Fellowship of Christian Athletes distributed over 190,000 Bibles in 2019
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes passed out more than 190,000 copies of the Bible during 2019, according to a recent announcement by the faith-based youth organization.
In an email to supporters, the FCA explained that they distributed 190,832 Bibles this year and about 2.5 million Bibles worldwide over the past 15 years.
FCA President and CEO Shane Williamson said that they have “not compromised our focus and commitment to God’s Word and biblical truth.”
“Today, FCA is one of the largest distributors of Bibles in the world,” stated Williamson. “The Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 doesn’t only rally us, but it tells us to teach all who hear the message to obey.”
“How do we do this? We use God’s playbook, the Holy Bible, to share the life-changing message of salvation.”
In November, the FCA celebrated its 65th anniversary, with Williamson writing in a column for The Christian Post that he was “grateful for the men and women who pioneered this ministry.”
“We’re bearing the fruit of a rich history of faithful servants who believed God wanted to use the vehicle of sports to introduce competitors to Christ,” wrote Williamson.
“It’s an honor for myself and our team of close to 2,000 staff members to continue this legacy and take the vision into future generations.”
In recent years, some have taken issue with the organization's support for traditional marriage and sexual ethics.
A group of female students in Bozeman Public Schools in Montana recently demanded that their local FCA chapter disaffiliate from the national group over these stances.
“Not that any of us have a problem with a Christian athletes club on campus -- we all think it's a good idea for kids to meet on those grounds -- just their connection to the national organization was something that concerned us,” stated one of the students, as reported by NBC Montana.
“I think we aren't completely satisfied with the outcome if it just ends up being that they're just an unofficial school club, mostly because it doesn't really address our first concern, which is that students in our school might feel unwelcome by the organization's values that it has on its website.”
On Nov. 21, the school district revoked FCA of Bozeman High School’s official status. In response, Alliance Defending Freedom sent a letter of complaint to the school district.
“These actions are a blatant violation of BHS FCA’s rights under the U.S. Constitution and the Equal Access Act. Your actions also contradict the very policies upon which you base the rationale for your decision,” read the letter dated Dec. 11.
“Refusing to recognize FCA as a school-sponsored club because of its religious mission and denying it the same privileges as other non-curricular clubs is illegal.”