“We start by discipling disciples and spreading the gospel,” Makenna Holloway — sophomore softball player and the person responsible for bringing the Fellowship of Christian Athletes back on campus — said.
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes, or FCA, an organization that creates a community amongst athletes, promotes growth in their faith in God and encourages them to serve in their community. Through prayer and Bible study, FCA’s mission is to create leaders through empowerment and the word of God. When Holloway arrived on campus, she noticed that there was no FCA currently established.
“I was a part of it in high school,” Holloway said. “At first, I wasn’t supposed to be here, I was supposed to go to a different college and God led me here. I went to student activities to ask if we had an FCA and they told me we didn’t so I decided to start it back up. They basically handed it to me.”
The organization has four main values, which are represented by symbols seen on bracelets most members wear. The heart — God loves you; the division symbol — sin separates you; the Cross — Jesus rescues you; and the question mark — will you trust Him? These symbols serve as reminders of the Gospel member’s preach and practice.
“FCA is a way for us to build a community within athletes on campus,” Holloway said. “We come together for our meetings, which we call our ‘huddles’. We start our first half of the meeting with a game and then huddle, which is then followed by the message. Josh Graham led our last one which was ‘Letting go, and letting God’ which was about having that freedom within your life.”
Alongside Holloway, Josh Graham — senior baseball player — has become an active leader in their community. He began his role as vice president when Holloway reached out to him after seeing his devotion the previous year.
“I always felt like God had a bigger plan for me, and I never really knew what that was, then this opportunity came around,” Graham said. “Makenna reached out to me because I was a part of the group last year. I am interested in hearing everyone’s testimonies and hearing how everyone came to this location. I feel like everything always happens for a reason and we do come across so many different people, so I just want to hear everyone’s story and the good and bad that makes us all connect through Christ.”
For this upcoming year, FCA’s focus is to create a bigger community within the Athletics Department and other students who are willing to listen to their message. Their most recent meeting had the biggest turnout Holloway had ever seen.
“We want to make an impact on people,” Holloway said. “I really want people to relate to others. We are on a small campus and a small community, and as athletes it’s hard to not let our sport define us, but ultimately that’s not what defines us. God is what defines us. So it’s bringing that character back into our lives and transforming them.”
Many athletes view these meetings as a way to make connections and friendships, but also as a way to strengthen their relationship with God and their faith.
“For me FCA means a group of people who all have a connection to God in some way,” sophomore basketball player Janiah Perkins said. “I joined because I wanted to become closer to God because I always seem to drift away from Him. I would say that if you are trying to grow your relationship with God or if you want to find a group of people to learn about God with and make friends then feel free to join. Even if you know nothing about God, you can join and learn a lot.”
Others view it as a way to connect with other athletes from other sports.
“It’s a fun way to get together and get all the athletes involved together,” junior baseball player Gabe Barrientos said. “I could just be basic and say that it’s a community but honestly it’s just nice to have a group of people that share the same beliefs and values.”
FCA holds their meetings every other Thursday from 7 to 8 p.m, in the back of Alumni Gym. Anyone is welcome to attend the meetings.
“It’s not just NCAA athletes that are welcome, but everyone,” Holloway said. “Being in FCA can be very intimidating to some people but you just have to take that leap of faith and trust in coming and being a part of it.”
