FCA Staff and Singer/Songwriter - James Bolin

Shelley Pearson • March 9, 2022

There are a few traits besides loving Jesus that many FCA staff members share:

1. Love for watching sports

2. Love for playing sports

3. Love for coaching sports

4. Love of all things sports

5. Did we mention sports?

But there’s another trait that is a bit less common, okay a lot less common: being a singer-songwriter.

James Bolin has been on staff with FCA since 2009, and God has been growing his heart to share God’s love through song since then too. But we’ll get to that later.

James grew up on a dairy farm in Clarksville, Iowa, and he ran track and played basketball and football in high school. He attended Crossroads College in Rochester, Minnesota, mostly because his mom had attended there and he wanted to play basketball (since he is 5’7”, he needed a smaller school where the competition wasn’t quite so fierce). He majored in sports ministry because it had “sports” in the title and he loved sports, but it wasn’t until his senior year in college that God became a priority in his life.

Growing up, James had gone to church every Sunday and attended youth group as a high school student. He would have called himself a Christian then, but he didn’t talk about faith, he didn’t know any other Christians at his school, and it wasn’t a priority for him. That would soon change. James said, “Looking back, it’s so obvious that God wanted me at Crossroads, but I didn’t know that leaving high school. I thought, ‘I’m just going to go here so I can play basketball.’ Sports was the draw.”

Drawn to Christ and FCA

He met his future wife, Nicole, his sophomore year which kept him at Crossroads where he was regularly exposed to Christians and God’s Word. By his senior year, he had committed to following Christ (and got engaged to Nicole). It was also during his senior year that he was invited to an FCA event and introduced to staff member JD Bickle. James told him he needed an internship to graduate, JD brought him on, and James spent the summer of 2008 as a huddle leader at local area camps and the regional sports camp. After graduation, he needed a job, and JD asked if he was interested in joining staff.

James reflects, “JD tells me we have to raise financial support. I thought ‘I don’t know what that looks like.’ The training then was not what it is today. There was no boot camp to teach you how to raise support. Instead, it was like, ‘Hey, go ask people to support FCA.’” James did that and came on staff as a full-time Are Representative in January of 2011 (he was part-time in 2009 and 2010 as he raised support). He assumed the role of Area Director in 2015. He has since hired several staff members, and ministry continues to expand in southeast Minnesota.

There are several high school huddles, and they have run a successful flag football program since James joined staff. Next year, they will be adding a large, established basketball program to the mix. James is excited about the potential partnership with churches, volunteer coaches, and families in the Rochester area. He says, “The opportunity to connect sports back to anything gets me excited, whether watching sports, playing sports, or talking about sports, I just love it. What better way to share faith with someone than to have that commonality?”

The Journey to Songwriting

And surprisingly, that is exactly what led to James becoming a singer-songwriter, well, in a roundabout way. In college, several of his roommates listened to secular hip-hop and rap music. The style of the genre grabbed him. He loved it. Later in college, he started listening to Christian hip-hop and rap musicians, like Lecrae. He says, “That was a breakthrough moment because it let me connect my passion for music with faith the same way FCA does with sport and faith. Listening to Lecrae was a big part of my faith journey too.”

No one expected the athlete who grew up on a dairy farm in Iowa would love music. He had never even been in choir, but that is the beauty of how God calls people. Five years ago, after he had been working on his music but not shared it with anyone, James was coaching basketball during a losing season. He told the boys that if they won two games, he’d publish his first song. Of course, they went on to win the next two games. That was five years ago. Today, he has written a dozen original pieces and sung at some huddles and at Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge. He is constantly checking himself with his music, and as long as he can answer the following three questions affirmatively, he will keep making music:

Is it glorifying to God?
Is it reaching at least one person?
Do I enjoy it?

What is God doing in his Heart?

His life verse is Romans 8:28 which says, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” He says, “When we don’t know what’s going to happen, when there are times of struggle and pain, God will work all things out for the good of those who love him, not for bad but also not on my timeline. When I can’t see how it will work out, I can know that God will use it for good.” Recently, God has also been pressing Matthew 6:25-34 into his heart as he learns to continually turn things over to Christ through life’s challenges.

From a dairy farm in Iowa to a college in Minnesota, God drew James to Himself, and today James is bringing that same love and hope of Christ to coaches and athletes in southeastern Minnesota. We are grateful God called James to staff and look forward to what God will do in and through him.