Scott Stallings
Born: March 25, 1985 Hometown: Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Family: Wife – Jennifer
College: Tennessee Tech University Turned Pro: 2007 Career Notes:
-2006 NCAA All-American
-2006, 2007 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year -2011 Greenbrier Classic Champion

Scott Stallings
Born: March 25, 1985
Hometown: Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Family: Wife – Jennifer
College: Tennessee Tech University
Turned Pro: 2007
Career Notes:
-2006 NCAA All-American
-2006, 2007 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year
-2011 Greenbrier Classic Champion[/caption]

Originally Published: May 2012

“Mankind, He has told you what is good and what it is the LORD requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.” – Micah 6:8

My faith story begins like many others with my parents taking our family to church when we were kids. We weren’t very strong in our faith, and I remember my parents fighting a lot. They’ve since explained to us that there were several times when they were close to calling it quits.

When I was 9 years old, though, their relationship was transformed when they did a Henry Blackaby study called "Experiencing God." Watching as they reconciled their relationship, I began to seek answers to some of my questions about faith.

Seeing Christ’s power in their relationship made a big impact on me. Through that experience I came to know the Lord on my own and began a personal faith walk with the help of my parents and our pastor.

As I got involved at our church, my youth group and FCA, my faith began to take root. I attended my first FCA Camp in eighth grade and went every summer through my senior year in high school. FCA perfectly blended my faith and love for sports. I’d started playing golf when I was just 3 years old and had continued to play it, along with other sports, throughout high school.

That love of sports, specifically golf, helped me earn an athletic scholarship to play at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tenn., where I was excited to maintain my involvement with FCA. I even got to stay involved with FCA Camps by serving as a Huddle Leader following my sophomore and junior years. Those summers helped me both grow in my faith and encourage young athletes to do the same.

After a successful college career on the links, I had the opportunity to go pro. As I made my way through each respective tour, I was blessed by Christian men who invested time in me and my new wife. Chaplains Sam Brookman and Jose Alvarez were two men who taught me a lot, and fellow PGA Tour pro and Christ-follower Kenny Perry and I developed a close friendship. Over the years, other men on the Tour have gone from players I had followed as a fan to brothers in Christ as we have explored the Word together at our weekly Tour Bible study.

Last spring at the Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia I was asked to speak at a FCA Game Day event the day before the tournament began. It was so encouraging to interact with kids who were just like me as a teenager: on fire for the Lord and in love with the game of golf.

During that tournament, I played well and entered the final round with a chance to win my first-ever PGA Tour event. But after a rough front-nine, I was reeling and needed to refocus if I was going to have a chance. Philippians 3:13-14 started running through my mind, and I started focusing on forgetting what was behind and pressing on toward the goal. I’d actually shared that exact verse with one of the kids at my table at the FCA event. With the Lord’s help, I pressed on toward the goal and won the Greenbrier in dramatic fashion in a three-man playoff. To this day, I still travel with an FCA Bible that the West Virginia FCA signed and put in my locker that Sunday morning. I will treasure that forever.

That story and so many more have shown God’s use of FCA to impact me and help me balance life on and off the course. Many different FCA staff members have been there for me—from my junior golf days, college career, time as a young pro and now as a member of the PGA Tour. The ministry has taught me how to conduct myself as a Christian in competition and to love what I do.

There's no question, I feel like I have the best job in the world, but I know that my score on the course doesn’t define who I am. I'm thankful for where God has placed me at this time in my life. Every day I wake up and thank Him for the opportunity He’s given me to let His light shine through me, and I pray that will always be the case.

Photo courtesy of the US PGA Tour and Getty Images