Stories From The Field

“I Got This” When Kendall told her father Chad what had happened, his initial reaction was probably familiar to many parents. “I was like, ‘I don’t think they can say that,’ ” Chad recalls. His instinct was to immediately challenge the school. Instead, he contacted someone he trusted at Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Chad had developed a relationship with FCA staff member through his own work with SafeTeam, a communications platform designed to protect young athletes by bringing parents into coach-to-player communication. Chad texted the staffer and explained what had happened. The FCA staffer's response was to take a moment and assess the situation first. The staffer then connected with FCA resources, helped the family understand Kendall’s rights as a student-athlete and provided guidance about how she could approach the school. Perhaps most importantly, the staffer encouraged Chad and his wife Kelly to let Kendall speak for herself. “He encouraged us to give her the voice in that,” Kelly recalls. Rather than a frustrated parent sending an angry email, Kendall sent a thoughtful message to the athletic director herself. She explained what the players had been doing and asked for clarification. The next morning, Kendall was pulled from class. She knew immediately where she was going. Waiting for her were the athletic director, principal and assistant principal. Three administrators. One freshman. Chad had told Kendall to call him if the school wanted to meet with her. She didn’t. “I was confident enough in what I had to say,” Kendall says. “I was like, ‘I got this.’” She admits the room was intimidating, at first. But Kendall calmly explained that the prayers had always been led by students, never coaches. Nobody was required to participate. Teammates who didn’t want to pray simply didn’t, and Kendall didn’t view them any differently because of it. The school administrators listened. As they talked, it became clear there had been some misunderstanding about whether the prayer was mandatory and whether coaches were involved. By the end of the meeting, Kendall and the administrators had reached an understanding. The prayers could continue as long as they remained student-led, voluntary and non-disruptive. Kendall could also continue telling opposing teams that Osseo players would be praying and that anyone who wanted to join was welcome. “Check all those boxes,” Kendall remembers telling them. “That’s what we’ll do.” Courage Without Conflict For Chad, it matters significantly that the matter ended without conflict. It would be easy to frame what happened as a confrontation between a Christian student and a public school. That isn’t how the Capp family sees it. “I think Osseo should be commended on the way they handled it,” Chad says. “Maybe the way it was enforced initially was a little harsh. Maybe they should’ve had that conversation before all of a sudden saying, ‘You can’t pray.’ But all things considered, I thought the administrators handled it very well.” One administrator even shared with Kendall that she also followed Christ and encouraged Kendall to explain more clearly to teammates why prayer mattered to her. The athletic director complimented Kendall on the way she handled the conversation. “You’re really good with your words for your age,” he told her. What could have turned into an angry confrontation instead became an example of respectful dialogue. For Chad, knowing that his family had access to FCA staff members, information and legal resources changed the way the family approached the situation. “My first instinct was, ‘I’m going to send them this nasty email,’ ” Chad says. But instead, the FCA helped them gather information, understood Kendall’s rights, ask questions and, most importantly, empower Kendall to advocate for herself. “It allowed her to make very clear what she expected from administration,” Chad says. “And just knowing FCA was there, knowing there was a support system there, was huge.” More Than a Prayer The prayers continued through the end of Osseo’s softball season. The same teammates who wanted to participate did. The same teammates who didn’t want to participate didn’t. And everyone kept playing softball together. Near the end of the season, one teammate approached Kendall. The two girls had very different beliefs. But the teammate told Kendall something she didn’t expect. “Kendall, I really respect the way that you have this much faith in something,” she told her. Then she gave Kendall a small holder for pens that could attach to her Bible. “I hope you can use this in your faith journey,” the teammate told her. “I don’t agree with it, but I can respect that you do, and you can do it in such a kind way.” For Kendall, the gesture confirmed something much bigger than whether she could pray before or after a softball game. Chad marveled at the lessons Kendall learned from the experience, which helped her lean into her faith, and showcase her courage and conviction. “It would’ve been really easy, especially as a freshman in her first year on the varsity softball team, to just say, ‘Okay,’ and let it go,” he says. “But she knew that wasn’t right. And she knew it wasn’t okay just to sit and watch.” He hopes Kendall’s story encourages other students to understand that they can respectfully live out their faith as well. “If more kids understand what they’re capable of, what their rights are and what happens when they stand up for those rights,” Chad says, “it can empower a generation.” For Kendall, it started much more simply. One eighth-grade hockey player walked alone to center ice and prayed. Then a teammate joined her. Then another. And another. A year later, sitting across from three school administrators, Kendall discovered something else: She wasn’t standing alone there, either.

Longtime Minnesota FCA staff member Randy Jensen shares how Wally would walk past the room where the Vikings' FCA chapel was meeting on Sunday mornings. At first, Wally would simply pause outside the door and listen. Eventually, the man who had once mocked the chapel stepped inside. In 1977, Wally Hilgenberg gave his life to Jesus. "He was like Paul from the Bible that hated Christians, and then he became one that was out sharing boldly the Gospel," Randy said.

Building Something That Would Last Steve helped launch Minnesota FCA’s junior golf camp in 1988 or 1989 alongside Tiemann and FCA golf leader Dean Bouzeos. Steve was responsible for developing the morning teaching schedule, coordinating instructors, organizing afternoon team competitions and planning evening activities. The response quickly exceeded expectations. The camp outgrew its original location at Quadna Resort after its first year, eventually moving to Green Lake, Wisconsin. As participation continued to grow, separate golf camps developed in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. Minnesota’s camp later moved to Brainerd and eventually to Pebble Creek Golf Club in Becker. Through every transition, Steve remained. For approximately 35 years, he coordinated teaching professionals and instructional stations and helped create golf activities for campers. Steve and his wife, Letta, also opened their home to Huddle Leaders and FCA staff for training and meals. Steve developed a creative incentive program that allowed campers to earn FCA "bucks" for demonstrating sportsmanship and Christlike character. He also built an extensive skills assessment that evaluated campers in putting, chipping and full swing skills. Each year, he recruited and coordinated nearly 20 volunteers to conduct the assessment and provide each camper with written feedback about their strengths and areas for improvement. The program proved valuable enough that Steve was invited to FCA golf headquarters in Ponte Vedra, Florida, to teach the model to FCA golf camp directors from around the country. He also helped establish FCA golf camp in Iowa. What began with one request to help became decades of investing his gifts wherever FCA needed them.

More Than a Record Dwight began Becker High School’s football program from the ground up. There was no field, no equipment and initially only seven players interested in playing. Over the decades that followed, the program grew into one of Minnesota’s most successful. Yet Dwight told Allen that the lasting value of coaching has never been found simply in the scoreboard. His hope is that the young men who leave his program become better husbands, fathers and members of their communities. His approach to coaching begins with knowing his athletes personally, caring about them and making sure every player understands that he matters. “If a kid knows that you really care and you love him, he’ll run through the wall for you,” Dwight said. For Matt, that distinction became one of the central lessons of the book. “The goal in coaching is to win every game,” Matt explained. “Your purpose is to impact lives in a positive way.” That difference between goal and purpose has shaped generations of Lundeen’s players, coaches and family.

A message from East Metro MN Admin, Anna Shoberg: Last week I was working in our East Metro Camp Database, tying things up from the last few months of camps, when I realized....that this summer we hit an astounding milestone. The East Metro has seen over 1,000 elementary-aged students served at camps. THANK YOU, GOD!!!!! Our previous Area Director, Brent Voight, started running the very first FCA camps in the East Metro back in 2018. I was scrolling through the list of camper names we have kept over the years. As I scrolled through that list of names and realized that we had hit this mark, it left me in tears. Since Brent's very first camp at Community of Grace back in 2018 until the last day of our camps this summer, there have been 1,000 kids from all over our neighborhoods who have participated in one of our local camps. This is NOT just a list of names. These are students who have come and heard the name of Jesus. Every day, for at least a week, many of them more as they came back year after year.

Leadership is influence . We may never know exactly who we will influence, when that influence will happen, or how deeply it will shape someone’s life. For huddle coaches and athletes across Southwest Minnesota, that influence becomes intentional through The Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Southwest MN FCA recently held its annual Leadership Summit where we engage, equip, and empower coaches and athletes to lead their huddles well and, more importantly, to become disciples who make disciples. 

A message from the Northland FCA LEADership Camp Director, Brent Voight.

Another shared something many of us need to hear: "It impacted me by showing me that I'm not alone in my struggles. I have people around me going through the same things. Then it helped me realize there was only one plan—the Cross." A first-time camper described discovering not only a deeper faith, but a community of people walking through similar challenges: "I realized the people around me were having many of the same struggles I was. It helped me learn how to walk through those things with the Lord while building meaningful friendships. I can't wait to come back." That may be one of the greatest gifts of camp. Students discover they aren't alone. They learned that everyone carries burdens, that Christ meets them in those struggles, and that authentic Christian community is a powerful reminder of God's love and faithfulness. These six students represent just a small glimpse of what God is doing through FCA Camps across Minnesota. As they return home, back to classrooms, locker rooms, practices, and everyday life, our prayer is that what God began this week continues to grow. Jesus never promised His followers an easy life. In fact, He promised we would face trials. But He also promised His presence. Would you join us in praying for these six young leaders? Pray that they would continue putting Christ first, boldly living out their faith, and sharing the hope they found at Leadership Camp with teammates, classmates, friends, and family.