Minnesota FCA Fall MINISTRY UPDATE
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Donations to FCA go to support our mission of
impacting the world
for Jesus Christ.
For more than 55 years FCA has ministered to athletes and coaches through camps, Bible studies, FCA groups, devotionals, conferences and much more.
To donate
to the ministry
of Minnesota FCA
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Making the Most of Every Opportunity
Our summer camps season was terrific - the box below contains a brief camp summary. Now we enter the regular routine of the school year and our ministry on campuses. But here is a real eye-opener: In the United States, there are an estimated 57 million young people ages 5 to 18 playing sports! And only 13% play on a school team. This means that most players are on a community, club or other non-school team. This is a harvest field that we are excited to enter!
While we will not abandon our Campus ministry in middle schools, high schools and colleges/universities, we will pursue with vigor ways to reach the many players who may never make it to a school-based team. How can we reach these players? Through the COACH! Every team has a coach and those coaches are hugely influential in the lives of their team members - especially when you consider that 72% of kids come from homes without both biological parents living together.
What's our strategy? By designating Ron Backes as the Minnesota FCA Coaches Ministry Director, our staff will learn how to connect coaches at all levels to the resources available through the FCA Coaches Academy (www.fcacoachesacademy.com). We will work directly with community athletic associations and club teams to train coaches on how to be a transformational coach rather than a transactional coach. We will seek churches that share our vision of ministering to coaches and enlist them to invite coaches in their congregation and in their community to attend our training seminars. As we train coaches to be transformational, we will also invite them to consider receiving Jesus as Savior, and encourage them to demonstrate Christ's love in the way they coach and mentor their players.
All of this will propel us to achieving our 2020 Vision - tripling our impact by the year 2020 (compared to 2010). THANK YOU for being our teammates and helping us impact the world for Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes.
Glenn Martin
MN State Director
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15
| Camps | |
1635
| Campers | |
309
| Huddle Leaders | |
175
| Coaches | |
328
| First time Decisions for Christ | |
473
| Lives rededicated to Christ |
Theme for 2013 Camps:
"But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and obtain life."
Hebrews 10:39
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FCA College Staff:
Zach Filzen, Joy Gardner, David Melms |
FCA's College Ministry:
Vibrant & Expanding!
With the addition of two new staff members, FCA's College Ministry has been able to expand it's reach across the metro area. Zach Filzen works with the U of M Huddle and David Melms oversees Huddles at Macalaster, St. Thomas and Concordia in St. Paul. Both give special emphasis to men's ministry (Man Cave), while Joy Gardner continues to reach out to college women (The Well).
"The college ministry is really taking off," says Gardner, "not just because we've added Zach and Dave, but God is opening doors like crazy. We've been meeting almost every morning at 10:00 for prayer in the Upper Room (located in the MN FCA state office). We have bared our
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Student leaders from metro colleges |
souls' desire to see students reached for Jesus Christ and to see them grow in their faith in enormous ways."
Students are rising to the challenge to be leaders. They are boldly sharing what FCA stands for and the impact that knowing Jesus personally can have in the classroom, with teammates, and with roommates and friends. There is excitement among the students about what the Lord will be doing on their campuses this year. FCA staff and student leaders have been able to go to St. Thomas, Concordia, and St. Kates' Student Organization Fairs to spread the word about FCA campus huddles, Minnesota FCA UNITED (state-wide college events), The Well, Man Cave, and the upcoming Move"MEN"t conference in November.
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Waseca FCA Spreading the Gospel Message
 Waseca FCA attempted to break the Guinness World Record of 104 people simultaneously spinning a basketball on their finger at the Waseca County Fair. Participants included kids, teens, adults and even grandparents. They hope to hear soon if they officially own the new record.
After the World Record attempt, some "advanced spinners" used their talents to present the gospel. They pictured spinning planets in a vast universe and illustrated God visiting our planet in the Person of Jesus Christ! After the gospel presentation, dozens of FCA's
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Students Seeking Bible Study & Accountability
 Last spring, Owatonna Area Rep Stephanie Goetz was asked by a group of senior girls to start a summer Bible study. They met each week to explore the book of Hebrews and to keep each other accountable before heading off to college this fall. It was amazing to see God use these young women to speak truth into each other's lives," said Goetz. "I was able to connect with these girls after their first week of college, and received many responses of thankfulness for being prepared for their first year of college, as well as how they have been bold in sharing their faith. Praise God for the friendship these young women developed and their new found confidence in their Heavenly Father."
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| A Recent Letter From a West Metro Area Dad...
"...Lauren talked about another great speaker at FCA last night. The message was exactly what she needed to hear!
Lauren was feeling down about facing so many great players within the last week... She felt like the FCA speaker spoke directly to her. Her outlook was so much better when she came home. She was reminded that her 'performance' is not the most important thing in her life. It is AMAZING how God sends messages to us right when we need it! It was not a coincidence that Lauren went to FCA last night to hear the speaker!
Lauren also commented about how many students were at the meeting last night, and she felt so moved that more kids are participating! She said that many kids don't attend church and that FCA is the only place they hear these messages. Amazing that FCA could literally be changing lives!
I just wanted to let you know that FCA is really impacting kids. They are hearing the messages, and the messages are making a difference!" |
Welcome to our newest staff members. Please pray for them as they share the Good News of Jesus Christ with coaches and athletes!
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Bob Spiegler
Southwest Area
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Tom Ness
Central Lakes/NW Area
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Wes Sanda
North Metro
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Erik Lofald
Northeast MN
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David Melms
Metro Colleges / Men's Ministry
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Zach Filzen
U of M / Men's Ministry
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Christy Vanada
West Metro Operations Manage
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Volunteers honored for contributions to Southwest MN State University
Recently, former college athletes Kevin and Karla Anundson were honored with the Noel Olson Volunteer of the Year Award during the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Hall of Fame Banquet. Included in their long list of service is the important part they played in organizing Fellowship of Christian Athletes meetings at Southwest Minnesota State University. For 27 years they have worked diligently to see the ministry of FCA flourish and the Good News of Jesus Christ shared with athletes and coaches. Join us in thanking them for advancing the Kingdom!
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How To Reach Us
Minnesota FCA Staff
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