Coaches Ministry - BSU Coaches Learning to Rest in God's Peace

Shelley Pearson • October 28, 2020

“I love participating in our coach’s huddle as it provides a Christian-based discussion with other believers in the athletics profession. It challenges me to grow in my faith so I can share it with others around me and implement it into my coaching.”

- Bemidji State University Basketball Coach

A coaches huddle that all started like this:

“How can I support you as a coach?” Bill Adamson, FCA Area Rep, asked a coach at Bemidji.

“How about a coaches huddle?” was the reply.

That was easy enough. No begging or prodding. Someone simply asked the question, and a coach responded with a need. As an FCA staff member, Bill was equipped and available to come alongside a coach who expressed a desire. That coach and another coach connected Bill with other coaches, and soon the huddle was going strong with nine huddle coaches, Pastor Chris who helps lead, and Bill.

Once Covid-19 hit, Bill thought they might be done, but the coaches asked to continue to meet over Zoom.

When summer came, Bill assumed they would want to take a break for the summer, but the coaches asked to keep meeting. “Every week they say it’s a great group and they’re glad it’s going. They don’t want to stop.” When people choose to attend one more meeting every week, it is clear that something great is happening. This huddle is meeting the needs of coaches to have fellowship with other coaches and grow in their walks with God together.

The Study

The coaches have been studying the concept of rest in the huddle. As they studied, they recognized they had been getting too stressed out, so they leaned into the rest that comes only from God. It’s about more than just starting the morning in God’s Word but about continually refreshing and refocusing on God throughout the day. It is about learning to turn to Him and with quiet hearts and minds be able to hear His voice and rest in His peace.

The group has been eager to come together and lean into God as a group. They want to keep going. Bill talked about the next steps, “We will start going through a coach-based study on Philippians. Everyone’s pretty pumped up about going through it.” This study will look at Philippians through the eyes of a coach and will lead coaches on how to be coaches who disciple.

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes places a high priority on discipleship, and this coaches huddle is growing coaches in discipleship as they do life together. Relationships are built and coaches are strengthened weekly through this coaches huddle.

Out of their Mouths

The coaches have a lot to say about what this huddle means to them.

“I’ve been most impressed with the conversation we have and the empathy of our huddle. Personally, I’ve been challenged this year with health concerns in my family, and I’ve had great support from our group even though I just started coming recently. I know they’re praying for me and will lend an ear as I work through these struggles. I’m also really excited to begin a weekly study on the book of Philippians. I know we will grow together and experience putting joy in our lives."

- Volleyball Coach

“I enjoy the fellowship in our FCA Coaches huddle we do each Monday. It is extremely important for me personally to have that fellowship with other coaches outside of the staff I work with. I enjoy the conversations we have and how we try to relate current events and issues to topics in the Bible. I am looking forward to continuing this and hoping a few more coaches will join us. The resources we have in Bill Adamson and Chris Hess are tremendous both from a fellowship standpoint and an educational standpoint when it comes to teachings of the Bible"

- Football Coach

“For me the greatest reason why I like the huddle is that if I need to get away or just need to be around some people, it’s nice to know the huddle is there to help me get through whatever is going on.”

- Soccer Coach

“To and Through the Coach”

The vision of FCA is to see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes, and the strategy to make that happen is to minister first to and then through the coach. As coaches grow in their relationships with Christ, they are able to minister to their athletes. That model of multiplication has worked at Bemidji, and Bill is excited about it. “My first priority is to minister to coaches, which is a change for me because I was a huddle coach for years and had to make that switch.” But it’s much easier to make that change when the results are so clear.

This story doesn’t end with the impact on the coaches. The coaches have impacted the students. Last year 15-20 students attended the weekly FCA meetings at Bemidji State University. This year, 100 of the 400 athletes at Bemidji State University are part of FCA at Bemidji. Do the math. That is a fivefold increase in less than one year! God is doing amazing things in and through the hearts of coaches who are built up and filled up and can then share the impact with their athletes who will go out from there to reach their campus with the Gospel of Christ.

God is doing work just like this all over the state of Minnesota. We are thankful for our staff who work tirelessly to come alongside coaches, and we are thankful for the coaches who respond to God’s call on their lives to be discipled and then make disciples. Stay tuned for more of what God is doing in hearts across our state.

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