2008 Woodie Awards
Fellowship of Christian Athletes pushes past stereotypes
Nicole Heitmann
Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: In the Spotlight
Many students at Southwest Baptist University have heard about Fellowship of Christian Athletes. What most students fail to realize is that FCA is not just for athletes.
The leadership team of FCA, hopes more students will try to come, even though they may not be athletes. You do not have to be an athlete to be part of the group, just human.
"Some people might be intimidated [of the athletes]," said junior Carla Graves.
FCA is about building relationships by using the time they have during the meetings to fellowship with each other.
"[We want] an atmosphere where we can encourage each other in fellowship," said junior Joy Oatman.
Fifteen to 20 students currently attend the meetings every Monday night at 8:30 p.m. in Goodson Student Union.
"[We want to build] a community where people are going to care for you outside of FCA," said freshman Trevor Shoultz.
There are always snacks and worship, other activities during the meetings vary every week.
"Last semester we had a bunch of the coaches speak," said Oatman.
Ben Blake, offensive line coach for the football team, is the sponsor for the organization.
Other speakers included Jarod Jones, director of the Polk County KLife as well as Becky Uffman, a representative for Sports Crusaders. Meetings can also include Bible studies or prayer time.
At other meetings, they have a small Bible study or pray for specific prayer requests the members have. The group wants to strive to build relationships with others, just like Jesus did.
"Every week we lead but we learn every Monday as well," said graduate Vicky Bright.
Not only does FCA want to have a positive affect on the campus but also on the community. Last year the group had an outreach at the ball fields and invited the community to join.
"We try to do more community involvement," said Oatman. "The [Bolivar] High School FCA gets involved."
"We want to reach out to the community," said Graves. "We want to do small things such as food drives. We want to take down that barrier [between the campus and the community]."
The leadership team of FCA, hopes more students will try to come, even though they may not be athletes. You do not have to be an athlete to be part of the group, just human.
"Some people might be intimidated [of the athletes]," said junior Carla Graves.
FCA is about building relationships by using the time they have during the meetings to fellowship with each other.
"[We want] an atmosphere where we can encourage each other in fellowship," said junior Joy Oatman.
Fifteen to 20 students currently attend the meetings every Monday night at 8:30 p.m. in Goodson Student Union.
"[We want to build] a community where people are going to care for you outside of FCA," said freshman Trevor Shoultz.
There are always snacks and worship, other activities during the meetings vary every week.
"Last semester we had a bunch of the coaches speak," said Oatman.
Ben Blake, offensive line coach for the football team, is the sponsor for the organization.
Other speakers included Jarod Jones, director of the Polk County KLife as well as Becky Uffman, a representative for Sports Crusaders. Meetings can also include Bible studies or prayer time.
At other meetings, they have a small Bible study or pray for specific prayer requests the members have. The group wants to strive to build relationships with others, just like Jesus did.
"Every week we lead but we learn every Monday as well," said graduate Vicky Bright.
Not only does FCA want to have a positive affect on the campus but also on the community. Last year the group had an outreach at the ball fields and invited the community to join.
"We try to do more community involvement," said Oatman. "The [Bolivar] High School FCA gets involved."
"We want to reach out to the community," said Graves. "We want to do small things such as food drives. We want to take down that barrier [between the campus and the community]."
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