To and Through the Volunteer

Since the very beginning of FCA, we have been a volunteer-intensive ministry.

Rochester, Minnesota
Volunteers as a Southeast FCA Board Member, Site Coordinator with FCA Basketball and FCA Flag Football Coach

If you win, praise God! If you lose, praise God! I volunteer with FCA because it gives me the opportunity to inspire and influence kids and their parents to have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Volunteering with FCA gives me the rare opportunity to speak life over kids, a message that goes far beyond the concept of winning and losing. I teach them that whether they’re on the court, on the field, or in life—if you win, praise God! And if you lose, praise God!

Volunteering with FCA also gives me the chance to teach kids Christian life skills like how to play “Unity Ball” versus “Superman Ball.” “Superman Ball” is to play selfishly, for the individual shine or accolades, but “Unity Ball” teaches them how to play as a team, a unit and to play unselfishly, thinking of your fellow player before yourself. (James 2:8)

TOM GLANZER
Huron, South Dakota
Volunteers with FCA Motocross (MX), Ice Hockey, and as a Huddle Leader for FCA MX in Minnesota and Guatemala

I volunteer with FCA because I care about kids, and I want to help young people make decisions to follow Christ and the simple rules for life that are given in the Bible. FCA has been a part of my spiritual journey for over four decades now. I was an FCA camper back in the ‘80s. In the ‘90s, I was a part of the FCA Huddle at South Dakota State University. Now, I give financially and volunteer one week a year to lead a Huddle at FCA MX Camp in Minnesota.

Our middle son, Brecken, races dirt bikes, and we spend a lot of Sundays on the road at different races. For our family’s spiritual well-being, FCA’s MX program is key to keeping us close to Christ. When I see my son and other kids his age changing their lifestyles because of the impact that FCA programs have on them, that is a call that I need to be involved. It is what I am supposed to do as a Christian, husband, father, coach and friend.
 
YVETTE HAMILTON
Brooklyn, New York
Volunteers as a WNBA Chaplain for NY Liberty and as a NYC FCA Board Member

I volunteer with FCA because it’s an exhilarating joy to be a small part of a vast organization that has the privilege of injecting the life-changing Gospel and the testimony of the unconditional love of Jesus Christ into the hearts of the next generation through the eyes of sports. As a Volunteer, Board Member and Chaplain, I am involved in the ministry of FCA at multiple vantage points.

ALICE HOU
San Jose, California
Volunteers with FCA All Ability Camp

I volunteer with FCA because of the blessing it is for me and for those who are touched by the events. Ultimately, God gets all the glory for everything, and He helps use His people to be a blessing to others at FCA.

ERIK JASTRZEMSKI
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Volunteers with FCA Surf and Skate

As a former public school teacher, I volunteered as an advisor for multiple Huddles in Alaska and Virginia. Now, I speak at local FCA Huddles in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and direct an Action Sports ministry called Camp Radiant where we partner with FCA to put on multiple day/night surf and skate camps as well as one-off events at local beaches and skate parks. I volunteer because for more than 60 years, FCA has been building a framework to share the Gospel with coaches and athletes. Locking arms with an organization that has been so successful, like FCA, just makes sense.

While I have volunteered with traditional sports such as basketball, football, baseball and soccer, my focus has shifted to Action Sports over the past three years. This world is such fertile ground; there are so many kids who have made conscious efforts to focus their energies on getting better at individual action sports. FCA is pursuing athletes who compete in these once marginalized sports (skateboarding, scootering, BMX, surfing, snowboarding, rock climbing, etc.). It is truly an honor and a blessing to work with such a “well-oiled” organization like FCA. The programs and resources that flow out of FCA Action Sports allow for volunteers to spend more time developing relationships with athletes and less time developing curriculum. It’s leading to a more effective ministry.

BOB WHITE
Athens, Georgia
Volunteers with FCA Outdoors Archery, Shooting Sports and Fishing

I enjoy mentoring and discipleship opportunities, and I feel the need to serve others because I had mentors who fostered my love and appreciation for the outdoors when I was of middle and high school age. As I’ve grown older, I have a greater appreciation and awareness of God’s presence when I am in His creation. I feel strongly that there is no better way to awaken and engage our spirits than to participate in God’s creation. No joy exceeds sharing this love of the outdoors and the opportunities in it. FCA Outdoors activities are welcome opportunities to give back.

REGGEN MELSON
Indianapolis, Indiana
Volunteers as a WNBA Chaplain for the Indiana Fever

I volunteer with FCA because I love to see God at work in an arena that has been a part of my life since the third grade: the game of basketball. To be able to share and serve is very fulfilling, but it also challenges me to make sure I’m staying connected to God as well. I grew up in the church, but the first time I heard about how God values me as an athlete was through FCA in high school. Volunteering with FCA allows me the opportunity to share with the ladies that they are known and loved for more than just their abilities and talents on the court.

KANDACE YOUNG
Texas Tech University (TTU), Lubbock, Texas
Volunteers as a Huddle Leader for a TTU football coaches’ wives Bible study, a mentor to female student-athletes, a guest speaker at the campus Huddle and a prayer counselor at Fields of Faith

I believe in leading and loving coaches and athletes like Christ. Through FCA this past year, I have been empowered to serve as the Huddle Leader for the TTU football coaches’ wives Bible study. The Bible is the most valuable tool we can equip coaches with to navigate the unique pressures and responsibilities that come with coaching in today’s culture. I love how FCA ministers to and through the coach by helping them win where it matters most: at home. Walking alongside coaches’ wives is a strategic opportunity to support their marriages, families and careers with truth. It is humbling and rewarding to see the way God’s Word is impacting not only the marriages represented in our Huddle, but how it’s also influencing other marriages on the coaching staff and every athlete who looks up to our coaches.