In 1947, Don McClanen was a Christian college student with a passion for sports. As he was clipping magazine articles of his favorite celebrity athletes, McClanen had an epiphany: What if instead of promoting commercial products such as razors and shaving cream, players leveraged their influence for the glory of God?

For the next seven years, McClanen prayed about what it might look like to activate and facilitate this vision. He would eventually join with the organization’s other “founding fathers” — Dr. Louis H. Evans, Dr. Roe Johnston and Branch Rickey, among others — to bring this idea to life. Their collective vision became the foundation for Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which was officially chartered in 1954.

In 1956, FCA held its first National Conference in Estes Park, Colorado — a precursor to today’s FCA Camps, which are now a staple of the organization’s ministry. From that nascent camp grew the network of citywide programs, chapters and Huddles that broadened FCA’s initial scope into a synergistic, national program.

Building on the words of Billy Graham, who once said, “A coach will influence more people in a year than most people will in a lifetime,” FCA next began focusing on reaching coaches as well as athletes. Through the years coaching legends including Tom Landry, Tom Osborne, Bobby Bowden, Grant Teaff, Frank Broyles and Kay Yow have joined FCA to impact countless athletes and fellow coaches.

“One man’s ‘yes’ to God’s dream has resulted in millions of lives being impacted for Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes, and we would not be where we are today without the vision, hard work and faith of founder Don McClanen and other FCA forefathers,” said Shane Williamson, FCA President and CEO.

Today FCA is a premier global leader in sports ministry, encouraging thousands of sporting participants around the world to represent Christ through excellence both on and off the field. The organization now has nearly 3,000 U.S. staff and international leaders while serving in 90 countries.

This November, FCA will celebrate seven decades of sports-based outreach and reflect on a ministry that has impacted millions for the Kingdom of God.

That dream has become a legacy that includes a diverse range of ministry initiatives, including:

Huddles, certified small-group studies for coaches and athletes

• Camps, an inspirational environment for athletes and coaches who want to reach their potential through comprehensive athletic, spiritual and leadership training
• Fields of Faith, FCA’s community outreach event held throughout the world
• FCA Sports is an exceptional sports experience where trained coaches and volunteers take a 360 approach to leading each athlete as they compete on FCA teams organized as leagues and clubs. This holistic effort starts with the heart and fully develops the spiritual, physical, mental, emotional and interpersonal skills athletes need to be successful in sports and in life.
  

Like any good team, FCA’sstats are impressive. Over the last year alone, FCA organized 21,161 Huddles, 309 FCA SportsLeagues and Clubs, held 1,058 Camps and supported 631 Fields of Faith events. Most of all, more than 53,000 students made a decision to follow Christ.

For Williamson, this milestone serves as a reminder of all God has done, and a precursor to all He will do moving forward.

Williamson shared, “As we look back on 70 years of what God has done in and through this ministry, we give Him thanks and praise, and look in expectancy for what He will do in the next 70.”

-FCA-