Minnesota FCA History

Shelley Pearson • July 20, 2021

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes had its start back in 1954 when a coach named Don McClanen had an idea. He said, "For some time, I have had the idea of forming an organization of athletes and coaches in this hero-worshiping nation of ours. If athletes can endorse shaving cream, razor blades and cigarettes, surely they can endorse the Lord, too. So my idea is to form an organization that would project you as Christian men before the youth and athletes of our nation."

FCA History

Minnesota FCA unofficially began a few years later, at least by the mid-1960s, though records from that time are sparse and many of our founders are no longer here to tell the stories. The earliest event on record was the 1964 FCA Breakfast at the Minnesota State Basketball Tournament. What we don’t know is who organized the event the first few years.

Also, in 1964, a former Minneapolis Lakers player, Bob Williams, heard about a camp in Estes Park, Colorado. He loaded up a bunch of athletes and drove to the FCA Camp where God grabbed hold of his heart. He became very involved in FCA at that point and went on to co-found Minnesota FCA with other professional athletes and key volunteers that will be mentioned later.

The second event was the 1965 FCA camp in Hudson, Wisconsin, organized by professional athletes. Approximately 150 high school and college athletes attended, including high school senior Lu Gronseth who will come up in the story again later as well.

The first high school huddle began in 1967 at Richfield High School when Doug Kingsriter (then a high school senior who went on later to play for the Vikings) went to Met Stadium and asked to speak with Twins pitcher, Jim Kaat. Doug asked Mr. Kaat to come and speak to a group of guys about the importance of faith in his life. It was a bold move on Doug’s part, but Jim Kaat agreed. Doug remembers 25 guys sitting cross-legged on his basement floor listening to Jim Kaat. And the huddle was born. (Click here to read the story)

The first college huddle started the same year at the University of Minnesota. Lu Gronseth, who had attended that FCA camp in 1965, approached Coach Jerry Kindall (former Twins player) about starting an FCA huddle on campus. Coach Kindall had been praying about how to get a Christian group going and knew that was God’s answer. And that huddle was born.

Other early huddles started at White Bear Lake and Bloomington Kennedy high schools and Concordia and Augsburg colleges, but those details are sketchy and we hope to learn more as we continue to dig into the history.

Minnesota FCA grew over the next decade in large part due to the tireless efforts of professional athletes, a small group of volunteers, and eventually a fledgling staff. Bob Williams (Lakers), Jim Kaat, Al Worthington, and Bernie Allen (Twins), and Fred Cox and Jeff Siemon (Vikings), and presumably others were part of a speaker’s bureau managed by FCA where churches and other organizations called FCA to arrange for an athlete to speak during a special event. The athletes shared about the ministry of FCA at these events, and new huddles began around the state.

The earliest board of directors on record (1968) was George Gustafson, Jim Kaat, Jerry Kindall, Herb Kent, Rev. Glenn Martin, and Bob Williams (presumably not the Lakers’ Bob Williams). The board and professional athletes worked under the unofficial title of “The Minnesota Chapter of The Fellowship of Christian Athletes” until, in 1972, they officially formed under the name, “The Joe Larson Memorial Chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Later, the name was shortened to Minnesota FCA.

The first employee and state director was Ron Hess (1970-1974) who had been a key volunteer before he was hired as the director. He spent much of his time driving professional athletes around the state while growing the ministry and adding huddles at various high schools and colleges. Ron passed away suddenly in 1995, but his son Chris remembers their time with FCA that went far beyond the years he served as state director. He said, “Our life seemed like it was built around the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, travelling to many speaking engagements with my Dad and visiting so many huddle groups. The highlight of our year was when the whole family would join my Dad at St. Olaf for the FCA camps in the summer.”

During that time, Ron also served as the chaplain for the Twins and Vikings, which may well be how so many professional athletes got involved in the ministry. Chris said, “Along the way, we built relationships with so many professional athletes and college coaches and athletes that invested in us kids and to us, they just seemed like family. Guys like Dave Gibson and Randy Jensen truly impacted my life for Christ, even as a young boy growing up!” Ron was a key volunteer before he came on staff and continued to volunteer for some years after his tenure as director.

Ron was followed by Lu Gronseth, Dan Larson, Dave Gibson, and Mark Tiemann. As Minnesota saw success in FCA, FCA saw the opportunity to grow the ministry nationwide through Minnesota’s talented staff. Ron, Dan, and Dave all went on to other positions within FCA, and the reach of FCA spread further around the country.

Besides some of the directors who started as field staff and moved into the director position, the first field staff member was Randy Jensen who began in 1981 (and never left! You can read the stories of his history with FCA as well as the impact he has made here). At that time, the staff had all been stationed in the metro area and spent many hours in the car traveling to outstate Minnesota until someone had the idea that they would run more efficiently if they had staff outside of the metro. The first outstate staff were Joe Smith (Fargo, 1982) and Mike Myers (Marshall, 1985).

The first female field staff was Trudy Tuebner Semrau who began in 1985 in an administrative role. Later, staff discussed the need for female field staff and realized that God had already brought them their first one. Trudy moved into a field staff position and stayed with the ministry for 16 years.

The first urban staff began much later. Efrem Smith started in 1996 and Connell Lewis began in 1999. Today, urban ministry is a priority for the state of Minnesota as we see the potential impact on athletes who can benefit from mentoring relationships and a saving relationship with Christ.

There is so much more to say about the history, but this is a blog post and not a book. Later we will tell the stories of our first sports camps, golf tournaments, and coaches ministries. If you know additional history form those early years (or have photos to share), we invite you to share it with our Communications Specialist, Shelley Pearson, at spearson@fca.org.

Though some of the details from the beginning are unclear, one thing is certain. Minnesota FCA is grateful for those men and women whose heart and vision was to see Minnesota transformed with the Gospel. It is likely they didn’t know the lasting impact they would have on the ministry, but we are thankful for their obedience.

Want to take a trip down memory lane? View a compilation of some historical documents from the beginnings of FCA ministry in Minnesota:

Minnesota FCA Historical Documents

The Birthing of FCA - An Interview with Don McClanen