KM: Easy---Girls are different than guys! Girls enjoy community, discussion and building relationships in groups. FCA Virtuous Woman: Serving and Teamwork was designed with that in mind. It is a question-driven, discussion based study that focuses on stories of women in the Bible. Some of the women are of noble character and others, well, not so much. These stories give girls permission to talk about their struggles and joys as they see like character traits emerge from the stories. Many of the stories may be familiar, but I often hear from people who saw the familiar in a whole new light after finishing a session.

Another aspect that makes the FCA Virtuous Woman so unique is that it speaks not only to the spiritual side of a young woman but also the competitive aspect of an athlete.  When Alex McCraney and I first begin writing back in 2011, there was no other discussion-driven Bible study written with the female athlete in mind. Athletic ideas like discipline, strength, influence, teamwork, leadership and perseverance give FCA the platform to introduce spiritual concepts through the venue of athletics. As Paul says in 1 Timothy 4:8, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” Physical strength doesn’t happen naturally and neither does spiritual strength. It takes discipline, time and intentionality. Just as it pays off to train diligently in the off season for our sport, so it also pays off to diligently train ourselves in the scriptures for what lays ahead in life.

FCA: What audience did you have in mind when you wrote FCA Virtuous Woman: Serving and Teamwork? How should the study be used?

KM: We initially wrote it with female high school athletes in mind, but I have heard from people around the country who have used it with middle school girls, female college athletes and even female coaches. Because it is a question-driven, discussion oriented Bible study, the group leader is able to customize the session to their audience’s age level.

Our hope and prayer is that the study is used by the leader in a way that makes sense for the age, attention span, group dynamic and time allotted by the coach. Each session has both a Leader’s Guide and Study Guide with the selected scripture reading. The Leader’s Guide includes notes, story background, set-up questions and discussion questions with suggested answers. If time allows, all questions can be covered by the group, but if time is short, then select questions can be used or just the summary question in the Training for Godliness section.

The Study Guide contains the scripture passage as well as discussion questions that are in the Leader’s Guide, but with no answers. This gives participants the opportunity to have a one page, double-sided sheet to take home or keep in a notebook. It may provide them a tool to read the Bible on their own and ask important questions about the story, what the story teaches them about God and how to apply it to their life and sport. It is easy to understand and lead!

FCA: Why focus on the values of “Serving” and “Teamwork”?

KM: Serving and Teamwork are two of the four core values of FCA. Serving is “modeling Jesus’ example of serving,” and Teamwork is defined by FCA as “expressing our unity in Christ.”

First and foremost, Jesus exemplifies serving and teamwork in every aspect of His life. Through His example, we can see different attributes that make up serving others with humility while expressing unity through the Holy Spirit. We can serve others as individuals while expressing our unity in Christ by:

• Displaying strength, both physically and spiritually, to work for the common good of people
• Having knowledge of God and His Word to build up others
• Exercising perseverance in the midst of difficult circumstances
• Displaying humility in our lives to better serve God and others
• Having compassion toward others
• Facing difficulty with courage, despite our feelings of fear
• Believing with confidence that God is good and will do what He promises
• Clothing ourselves with the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit
• Using our influence to glorify God rather than ourselves
• Exhibiting leadership by humbly guiding others through godly influence

Each of these character traits is demonstrated through the stories of scripture and is covered in the FCA Virtuous Woman: Serving & Teamwork material.

FCA: What kind of impact have you already seen with this study on female athletes and coaches? What future impact do you hope for?

KM: We have been using this material in the Memphis Metro Area for about three years.  We have seen strong relationships form between our FCA volunteers and the coaches and athletes. There are stories of transformation that have occurred because the Word of God was unleashed in their life and they had the courage to come forward to ask for help regarding abuse, homosexuality, unplanned pregnancy or even more everyday things like how to look for a job or tutoring for school. 

FCA Virtuous Woman is just one piece of the puzzle, but it links together with others like FCA Camp, local churches, and praying family members and friends to assemble a picture of God’s grace and mercy toward them. The stories give participants the opportunity to discuss some of these things as they see God’s providential activity in the lives of women in scripture.

Our only hope for future impact is that female coaches and athletes come to know the God of the Bible—His abundant grace, mercy and love toward us as His creation.

FCA: If you could tell a female athlete one thing about this study, what would it be?

KM: God’s Word will change your life from the inside out. I struggled with rebellious behavior as a young woman. I would act immorally, feel guilty, ask for forgiveness and then start all over again. I could never figure out why I just couldn’t change my behavior and feel at peace. It’s because I couldn’t do the “right” thing for long because my heart was sinful. Once I started to let God’s Word change me from the inside out, no one had to tell me, “Don’t say that word. Don’t watch that movie. Don’t treat others that way.” God changed my heart through His Word and made me new! I am not perfect—but I am progressively moving toward God in my life. I know more of Him and His Word than I did 10 years ago and want to know more every day!


To download this free resource, click here.