40 Years with Minnesota FCA

Shelley Pearson • February 3, 2021

It all started with a boy who loved sports and Jesus, along with some key people who challenged him to use the platform of sports to share Jesus with his peers. Last month (January 2021) Randy Jensen celebrated 40 years with FCA, and FCA is celebrating 40 years of impactful ministry with Randy. Randy has a heart for God and for people and for people to know God. It shows in the countless relationships he has built with coaches and athletes throughout the state of Minnesota and beyond.

Randy joined FCA staff when there were only 50 staff nationwide and only two staff in Minnesota. Today, there are over 2,200 staff members nationwide and 40 in Minnesota! Back then, there were 30 huddles in the entire state. Today, there are over 200. Much has changed over the past 40 years, but Randy’s heart for people has never faltered.

The Call to FCA

Randy’s ninth grade math teacher, Mr. Rostberg, saw leadership potential in him and a heart for God that could influence the lives of his classmates and teammates and tasked him with modeling Christ through helping to lead his high school FCA huddle. Nearly 50 years later, Grady Rosberg said, “Randy was one of the best FCA leaders we ever had in Hutchinson. He was serious about his faith and also had a wonderful sense of humor. I feel it is an honor for me to call him a brother in Christ”.

At Augsburg College, Randy’s basketball coach at Augsburg saw the same qualities and tasked him with being a spiritual influence on his team and through the FCA huddle. Through the exchanges with his teacher and a coach, Randy realized how much impact a coach and teacher can have as they speak a future hope into the lives of young athletes. He decided to pursue teaching and coaching himself.

After college, Randy went on a sports mission trip to Taiwan. “While on the trip, God captured my attention as I saw Him work in powerful ways through our team ministry. He began preparing my heart for vocational sports ministry.” When Randy returned home, he stayed with FCA staff for two weeks while he fulfilled an obligation at Augsburg. These staff members told him stories of how God was moving in the lives of coaches and athletes, and God began planting seeds in Randy’s heart. A few months later he was invited to apply for an open staff position left by one of the staff.

This boy who loved sports and Jesus would now spend his life telling coaches and athletes about the only hope they have. Randy said, “FCA has changed my life. It wasn’t the vehicle where I made a commitment to Christ, but I was sitting there in neutral. Because of the sports connection and a coach, FCA launched my faith, changed my life, helped me to step in and be a leader, and gave me the opportunity to make it a vocation.”

Read the 1981 publication of the Gopher Grapevine

The Early Years – Huddles, Coaches’ Homes, and Professional Athletes

Early on, Randy traveled to the 30 huddles around the state, lending whatever support he could give from his experience in his high school and college huddles as well as other huddles he visited. Sometimes he felt inadequate, but God would remind him of 2 Corinthians 3:4-5: “Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.” God had called him, and God would equip him.

In all his travels, he never stayed in a hotel. Instead, he stayed in the homes of coaches - in Marshall, Fergus Falls, Alexandria, Fargo/Moorhead, Brainerd, Duluth, and other cities all around the state. He built relationships with the coaches and got to know their families. “I shared life with them on a whole different level than just stopping by their school for half an hour. That was a huge blessing because I’m not only ministering to them – they’re ministering to me as we do life together.” Some of those coaches remain dear friends to Randy today.

Randy also traveled around the state with professional athletes like Wally Hilgenberg, John Campbell, Jeff Siemon and Fred Cox as they were invited to speak at churches. This greatly increased connections for Randy and credibility for FCA. Several new huddles were born out of these speaking engagements, and even more were launched through coaches who knew coaches at other schools.

Throughout those early years, in the 1980’s and 1990’s, Dave Gibson and Mark Tiemann served as FCA MN State Directors, and both had a tremendous impact in leading FCA, but also in Randy’s life. Randy says, “God richly blessed me by allowing me to serve under these two Godly men, Gibber and ‘T’, who mentored and discipled me in my faith and became close friends and brothers in Christ.”

40 Years of Ministry, One Heart

Throughout Randy’s 40 years of ministry with FCA, his heart has remained the same. He has a deep desire to see people come into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, recognizes his role as an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20), and knows that God will equip him for the task.

His question of himself over the last 40 years has constantly been, “God, what can I do to further the Kingdom?” By asking that question himself, Randy has influenced countless individuals with the Gospel – from coaches and athletes to donors and fellow staff members. Tom Ness, FCA State Director, said what many feel: “Randy is a servant and makes us better as a team. His love for Jesus and people is evident and an example to everyone.”

A Grateful Heart

When asked what FCA has meant to Randy, he said, “The first word that comes to me is that it was a gift. And it’s a gift that keeps on giving because it allowed me to step into a place of purpose and fulfillment in the greatest way possible of leaving a legacy of faith in the lives of people. I want to be a man of faith who engages with others and challenges them to have a relationship with God. FCA is the vehicle.”

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is eternally grateful that God has called Randy to serve him faithfully through the ministry of FCA. He has left a mark on thousands of lives over the last 40 years, and truly exemplified the definition of a leader “who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way” (John Maxwell). We look forward to seeing how God will continue to use him to reach coaches and athletes in FCA for many years to come.

Next Steps

Randy isn’t going anywhere just yet. He will continue to raise up leaders, train staff, and model Christ’s love to coaches and athletes in the state of Minnesota. A book could be written about all that Randy had done during his 40 years with FCA, but Randy wouldn’t want a book written about him. Instead, he would point people to Jesus and continue to serve as he always has.

Randy's impact is far greater than any of us could imagine. You can get an idea of the impact in the story that follows this one.