Fellowship of Christian Athletes

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a non-profit organization that was established in 1954 in Norman, Oklahoma. The headquarters moved to Kansas City, Missouri in 1956, and the organization held its first national camp in Estes Park with 256 members in attendance. In an effort to expand and increase the number of affiliate groups, the FCA started the Huddle Program in 1966. The Huddle Program involves small groups of students who meet weekly and discuss their personal experiences during the week, have a Bible study session, and talk about upcoming events and camps. Within three years, there were more than 1,000 huddle groups meeting with over 7,000 members.

The group grew rapidly and soon began organizing adult chapters that included parents and coaches. It wasn’t until 1989 when there were 40,000 members meeting in 42 different states that student huddles began meeting before or after school for Fellowship of Christian Athletes meetings. Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ retreats now host more than 15,000 coaches and athletes from across the nation. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes developed the ONE WAY 2 PLAY drug-free program in 1991. The program is designed to combat drug abuse among students and establish accountability between them in staying away from drugs. The program has now received over 100,000 ONE WAY 2 PLAY commitments.

The organization describes its goal as reaching and inspiring students in schools and colleges at all grade levels. The vision of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes is to impact the world for Jesus Christ through the influence of athletes and coaches. Members state that they attempt to conduct themselves in a way that will inspire others to be followers of Christ as well. The organization identifies its core values are integrity, serving, teamwork, and excellence. Although most of the members are athletes in school, there is no requirement that members participate in any school related sport. Life-long members include several college and professional coaches, such as Tony Dungy and Tom Landry and former congressmen J.C Watts and Steve Largent.

Richmond is the Fellowship of Christian Athletes headquarters for the Capital Region that includes all of Richmond and the surrounding area. The Capital Region oversees 63 schools that have started the Huddle Program. Most high schools in the area of Richmond started having huddles in 1990, and they continue to operate as student organizations.

Fellowship of Christian Athletes
8154 Forest Hill Avenue, # 4
Richmond , VA 23235
(804) 272-2001

Sources:
Fellowship of Christian Athlete members

Profile prepared by Kevin Garrett
May, 2008

Share