The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a growing community within Wilsonville, continuing to welcome students every week. FCA had first met in a classroom about 8 years ago before moving into the old blackbox, and is currently hosted in the gym.
Jenny Wiepert, one of the leaders who helps organize FCA and Young Life events, says,
“It’s been really exciting to see how many kids have started coming.” Over time, the amount of kids attending has grown greatly, with this year’s largest group being the sophomore girls.
Not only are more kids starting to come, but students are deciding to get further involved. This means more students who previously just attended for the enticement of pizza, are wanting to help others and begin to lead. Morgan Christiansen, a Wilsonville sophomore, is now a leader for a freshmen group of girls.
Christiansen stated how fun it is to direct, but also acknowledges some challenges she faces.
“They’re unfamiliar with certain aspects of FCA, like taking prayer requests and how things run,” Christiansen shares. She continues, “We’re slowly taking baby steps so they can grow and learn about God.”
These aren’t the only struggles leaders have to face. Wiepert continues that some of the logistical parts can be difficult, like organizing events and groups. Especially as involvement has increased, it can be hard to create small groups and find leaders with there being so many needed.
This being said, she adds,
“We have a really strong group that are willing to help, so that makes it a lot easier.” Even though leading can be challenging, there are many reasons someone might be inclined to guide others.
Christiansen discussed how she grew up in a Christian household with her parents being involved in the program since she was young. She states, “I’m also doing my best to help myself build a relationship with Jesus while supporting them.”
Wiepert piggy-backs off of that thought by recalling that she got involved for the students, and how exciting building relationships with Christ is. She enjoys,
“Seeing you guys starting to walk in truth and being able to lead other kids in truth because it gives you a lot of freedom, peace, and joy.”
There are a lot of fun and enjoyable things students experience when attending FCA, too. It’s a great way to make friends that share your faith as well as be able to be a part of something in school.
Christiansen concludes, “I love how it’s a group of people who want to learn more about Jesus, grow in their faith, and apply that to their lives.” She adds that it’s also amazing to see her peers do things in God’s light.
It benefits students by bringing them together.
“It gives people an opportunity to talk about what’s going on in their lives on a much deeper level,” says Wiepert. FCA provides an outlet for students to practice their faith with their peers in a caring environment and kind community.