This article appears in the Fall 2022 issue of the FCA Donor Publication. The FCA publication is a gift from our FCA staff to all donors giving $50 or more annually. For more information about giving, visit here.

Growing up, Victoria Robinson grew up in church but longed for something more than “religion.”

After moving to another church and school in Manchester, Georgia, she began to see God a bit more personally. One day in 8th grade, she met Executive VP of FCA Outdoors Paul Dennis who lived in the area, and he invited her to join his newly formed archery team. After struggling to find community, Robinson found her fit in archery and shooting.

It was over her first year at Truett McConnell University in Cleveland, Georgia, where she truly surrendered her life to the Lord, and she joined the shooting sport roster. Now a sophomore, Robinson shares her heart for Jesus with young athletes at FCA Camp and through an internship with FCA, teaching kids about the same experiences that gave her a sense of purpose and learned of the love of God. Robinson is actively involved with her church and her campus foster care move team, and she serves as an FCA Ambassador.

 Q: How do archery and shotgun work?

In the FCA archery leagues, we use a Genesis bow and go from 10 to 15 meters. At 10 meters, you'll shoot four rounds of five arrows. The first round we practice, and the other three are scored. Then, we back up to 15 meters and do the same thing. Your score could be overall 300, and competitive scores are around 290 in high school. Archery is all about consistency.

For shotgun, you have four different disciplines. You have skeet, traps, sporting clay and 5-stand. For each of those, little orange clays are thrown and you shoot at them. Each of them are thrown differently, and it's a different setting. There's a lot of diversity.

Q: What about these sports is so special?

Archery is one of the fastest-growing sports, and it’s getting kids into other sports because it releases dopamine as soon as that arrow hits the target. Kids who start out with archery excel in several sports they never thought they could do before trying archery.

It's amazing to get people involved in FCA Outdoors. Just by me showing them a bow, they are getting plugged into something they never knew about.

Shotgun and archery honestly saved my life. I never ever thought a sport would be my saving grace, but it truly was. Ever since I started, I've just felt this overwhelming peace whenever I shoot. It's something that I can do well, Shotgun and archery were things that I always felt that I just belonged in and that I was meant to do.

Q: How do you share Jesus in the shooting sports world?

When you’re out on the range, you have time between stations to drive around in the golf cart and talk to other teams and players. It offers time to fellowship with fellow competitors. You only have a certain amount of time you get to shoot. Everyone else is waiting to get on the field, so there’s plenty of time to talk. You can go up to another team and say, "How did you shoot this clay?" It opens the floor for ministry. Now that I'm a collegiate athlete, I'm worried about being competitive, but I'm more worried about where my competitors are going in the afterlife.

Q: What’s been difficult?

It's hard when people constantly say my sport is harming people when really my sport is saving people. I would honestly say that shooting sports camp this year really helped shift my perspective and showed me who I want and need to become for ministry. It opened my eyes to what I need to do and the things I'm going to be seeing while working with FCA Outdoors.

Q: How do you see God directing you in this season of life?

In high school I dedicated my life to ministry, but I didn’t know what that would look like. I arrived at Truett McConnell studying nursing, but three weeks after starting the program, I felt a restlessness I could not satisfy. I was unable to sleep. I couldn't focus on anything. My grades were dropping, and it all boiled down to not doing what the Lord had called me to do. I didn't see that at the time. I just blamed it on moving and being homesick when really, I wasn't reading the Word and I wasn't listening to what God had called me to do because I was so focused on myself rather than Him.

I was praying for weeks about where my future was leading. One Sunday, I was sitting in church and started bawling, knowing nursing wasn’t where He wanted me. That same night, I got a notification from FCA about FCA Outdoors. I was like, "God, this is obviously where You need me." I kept praying and moved my degree to exercise science so I could become an athletic trainer for FCA Outdoors. I have seen how fruitful it can be and how the Lord works in extremely mysterious ways with this ministry.

Q: What’s one of your goals this school year?

I want to establish a collegiate FCA community where I am. There are so many kids at my college who go away from God. By me saying I’m going into ministry allows space for conversation. My school is 70% athletes. There's so much room for FCA to grow and be fruitful, and for people to be Huddle leaders at camp next year. I want to help bring opportunities for FCA Outdoors.



-FCA-

Photos courtesy of TMU Athletics and CrossPointe Christian Academy