'Make Jesus Known Throughout the World': FCA Distributes More Than 208,000 Bibles in 2021
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) challenges coaches and athletes around the world to use the powerful platform of sport to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
While The ministry is known for sports camps and Fields of Faith events, FCA is also dedicated to sharing God's word through Bible distribution.
In 2021, it handed out 208,624 Bibles, marking 67 years of commitment to the mission of leading players and coaches into a growing relationship with Christ and His church.
"I believe one of the reasons God continues to bless the Fellowship of Christian Athletes is our focus on growing our Bible ministry," said FCA President and CEO, Shane Williamson. "We are committed to God's Word and biblical truth, and we continue to be amazed at what God is doing to get His Word into the hands of coaches and athletes around the world."
FCA's theme for 2021 was Pursue, based on : "Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness."
The ministry has a long record of encouraging Christians in sports to stand boldly in their faith.
Here is a brief overview of FCA's Bible distribution history:
1956: The Athlete's Bible
The ministry first printed Bibles for camp with its logo on the cover. As the camps grew, new Bible covers were designed with each year's theme, and more programs were added. The Bible became a key resource for those leading huddles and one-on-one discipleship meetings. This is now referred to as FCA's Athlete's Bible, which each camper receives and has become the most requested Bible resource.
2003: The Sports Bibles
FCA's Bible distribution took off when the ministry introduced a Sports New Testament that included testimonies from various professional athletes. To date, FCA has printed more than A million of these which led to the release of the Competitor's Bible for athletes.
2006: International Bibles
FCA printed its first Spanish New Testament in 2006. Since then, multiple resources have been translated and printed, such as FCA's Heart of an Athlete devotional in Chinese and Spanish, Japanese Baseball New Testament, Chinese Sports Devotional Bible, and Russian Coach's Bible.
In 2017, FCA began distributing 50,000 Thai Sports New Testaments and 10,000 Vietnamese Sports New Testaments. The following year, FCA Sports Bible Handbooks were printed in Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Ukrainian, Russian, and Urdu. Today, FCA prints New Testaments, Sports Bibles, Sports Bible Handbooks, and more in Arabic, Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Korean, Urdu, French, Russian, Ukrainian, Spanish, Japanese, and Portuguese.
2013: The Digital Age
FCA partners with YouVersion to release electronic versions of all camp Bibles. Today, FCA has more than 50 Bible reading plans in multiple languages on YouVersion, including Spanish, Ukrainian, Russian, Chinese and Korean.
"For 67 years, it has been FCA's priority to make Jesus known throughout the world," Williamson said. "We have a wonderful gift to give to our coaches and athletes, the hope and truth of Christ through His everlasting Word!"
To find out more about Fellowship of Christian Athletes, click here.
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