2013 FCA College Advance

On January 25-27, over 400 college athletes from 29 different represented universities across the state of Texas attended the FCA College Advance at Riverbend Retreat Center in Glen Rose, Texas. College Advance is an annual weekend retreat for every division of NCAA, NAIA, and Junior College athletes in Texas. It is a time that is designed to allow student-athletes to get away from their busy schedules and encounter God. 50 of these students were saved and publicly received Christ for the first time this year. Another 86 students either re-committed their life to Christ or made some other spiritual decision. In over 18 years of hosting this camp, 2013 was the largest College Advance yet. It was also the greatest turnout of Howard Payne athletes to ever go as well. We had 9 HPU athletes attend this year. Josh Kennedy, a junior football player said, “College Advance was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Everyone was so genuine. I was amazed by the worship.” Hannah Hartshorn, a freshman volleyball player said, “This weekend helped me forgive my father and mend our broken relationship.” Kevin Domingue, a sophomore football player said, “This was my second time to go to College Advance, and it was even better than the first time. I was encouraged by the guys’ testimonies in my huddle and how they had gone through more difficult times than me, but were still able to see God’s plan in it all. It challenged me to be more grateful. I can’t wait to go next year and bring some of my friends and teammates.” Xavier McFalls, a freshman football player said, “This weekend taught me how to do sports God’s way. Being a Christian athlete doesn’t mean I have to be soft or less intense when I play. Since I’m competing for Christ, I need to go even harder and make sure my motivation is always to be Christ-like and give the glory to God.” Each of these 9 students were able to attend on scholarships and wanted to thank those of you who have donated to Brownwood Area FCA and made this possible.

 

Rochelle FCA Huddle

With less than 65 students in grades 9-12, Rochelle is one of the smallest schools in our 8-county service area. However, with the average attendance of 35-40 students every Wednesday for FCA during lunch, Rochelle has one of the strongest huddles in the area. I wish all the campuses in our area had that percentage of well over half the entire high school enrollment as members of the FCA. Ken Barr, the pastor of Rochelle Baptist Church, one other local pastor, and the two high school coaches are involved as sponsors. But the huddle is led by strong student leadership. After the Bible study devotional, they split up into three student-led discussion groups each meeting. I recently had the privilege of visiting their huddle and sharing the devotional. Below is a picture of the group during the closing prayer.

Sharing God's Word - FCA Bible Distribution Ministry

One of the greatest opportunities FCA receives each year is blessing hundreds of students with a copy of God’s Word. Since the beginning of this school year, through Fields of Faith and our campus ministry, we have been privileged to give well over 200 athletes and coaches an FCA Bible. For many of these individuals, this is the first Bible they may own personally. In January 2013 alone, we have already provided 24 TYC students at the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Complex in Brownwood, 14 students at Rochelle’s FCA campus huddle, and 9 HPU students who attended FCA College Advance all with a new Bible. This Bible distribution ministry is only possible by God’s provision through the generous donors and teammates around the area who invest in our local FCA. On behalf of the countless souls who have been touched through the reading of Scripture, I say Thank You for your support! To order an FCA Bible or any other ministry material for yourself contact myself, Corbin Young, or check out www.fcagear.com. 

Santa Anna FCA

Be encouraged by the great impact God is making in our area for Christ through coaches and athletes. Below is an email I received right before Christmas from our newest FCA Huddle coach in the area, David Garcia, who started FCA in Santa Anna at the beginning of this school year. Please read and be reminded of the eternal difference you are making possible through supporting FCA.

“I just had to email you and share all the wonderful things that have happened here in Santa Anna due to FCA. First of all, Faith is beginning to show all over the place, and not just in school. It is so great to see it spread in the community. As far as in school, the athletes are praying before every sporting event, and are not afraid to show it. During football, we prayed before the game and after the game and gave all the glory to God. We know he was with us in every game, and we went further in the play-offs than ever before. Just making the play-offs was a huge deal. We had to rely on a coin flip and the students and their parents prayed before the flip and after the flip. It was just an awesome moment. We have made the transition from football to basketball, and we are now holding meetings on every home basketball games that fall on a Friday. We are also finishing up on a very successful toy-drive for some of the kids here in Santa Anna. For such a small school, we will be able to distribute toys to a good number of kids. I also was called and interviewed by KOXE, and they did a whole news story on Santa Anna FCA. It’s just such an awesome time to be part of Santa Anna. The kids are doing wonderful in class, grades are up, attitudes are up, athletics is going great, and I honestly believe that FCA is a huge reason for all of it. I just wanted to share the wonderful things that are going on in Santa Anna. We here wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas.”

Coach David Garcia
Santa Anna ISD
FCA/Football/Softball/Powerlifting