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A Week in the Life of FCA
Titus Scott • September 7, 2019
A Week in the Life of FCA
Player #1 sprints to the sideline and is mobbed by teammates, I wait for him to make it through and I give him a hug and congratulate him. He's just intercepted a pass and, with a huge return, has set his team up to score the winning touchdown with just a couple minutes left in the game!
Player #3 stands on the sideline, tears streaming down his face. He has just given up the touchdown pass that costs his team the win. For him, this was all that mattered. His life is hard, his family situation one that is hard to imagine, but football was his escape, until then. I put my arm around his shoulders and just stand there. He'll be ok, but this is a tough one.
I first met Malik (Player #1) in July of this year. In February, I received an email informing me that someone had donated $2,000 to FCA in order for us to find some young men/women from Detroit to attend camp this summer. Malik ended up being one of the guys who was able to attend camp because of that gift. During the week of camp, God did an incredible work in his life. As a result of camp, he, along with three teammates, requested that we bring FCA to his school this Fall. I had never met Players #2 and #3, before the respective games that these stories came from. So how did these stories happen? How was it that through FCA I could have these opportunities to interact with these young men and share in their world? To put it simply, many weeks in the life of FCA!
The two schools represented by these players (Osborn and Denby HS) have two completely different, but yet similar, stories of how the current ministry of FCA crossed paths with their young people. Osborn HS actually had a coach who faithfully would take players to church and camp. Three years ago, he unexpectedly passed away, leaving a major hole in the school. Through a generous donation, we were able to carry on his legacy by bringing three young men to camp. Two of those guys accepted Christ during camp and we were able to ride that momentum to establish an FCA Huddle there at Osborn.
For every moment like I described above, there are many moments that are not entertaining to talk about. For every victory we see in the life of a coach or athlete, there are stories that bring tears and discouragement. See, the stories above all took place on a Friday evening at a football game. Monday through Thursday were spent in conference calls with fellow staff, Praying, meetings with potential donors or volunteers, sharing the vision of the ministry with individuals who have never heard of FCA before, or spending time at schools throughout our region helping run a Huddle. Through it all, we get to see God provide, guide, and work! In just one week, I got to help lead a huddle, meet with a volunteer who played college athletics and was saved through FCA on their campus, meet with an individual who committed to joining our leadership board, and received a financial pledge to help provide FCA Bibles for just over 50 coaches and athletes!
As I write this on a Monday and have started another week in the life of FCA, would you pray with me that God would provide volunteers for our ministry, provide financially for our ministry, and provide safety for all the traveling and meetings we have? Most of all, would you pray that this week, we will have the opportunity to see Jesus transform lives?!
-- Titus Scott (Wayne County FCA Metro Director)
Detroit FCA Blog
"My football coach sits in a semi-comfortable chair as he recites a Bible verse to the circle of interested high-schoolers around him. Members of FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) meet every Friday at 6:30, and today is my first meeting with the group. For years, I had been a part of that family who only goes to church on Christmas and Easter. A family that claims to be Christian but rarely takes action to support it. So why am I getting up early before school to participate in a so-called “Bible group”? The main reason: my football coach - Coach Adams. This was a man of great passion, positivity, enthusiasm, and leadership. A man that has inspired me for so many years. So when he asked me to come to this club that he was leading at school, I undoubtedly agreed to come.
God has been performing miracles and doing some incredible things since our last update! This Fall, we joined with Tim Morton and our teammates up in Oakland County to put on the first Fields of Faith here in the Metro Detroit area. What an awesome evening of worship through song and testimony, followed by a challenge for the young people to give their lives to Christ or rededicate their lives to following Christ through discipleship and local church community. So awesome to see four young men from Detroit respond to the invitation and commit to following Christ!
A rally cry on the sports field and a command by Jesus from Matthew 28. What an incredible summer we experienced. Athletes, coaches, and many others were challenged to live out this command during the Michigan FCA Sports Camp.
On May 31, FCA hosted their annual Night of Champions at Little Caesars Arena! Several hundred people joined us for an incredible evening of testimonies, updates, and vision casting for future ministry! This annual celebration and fundraiser was incredibly encouraging to those who attended as they were blessed to hear from several former and current professional athletes.
"When I look back on my life, I can see how the Lord has put certain people, churches, mentors and organizations in my life at the exact right moment to protect, help me grow as a man of God, and guide me to my purpose of spreading the Gospel through sports. I was blessed with the opportunity to play college football at The University of Alabama at Birmingham and by the grace of God I was able to become the starting defensing back my freshman year and earn a scholarship my junior year. I say it was by the grace of God, because if you know anything about football in the south, and especially Alabama, it is very competitive and playing football is a way of life for most young men that live in the south. There was no way a skinny, 140lb boy from Detroit, MI that was cut from his JV team at Cass Tech and never played organized football until college, was supposed to beat these top athletes out of a position. I believed at the time, that was the biggest prayer that God had answered for me and I could not believe my dreams were coming true like it was.
What do you really do? Are you trying to do the job of the church? What is your primary focus? These are just a few of the questions I’ve been asked over the last two years. They are all great questions and very important to consider for anyone interested in participating in and with our ministry. I want to take a few minutes to answer those questions and more thoroughly explain the ministry of FCA. Vision: To see the world (Wayne County/Detroit) transformed BY Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes. Mission: to lead EVERY coach and athlete into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church.
"Can we do more FCA stuff?" -- Detroit Osborn student This was just one quote overheard following the night we spent celebrating FCA with the Detroit Pistons! Over 400 people got to hear Pistons players Ish Smith, Langston Galloway, and Jon Leuer share their faith and answer questions following the game. What an incredible night celebrating FCA along with hundreds of friends. The event started with 28 volunteers from our Huddles at Wayne State University, Lawrence Tech University, and several additional supporters. They arrived over 2 hours before the game and sold 50/50 Raffle tickets through the 3rd Quarter of the game! We are so thankful for their time and help as we were able to raise funds for the ministry!
“And the King will answer them, Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me”- Matthew 25:40
It has been an exciting and rewarding 60 days here in Detroit! I have been serving at Westside Christian Academy, Dr. Martin Luther King HS, and Wayne State University and I’m so excited to share what God has been doing!
This month has been absolutely packed with incredible opportunities, reasons to celebrate, and a time of mourning. As the school year got off to a good start, we have also been able to re-start and launch several new Huddles! Our new FCA Ambassador, Kayla Norman, was able to start a Huddle at Westside Christian Academy in Detroit, begin discipleship with the lady athletes at Wayne State University, and help with the Huddle at King High School!
Contact Info
PO Box 14594
Detroit, MI 48214
(248) 574-4197
tscott@fca.org