Fellowship of Christian Athletes has been active at Milligan for years. The national FCA mission statement, according to its website, is “to lead every coach and athlete into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and his church.”
But Milligan’s new FCA president, Julia Codispoti, has a bigger vision, one that’s aimed not only at the hundreds of intercollegiate athletes at Milligan.
“Our goal is to reach all students, although geared towards athletes, with the love of Christ in a brief, meaningful way,” Codispoti said.
Codispoti, a junior and a member of the women’s volleyball team, first joined FCA as a freshman. “But it really didn’t kick off until last year,” she said.
She outlined several ideas the organization has to reach “all students” in “a brief, meaningful way.” An athlete’s schedule can be fairly busy at times, so the lessons are designed to be 30 minutes long so everyone who chooses to attend can have time to receive the word once a week. “We know students are extremely busy, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have Jesus,” said Codispoti
“We have a great leadership team, and we all agree that sports represent life in a very fast and amplified way,” said Codispoti. “That’s why relating to athletes … is so crucial.”
FCA hosts events to bring the community together and to inform students that are interested in the club. “We have an SFP event on Nov. 6 where we talk about prayer, and we’re hoping to launch off a prayer group for prayer requests around campus,” said Codispoti. Another event FCA is hosting is the annual sand volleyball tournament on Oct. 18. It will be free to enter, and pizza will be provided along with gift cards for the winners.
Codispoti is hoping to grow FCA this year significantly, “I already see FCA growing as more people attend, but I would still love if it could get bigger.”
“This semester our theme is relationships,” said Codispoti, “Whether that be with God, yourself, teammates, coaches, etc. Relationships are very important and essential to spreading the Word.”
FCA meets Wednesday at 9 p.m. in SUB 7.