Dancers bring the love of Christ to the collegiate level through FCA
February 15, 2022
KANSAS CITY, Mo.— Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA, www.fca.org) believes that coaches and athletes in every sport need to hear the Gospel, which is demonstrated by the outstanding, godly FCA staff and volunteers who are involved in a variety of other athletic programs.
When dancer Kara Seratte joined the dance team at Grand Canyon University (GCU) in Phoenix, Arizona, she wanted to use her platform to grow her faith and share Jesus with others. Seratte gathered other dance team members and they regularly attended a local FCA Huddle—the dancers even served on the leadership team. Through FCA, God moved in the lives of everyone on the team. They went on a mission trip to Africa together, and in the last year alone, three women have been baptized.
Out of a desire to make dance ministry possible for other young dancers, Coach Jacque Genung-Koch, Seratte and some other dancers approached FCA collegiate director for GCU Kelly Schmidt and asked if they could begin offering dance at camps. The result? In 2018 FCA began offering dance at a camp for 7th through 12th graders.
“The dedication of this dance team to include Christ in their practices, competitions and everyday life is inspiring,” said Kelly Schmidt, Grand Canyon University Collegiate Director. “FCA is proud to share stories like these that shine the light of Christ through the commitment and discipleship of college athletes.”
Girls who desired to dance recreationally attended the camps, but it was outside their comfort zones. Genung-Koch said it was great to watch them become vulnerable and then blossom to connect with Huddle leaders in ways they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. They learned new choreography at the camps and were able to use it to perform at games when they returned home.
Overall, the camps helped attract students who would not have come had dance not been included. They now offer dance at FCA’s camp in the northern Arizona city of Flagstaff.
“FCA is one more way to support young dancers and to help them grow in their love for Jesus,” Genung-Koch said.
To read more about the Grand Canyon University dance team’s partnership with FCA, click here.
FCA’s theme for 2022 is “Every,” based on Ephesians 1:3: “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.” FCA reminds Christian coaches and athletes that they already have everything they need in Christ and encourages them to seek Him both on and off the field.
After extensive growth, FCA has reached millions of people with the Gospel. View a timeline of FCA’s 68-year history here, including videos, quotes, articles, leader profiles, Camp themes, photos and more.
Read more about Fellowship of Christian Athletes here, visit FCA’s website at www.fca.org, its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TheFCATeam or its Twitter feed https://twitter.com/TheFCATeam.
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