From football fields and baseball diamonds to skate parks and shorelines, Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Camps brought together 61,252 attendees across the country this summer.
Supported by 1,876 staff members, FCA Camps within the United States to date saw 2,910 commitments to Christ and 9,277 recommitments — decisions that affirm the ministry’s mission to lead every coach and athlete into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His church.
“Camp gives coaches and athletes an opportunity to step away from the routines and pressures of competition and focus on something bigger than the game,” said Brian Schroeder, FCA Executive Vice President of Camp. “We want attendees to grow in their sport, but more importantly, we want them to clearly hear the Gospel and understand what Jesus has done for them.”
FCA Camp is a seasonal outreach that combines the best of athletic and spiritual camps, creating an environment where coaches and competitors can enjoy the sports they love while clearly seeing and experiencing Christ’s love for them. FCA offers several Camp formats, such as Sports Camp, which develops athletes mentally, physically and spiritually; Power Camp, which helps younger athletes grow in faith and sport; and Team Camp, which strengthens teams through competition and spiritual principles.
For first-time camper Braden Harris of Hullett, Wyoming, Camp offered a chance to learn more about God while playing football. During a Huddle, FCA’s small-group Bible study and discussion, Harris shared he believed he needed to fix himself before coming to God. His Huddle leader helped him understand that salvation depended not on what he could do, but on what Jesus had already done. Harris surrendered his life to Christ that night.
Similar moments unfolded at Camps across the country. At Eastern North Carolina FCA’s TEAM Football Camp, five athletes made first-time commitments to Christ and four recommitted their lives. Staff member Ken Lovell said the experience also renewed his own perspective after years in ministry.
“This Camp has done a lot for me,” Lovell shared. “I have pastored for years, and this experience has made me look at life differently.”
Other highlights included:
- FCA Bobcat All-Weather Baseball Camp, where organizers observed a week of “baseball, Jesus and having fun,” with numerous standouts and award winners.
- Delaware Valley FCA’s Smyrna Power Camp, where organizers witnessed relationships with Jesus deepen and campers turn to Christ for salvation.
- Southeast Middle Tennessee FCA, which included a week of competition, encouragement and worship that culminated with four girls making decisions to accept Christ.
- Philly Metro FCA and Mid-Atlantic FCA, which hosted Camps including skate, surf, lacrosse and ice hockey, reflecting the breadth of athletes FCA serves.
Camp also created opportunities for older students to grow as leaders. Eighteen Frostburg State University students attended the Mid-Atlantic FCA College Camp in North East, Maryland, joining students from 75 colleges and universities for keynote sessions, small-group discussions and workshops on leadership, evangelism, mental and emotional well-being, financial stewardship and healthy relationships.
For many attendees, a Camp’s impact continues long after summer ends.
Three years ago, Hannah Hottell of Gillette, Wyoming, attended Sports Camp at the University of Wyoming as a tennis camper. Raised in a religious home that emphasized works-based salvation, she said she had never understood salvation by grace. Her Huddle leader, Troupe Coors, shared Ephesians 2:8-9, and that night she prayed to receive Christ.
Hottell returned home, joined her high school FCA Huddle and later became part of its leadership team. This summer, she returned to Camp as a Huddle leader herself, sharing her testimony with 85 leaders, including Coors, who heard how God had used his own testimony three years earlier in the life of a camper now preparing to serve others.
“That’s what makes Camp so meaningful,” Schroeder said. “The relationships, conversations and decisions that begin there can shape how coaches and athletes live long after they leave. Our hope is that what they experience at Camp continues to strengthen their faith wherever God leads them next.”
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ vision is to see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes. Its mission is to lead every coach and athlete into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His church. FCA’s guiding values are integrity, serving, teamwork and excellence.
Since 1954, FCA has used the powerful medium of sports and building relationships to reach the world for Jesus Christ. FCA is cultivating Christian principles by engaging, equipping and empowering coaches and athletes to know and grow in Christ and lead others to do the same so that lives are changed for current and future generations.
Visit Fellowship of Christian Athletes at fca.org and on Facebook, Instagram or X (formerly Twitter).