HPU Football Player Speaks at Local FCA Huddle



HPU student-athlete, Josh Kennedy

One campus ministry highlight from around the area which deserves notice is Howard Payne University football player, Josh Kennedy, visiting and speaking to the FCA huddle at Blanket High School earlier this month. This is a beautiful picture of the FCA impact, where a college athlete being discipled through FCA, uses their influence to pass on the truth and invest in a group of younger students at a local high school FCA huddle.
Josh is a junior Chemistry major, receiver on the football team, and active member of the college campus FCA huddle. Josh quickly volunteered when the opportunity and invitation arose to lead the morning devotional at Blanket’s weekly FCA huddle meeting.
The students welcomed Josh with open arms and soaked up every word God placed on his heart as he shared his testimony about growing up in Branson, Missouri. He explained how the absence of his divorced and drug addicted mother led to his own struggle with alcohol and drug abuse at the early age of 9 years old. After several years of wondering the streets unsupervised, CPS finally stepped in when he was 13 and placed Josh in foster care. From there, he was then adopted by his current parents, Fred and Rosalie Powers, who live in Fort Worth, Texas, where Josh finished his teenage years and graduated from Southwest Christian High School.

Josh said, “God took a bad situation and turned it into a good thing with my adoption, because my new parents took me to church for the first time and introduced me to the love of Jesus Christ who is my Lord and Savior.” Through John 3:16, Josh encouraged the students with God’s love and showed them that there is always hope and forgiveness in Christ regardless of your background. 

The message spoke volumes and is just one example of how God is using this vital ministry to impact our area for Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes on school campuses everywhere. Since then, I have recently found out that there were at least 6 foster kids there that day that I’m sure could relate to Josh’s story in more ways than one. God is good! Amen. 

Josh Kennedy praying at Blanket FCA Huddle.

About Blanket FCA:

The Blanket FCA huddle meets every Friday morning before school at 7:30 a.m. in their gymnasium. With the leadership of Blanket volunteer/Brownwood Area FCA board member, Robert Damron, the Blanket FCA huddle was newly started last school year. Due to the support and weekly attendance from him and AD/Head Football Coach, Tyler Tabor, Blanket has one of the strongest FCA ministries in our area with anywhere from 30-40 students, over half the high school enrollment, attending every Friday morning hungry for God’s Word and donuts of course.   

Corbin Young & Josh Kennedy pictured with 5 Blanket Middle School girls.