Mrs. Lisa Bonds explains the mission of Engraved, an orphan ministry that helps orphans from first to ninth grade in Ukraine. Due to the ongoing conflict with Russia, Engraved has been swamped with children in need.
photo by Marianne McClure
As many students know, another club has been added to the usual Thursday slate: Fellowship of Christian Athletes. FCA is taking the place of Surge, a club focused on worshiping Jesus and serving others. FCA is similar, as its mission is to unite two passions—faith and athletics—to impact the world for Christ.
“We [the school] felt that both clubs really had the same heartbeat—to empower and equip students to know Jesus and encourage their peers to do the same,” sponsor Brooke Chatham said. “Because Jesus was the perfect example of a servant leader, we all agreed service needs to be a priority as well.”
Students do not need to be an athlete to join FCA. Everyone is welcome to worship and serve the Lord. The club meets every other Thursday at 8 a.m. There is a time of fellowship, often with breakfast, then the club transitions into worship and a message with a guest speaker.
“My favorite part of FCA is seeing everyone come together to learn more about our awesome God and to be excited about it,” senior prayer leader Eva Hunnius said. “I’ve seen God’s love and power working in each huddle. People want to come and learn about how they can grow in their walk with God, which is incredible.”
The sponsors, Brooke Chatham and Aaron Keith, clearly have a heart for God and desire for students to grow closer to him every day.
“Part of the desire came from being a part of FCA myself when I was a teen, and I wanted my kids and their peers to be able to experience all FCA has to offer,” Chatham said. “I attended public high school, and FCA was a sweet place for us to gather as a student body. Not everyone who attended was a follower of Christ, but the huddle was a light, and it was attractive to many seeking a place to belong.”
Student support and attendance have been strong for the new club. This is most likely because FCA is well known around the school community as a whole.
“We honestly didn’t know what to expect numbers wise,” Chatham said. “Knowing that FCA has high participation in public school settings, we hoped that TKA would embrace the club, but we had no guarantee.”
The leadership team met together for weeks before the school year started, determined to make FCA the best it could be for students.
“I would definitely say one thing that has been going well at FCA is how great the leadership team works together,” Hunnius said. “I think each week there is something new we see as a team that can be improved on, and we make changes accordingly.”
The FCA leadership team has worked extremely hard to make the club exciting and inviting to every student. As the school year progresses, the team is confident FCA will continue to grow, and the Lord will be honored.
“My favorite highlight of FCA so far has been standing in the back of the room listening to 100 teenagers sing; He’s faithful through generations, so why would he fail now? He won’t,” Chatham said.
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