FCA - Minnesota
Spring 2010
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 Upcoming Events
4/28 MN Prayer Breakfast
5/28-31 College Conference
6/12 Joyful Noise Family
Fest FCA Booth
6/16 FCA Endurance 5K
6/18 North Metro Golf
Tourney
6/21 State Golf Classic
6/25 SE MN Golf
Tournament
6/28 Waseca Golf
Tournament
7/14-18 Waseca FCA
County Fair Booth
7/23 Mankato Golf Classic
7/23-7/25 Coaches
Marriage Retreat
7/29-8/1 Legacy Builders
Weekend
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FCA Camps |
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(Luther College)
(Pebble Creek Golf Course)
(Trout Lake Camp)
(Northwestern College)
August 3-5 / Waseca
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FCA - MN
6701 Penn Ave. South
Suite 300
Richfield, MN 55423
(612) 866-4914
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From MN State Director, Glenn Martin |
In Psalms 90:4 it says, "For a thousand years in your sight, O Lord, are like a day that has just gone by...". So, how long is a year? Even for us mortals, a year can fly by pretty fast. As I reflect on my first year as State Director, I can see God's hand upon the FCA ministry and how we were so amazingly blessed. Let me share a few things about the 4Cs of our ministry:
Coaches - There are now 22 coaches groups around the state; many lead by coach leaders from last year's groups. The Legacy Builders weekend retreat in August gathered 31 coaches plus spouses who were blessed by Pastor Dave Gibson and Coach Tubby Smith.
Campus- New huddles were started this year, including Chaska/Chanhassen where 41 athletes professed faith in Christ at the second meeting. We know it was 41 because they immediately sent a text message that put them into a discipling program! Our college ministry has expanded to Bethel, St. Scholastica, and UMD. God is also stirring the hearts of athletes and coaches at Macalester and Augsburg.
Camps - We are excited about a new sports leadership camp that will begin at Bemidju State University in 2011. Watch for our "Fill the Bus" campaign at the annual Golf Classic in June. We are also excited about our new youth camps to be held in Cannon Falls, Elk River, and Eden Prairie. Last summer dozens of kids accepted Christ at our MN camps Let's pray that kids will come to camp!
Community - The FCA ministry was presented to golfers in Alexandria, Mankato, Waseca, Rochester and the Metro area. Others saw the ministry at banquets in Rochester and in the west metro. Baseball fans heard Twins ballplayers give their testimony of faith in Jesus Christ at the first annual FCA Twins Day at Spring Training on March 16. And the Gospel was clearly presented to parents at the rally on the last day of each youth sports camp.
We are in the middle of our 2020 Vision development process. We are seeking God's direction for our ministry in the future. We will plan our course, but the Lord will determine our steps (Prov. 16:9). Stay tuned for the exciting plans about our future!
Praise God! All of what we do is to bring Glory to Jesus Christ as we impact the world through athletes and coaches. None of what we do is possible without your prayers and financial support. THANK YOU for helping us transform lives of coaches and athletes and all those they influence through FCA! |
Building Character |
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 "My worst nightmare is a day off." I looked up from my coffee cup at General Manager, Craig Smith of the Duluth Huskies baseball team and asked him to explain. "We bring in 30 college players who play 70 games in 74 days. Who knows what will happen with a day off? I know they need their down time. Some teams are spending their days off on the road to control the risk. There have been some deaths in this league from poor decisions made on a day off. Usually alcohol is involved."
"They always talk about baseball being a 5-tool sport. It really is a 6-tool sport. The 6th tool is character. When we have a prospect we want, the first thing I ask their coach is what kind of a person is he. At this point skill or talent isn't the issue. I don't want to bring problems into this community."
I asked him, "Given those concerns, what does the club do to intentionally build the character of the players you work with in the summer?"
"We have rules." Craig explained. "If they break the rules they get disciplined If it's a big offense, we send them home. So we screen on the front side."
"Would you be interested in partnering with FCA to train your leadership, coaches and staff to develop an approach to building the character of your players and team?" I offered.
"Yes!", Craig said. "You don't have to convince me we need this. When can we do it?"
God has opened another door in the coaches ministry with this Northwood League. I will begin training their staff in late May and working with them over the summer.
Cal Barr - Area Director, Northeastern MN (back to the top) |
Stepping Out in Faith |
| Our work is all about raising up athletes, coaches, and community leaders to see and seize the opportunities God brings their way. I have been greatly encouraged these past few months to see some young athletes stepping out in faith.
I think of Century High student, Graham, who asked to be discipled because he wanted to grow in his faith as he entered high school, and now, as a ninth grader, has become a key leader of Century's FCA huddle.
Another 9th grade student, Troy, wanted to start FCA at Mayo High School this fall. We hosted a potential student leaders meeting where he and I were the only ones who showed up. But Troy stayed the course. In the weeks following, five other student leaders joined Troy. Now Mayo FCA meets every Friday morning at 7am with between 20 to 30 students in regular attendance.
J.D. Bickle - Area Director, Southeastern MN
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College Classic |
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Last January, 30 students from various colleges in Minnesota and Wisconsin attended our annual College Classic at Camp Ihduhapi in Loretto, MN. What a blast - great worship, great apologetic teaching, tons of fun in the snow, reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. The weekend kicked off with a "RE" theme. For many, it was a time to renew, reflect, and relax. For others it became a time to release, refocus, rediscover and reclaim. One student commented:
"Thank you so much for your support! I really appreciate your guidance and ideas! I agree that a bible study would be a great idea to carry over what I learned this weekend.
I also found a lot of benefit from your prayer suggestions. I guess I have always thought I needed to "sit down and pray", but I really like the way you think of prayer as an ongoing conversation (with the Lord) throughout the day. Also, I have started writing in the "Inside Out" journal that I got at camp and I've already noticed that it makes me more aware of my thoughts and actions.
Thank you for your prayers about my "big things". After releasing some things and renewing my perspective at camp, I have made some mental and physical changes in my daily routine, and I am feeling much more optimistic. It is a comfort to know that no matter how "big" my worries seem, our God is bigger."
Continue to pray for our FCA college students who are faced with incredible odds on their campuses...but God is at work!!!
Joy Gardner - Metro College Ministry
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