The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), which is based in Kansas City, is celebrating its 65th anniversary this month. Shane Williamson, the ministry’s president and CEO, reflected on the milestone.
“One of the many reasons I believe God has blessed us and continued to open doors for FCA to grow is our Bible ministry,” he says. “We’ve not compromised our focus and commitment to God’s word and biblical truth in 65 years. Today, FCA is one of the largest distributors of Bibles in the world. The Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 doesn’t only rally us, but it tells us to teach all who hear the message to obey. How do we do this? We use God’s playbook, the Holy Bible, to share the life-changing message of salvation.”
FCA prints more than 200,000 Bibles each year and has distributed 2.5 million Bibles around the world in the past 15 years. Williamson noted some of the important dates in the ministry’s Bible distribution:
- The Athlete’s Bible (1956). “The first FCA Bibles were printed for camp in 1956. As FCA camps grew, new Bible covers were designed with each year’s theme and camp curriculum.”
- Sports Bible resources (2003). “FCA’s Bible distribution exploded when FCA introduced a Sports New Testament that included testimonies from pro athletes. Today, FCA has printed more than one million of these resources.”
- International Bibles (2006). “FCA printed its first Spanish New Testament in 2006. Multiple resources have been translated and printed, such as FCA’s Heart of an Athlete devotional in Chinese and Spanish, Japanese Baseball New Testament, Chinese Sports Devotional Bible and Russian Coach’s Bible.”
- Digital Bibles (2013) “A partnership with YouVersion formed in 2013 and offered FCA reading plans to engage coaches and athletes in God’s Word. Today, Fellowship of Christian Athletes has more than 50 Bible Plans in numerous languages on YouVersion, including Spanish, Ukrainian, Russian, Chinese and Korean.”
“As you can see, for 65 years, it has been our priority to go into the world and make Christ known,” Williamson said. “We’re excited to continue going and experiencing all the Lord has in store for coaches and athletes.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice