A Vision for Camps

If you had the opportunity to affect generations with the gospel of Christ, would you? One man and his wife made a simple choice many years ago, and the impact has been multiplied through generations of young people who have attended FCA Camps and gone on to impact their worlds for Christ. Thousands of lives have been changed, simply because one man was obedient to the call of God on his life.

Ed Christopherson and his wife, Sylvia, moved to Alexandria, Minnesota, in 1967 to teach and coach. As the assistant football coach, Ed got involved in FCA and held a weekly huddle at his home for many years. He invested in hundreds of students over the years, and many today speak of the depth of his gentle encouragement and welcoming spirit. Reaching teenagers with the gospel is just part of who Ed is. Somewhere near the beginning of his ministry to athletes through FCA, Ed caught a vision for camp and for the next several decades worked to fund half of every Alexandria camper’s trip to camp. 

What might God be calling you to? There is a famous story of an old man who was walking along a beach and saw a young boy stooping down, picking something up and throwing it into the ocean before walking a little further and doing the same thing again. As the man neared the boy, he noticed that he was picking up starfish that had washed onto the shore. The old man looked down the beach and saw hundreds of starfish on the sand. He said to the boy, “Why even try? There is no way you can possibly make a difference. There are so many.” The boy bent down, picked up a starfish, threw it into the ocean and said, “I made a difference for that one.” 

If you would like to give to support Minnesota FCA, individual staff, or camp scholarships, simply visit minnesotafca.org/donate and select the area in which you'd like to give.

Ed Christopherson will be inducted into the FCA Hall of Champions at the FCA Headquarters in Kansas City in April. Watch for a story in April that will share more about the impact of Ed and Sylvia’s obedience to Christ over five decades of service to young people.