By Amber Wright, communications assistant, Office of University Communications
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – They came willing to learn and went home as spiritual leaders for Christ.
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Leadership Camp held its annual camp at Campbellsville University July 5-8 for the 10th year with 685 participants – the largest ever.
Around 500 campers ranging from middle school to high school attended the camp with about 185 Huddle leaders, coaches and staff. Of the 685 people who attended the FCA camp at Campbellsville University, there were 33 salvations made with many more re-dedications.
There were 24 teenage girl Huddles and 36 teenage boy Huddles. Young people came from Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Indiana.
“Our camp is designed not to send kids home on a spiritual high, but to send them home as better all-around spiritual leaders for Christ on their campuses and on their teams,” Steve Wigginton, camp director, said.
“There are a lot of kids who are willing to show up and fill chairs but not many who are willing to step up and be true leaders for Christ. That’s what we want to teach them while they are with us,” he said.
The four-day weekend camp featured speakers Aaron Hogue, University of Kentucky FCA campus director, and Wayne Dickens, FCA Western Kentucy University FCA campus director.
Dickens spoke to the student-athletes about where strength lies. He said strength should lie in Christ and sometimes setbacks and failures are God’s way of keeping us humble. Dickens referenced Genesis 1:26 and said, “God gives us thorns in our flesh to remind us we are not God.”
Testimonies were also given by Sean Hjelle, University of Kentucky baseball player; Janelle Jenkins, former U of L volleyball player; Dom Joseph, University of the Cumberlands football player, and Clarence Lee, former Florida State lineman.
Praise and worship was led by Todd Thomas, worship and college pastor from Center Point Church in Lexington, Ky., along with an accompanying band of eight people.
Leadership Camp is for student-athletes and huddle coaches who serve as leaders in their local FCA Huddle, which is a certified small group Bible study and devotion.
The 2018 Fellowship of Christian Athletes Leadership Camp focused on the development of effective campus leaders by teaching practical skills for Christian growth as well as spiritual, organizational and motivational tools for the FCA Huddle.
“STRONG” was the 2018 FCA camp theme and their core Bible verse was, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful” from 2 Timothy 4:7.
The camp featured many activities including: boys and girls athletic competitions, team meetings, faith building trips out into the community, worship and biblical studies from a range of speakers.
At the end of camp, students are given the opportunity to fill out comment cards. One of the questions listed was: What part of camp has been meaningful to you? Some of the responses from campers included, “FCA camp helped me realize that people care about me,” and, “This camp helped me realize what my purpose of being on earth is,” as well as, “FCA camp has taught me how to pray and read my Bible so now I can be effective.”
According to fca.org, “Since 1954, FCA has been challenging coaches and athletes on the professional, college, high school, junior high and youth levels to use the powerful platform of sport to reach every coach and every athlete with the transforming power of Jesus Christ.
“FCA focuses on serving local communities around the globe by engaging, equipping and empowering coaches and athletes to unite, inspire and change the world through the gospel.”
Campbellsville University is a widely-acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 10,000 students offering over 90 programs of study including 20 master’s degrees, six postgraduate areas and seven pre-professional programs. The university has off-campus centers in Kentucky cities Louisville, Harrodsburg, Somerset, Hodgenville and Liberty with instructional sites in Elizabethtown, Owensboro and Summersville, all in Kentucky, and one in Costa Mesa, Calif., and a full complement of online programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.
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