Summer is here, which means one thing in the FCA family: Time for FCA Camps!
As president of this ministry for the last eight years, nothing has brought me more joy than hearing the stories—like those on page 18—of how God continues to redeem lives at FCA Camps around the country and the world.
I’m a sports guy, so I love looking at the numbers. Did you know that FCA had 139 camps in 2004? And that was a tremendous year! But this past summer, in 2012, we had 363!
You know what that upward trend says to me? First, God’s hand of blessing is on this minis-try. Second, it shows that men and women who have experienced FCA Camp and understand the impact it can have are now sending their children and grandchildren. Those folks know firsthand the difference a week of inspiration and perspiration at a camp can make in a young person’s life.
I’ll always remember the summer of 1972, the first time I ever attended an FCA Camp. In the Rocky Mountains of Estes Park, Colo., I listened to a man who had been one of the top colle-giate pole vaulters in the country before breaking his neck in a very unfortunate accident. Now in a wheelchair, this man sat in front of the crowd and explained how he came to know Jesus Christ in a deeper way through his accident. To this day, I still vividly remember him saying, “When people tell you that your Christian faith is a crutch, you tell them, ‘No, it’s a life support system!’”
At my next camp, I shared a moment I’ll never forget with Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach. In between 3-on-3 basketball games during our free time, he picked up the Bible, thumped it a couple times, looked me square in the eyes and said, “Les, don't forget this: This book is diametrically opposed to everything the world says we’re to do.”
I will remember those two moments for as long as I live.
After all, you don’t forget what a Hall of Fame quarterback tells you! And why do I remember the moment when the young pole vaulter shared his faith? Because he, too, was a great ath-lete!
Back then, like so many young people today, I looked up to athletes and coaches and lis-tened to every word they shared. The Lord blessed me to be able to hear those two nuggets of truth and allowed them to sink in and affect my life.
Prior to getting married in 1974, I asked my beautiful girlfriend to go to two FCA Camps with me. At that time, she had a good idea of the world she was stepping into with me, well aware of my love for football and coaching and familiar with my Marine Corps experience. She knew I valued those areas of my life, but that I also had a deep love for the Lord and the ministry of FCA.
Seeing the joy it brought to her to be attending both camps that summer—one at the Univer-sity of Delaware and another a week later in Estes Park—really sealed the deal for us.
The rest, as they say, is history. Thirty-nine years of marriage later, we’re still going to FCA Camps together.
This summer, would you join me in praying for each person who attends an FCA Camp and learns about Christ’s relentless love and pursuit of them? Many young athletes will arrive on the first day without any knowledge of our Savior. But it’s our prayer that, through the power of the Spirit, they’ll leave with a heart on fire for Him.
That’s what I love about summers at FCA. Memories and friends will be made, and lives will be changed forever.
Originally Published: July 2013