External links
- http://www.fca.org/
- http://www.fcacamps.org
- http://www.fcaresources.com
- http://www.fca.org/mag/
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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