The Influence of a Modern Day Hero of the Faith

His Nomination

Only eight people are inducted into the FCA Hall of Champions each year so it takes a very special individual to be recognized. The bio on the FCA page regarding Ed reads, 

“Ed Christopherson has been an FCA donor, local board member, past Huddle leader, prayer warrior and FCA cheerleader in his community of Alexandria, Minnesota, for over 50 years.

The football coach and his wife, Sylvia, have impacted an entire town through FCA. His passion for teaching, sports, students and Jesus made FCA a natural vehicle for ministry in his life, and the couple regularly invited athletes to their house for the FCA Huddle. Christopherson also saw the significant impact FCA Camps can have on students. His vision to raise funds to pay for half of every local student’s cost to attend Camp became a reality—one that continues today—and Alexandria has sent over 1,000 students to FCA Camps since Christopherson’s vision began.

‘The clear, recurring theme across Ed’s life is his love for Jesus, and flowing from that, his commitment and longevity with FCA,’ wrote one nominator. ‘God has taken Ed’s faithfulness in showing up in the lives of students, persistence in fundraising for Camp money, and continued service to produce a lasting ripple effect in Alexandria. The fruit is still being reaped, and even more seeds are being planted.’”

The Beginning of a Legacy

Ed and Sylvia moved to Alexandria in 1967. Ed was hired as the assistant football coach at the high school and was soon introduced to FCA. Within a couple years, he became both the head football coach and the FCA huddle coach. Ed is the only coach in the history of Alexandria High School to take the football team all the way to a state championship, but that is not his greatest legacy in Alexandria. Instead, it was his tireless commitment to the young people in Alexandria. He and Sylvia regularly welcomed 40-50 kids into their living room for a weekly FCA huddle. They created an environment in their home where young men and women could gather to grow in their walks with God. Joe Hill attended huddles as a high school student thirty years ago. He remembers that weekly huddle as “the place to be.” Joe’s friend, Trent Anderson, also went to the huddle regularly and is forever changed because of the impact that time had on his life.

As they entered their home, kids would often hear Ed saying, “Welcome, welcome, come into our home.” He loved pouring into the students who attended the weekly huddle and was tireless in his commitment to their spiritual growth. Ed was just the right balance of warm yet challenging and gentle yet firm. Trent described Ed as, “the softest hearted man I knew. It was his tenderness toward you and this ongoing awareness he had of your life and what it was on a path toward. Ed was a guy you wanted to please.” This sentiment was shared by hundreds of students who attended the huddle at his home over the years.

A Vision for Camp

Ed and Sylvia invested in young people outside the weekly huddle as well. In the late 60s, Ed began bringing students to FCA sports camps. He wanted students to meet Jesus and grow in relationship with Christ, and he was confident camp was a place this could happen. Getting kids to camp was so important to Ed that he not only drove kids to camp himself, but he helped pay their way as well. Early on, he and Sylvia would set their own personal money aside to pay for half of the cost of camp for anyone who wanted to go. There were times it seemed the money would be impossible to find, but God always provided. Once, a stranger showed up at their home the night before they needed the money for camp and handed them a check for the exact amount that was needed. Another time they had not been able to secure enough founds and went to the bank for a loan. Because Ed was so skilled at getting others to catch the vision of camp, the banker personally gave the funds needed for students to attend camp. 

For campers like Trent and Joe and so many others, camp was a highlight of the summer. Joe said camp was very engaging and fun, and it helped him to know what the next level looked like, both spiritually and athletically, as he was coached by college athletes. In high school, Trent got to golf alongside college golfers who challenged him to be better. He was so influenced by camp that he has returned fourteen times since high school to coach and mentor younger athletes. 

Since Ed and Sylvia first caught the vision more than fifty years ago, Alexandria FCA has continued the tradition of covering half the price of camp. As excitement grew and more and more campers attended camp, the dollar amount needed to continue paying for kids to go to camp grew exponentially. They had begun to receive donations from others when Jeff Leslie who was a former FCA alum was killed along with his little sister Jackie by a drunk driver in 1982. It shook the entire community and the FCA family. Within just a couple months Ed and Sylvia started a Walk, Jog, Crawl-a-thon in Jeff and Jackie’s memory. Participants took pledges for each lap they would do, and the money raised went toward sending kids to camp. Hundreds of people would take part and then gather for pizza afterward to celebrate the race and remember Jeff and Jackie. Nearly forty years later, the race has changed to the Lakes Area Endurance Run (https://www.runthelakes.com/) but still raises funds for FCA camps. This, along with a Golf Fundraiser, allows FCA to donate around $20,000 toward camp scholarships each year. It all started with Ed and Sylvia’s obedience to the Lord and commitment to pay half of a couple campers’ camp registrations.  

Community Impact

Ed and Sylvia made a deep impact on their community over five decades of service through coaching, holding the weekly huddle, and sending kids to camp. This combined work affected generations of kids in Alexandria and has arguably changed the community for the better. In addition, they held dozens of community events that gave students the opportunity to lead and serve and the community the opportunity to come together in relationship while learning about the impact of FCA. Ed worked tirelessly delivering flyers to area churches and getting others on board. 

Ed impacted the community in smaller, yet still impactful, ways as well. He was bold, whether it was in challenging someone’s actions or encouraging them to step up in service to the Lord. Ed often officiated basketball games on the side. At one game, a coach was yelling at his team and berating the refs. Ed walked up to him and asked, “Is this the kind of example you want to give to your kids?” Ed understood that every adult was sending a message to teens, and he wanted the message to be positive. Another time, Ed traveled to a neighboring community and met with a group of coaches about getting involved with FCA. One coach told Ed he was unable to help because he only had a couple more years before retirement. Ed’s response was, “Well, your time of influence is short – you better take advantage of it.” The coach got involved in leading FCA until his retirement. Ed’s attitude was constantly, “Don’t just say something. Do something.”

God’s Faithfulness

Dee Novotny has served alongside Ed for many years in FCA.  The words she used to describe Ed include: tireless, faithful, unashamed, warrior for the Lord, and wonderful Christian man. Ed and Sylvia are quick to give God all the glory. It is the power of God of influencing lives, and they have simply been obedient to His call on their own lives. They will say that they are only the people who share God with others – the power comes from God to make it real to people. Sylvia said, “The number of people we could thank in Alexandria is just huge.” In addition, the Christophersons are grateful for the organization of FCA because it helped them do the ministry God had called them to. “We really feel that from the national to the state to the local level, we have had support.” 

Ed and Sylvia have story after story of God’s faithfulness as they have sought to follow after Him in everything they have done. A favorite verse of Sylvia’s is, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). She has seen God give them abundantly more than they could have ever asked, and God has used them in amazing ways in Alexandria, Minnesota. Ed and Sylvia are both quick to place the accolades squarely back on the Lord instead of themselves, but it was their desire to live in obedience that allowed God to move in and through them to reach generations, not only in Alexandria, but around the world as their students have set out to be lights for the gospel all around the world.