“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” – Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)

The Olympic Games are so inspiring to me. There’s something incredible about the Olympic Spirit—the athletes’ internal quest for greatness and their desire to push themselves—body, mind and soul—to the limit.

My family didn’t have much, growing up in poverty in Pensacola, Fla., but we had
each other, and that was really all we needed. My six brothers and I loved to be outside playing every sport imaginable, sometimes even inventing our own games. I can still remember playing football in the yard with my brothers and cousins, dreaming of one day playing in the NFL.

“Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world…everything that belongs to the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s lifestyle—is not from the Father, but is from the world.” – 1 John 2:15-16

This summer I had the opportunity to go on a mission trip to Haiti with a group from my church. While the trip was an outstanding time of ministry and connection with God, I did have one challenge: the food. It wasn’t even close to my normal diet!

No life-changing adversity or blessing can separate us from the love of Christ. We can be more than conquerors through Him. Neither our present circumstances nor even things that are on the way can change His love for us—not the mountaintop of success and favor nor the valley of adversity and disappointment. God is there in the midst of all our life-changing moments.

It’s common for college athletes to build long-lasting relationships with their teammates and coaches—connections that last years after graduation. But for three members of the Purdue University women’s basketball program, a shared passion for FCA and international missions has drawn them even closer, helping them form spiritual bonds that will last into eternity.

From a spiritual perspective, my parents raised us according to the Christian norms that were prevalent in the late ’60s, but we never went to church, and I didn’t have an understanding of what it meant to have a relationship with Christ. I had a reasonably good moral compass, but it wasn’t grounded in the truth of Scripture. We sought to do good to others and do the right things, but we were more of what you’d call “happy pagans.”

My dad may have been playing in the NBA at the time, but the best basketball games I remember from my childhood were the ones between my little brother, Seth, and me on our backyard basketball court in Charlotte, N.C. We’d play for hours and hours, oftentimes well into the night with the use of a bright stage light shining on the court, until our mom would yell out the window for us to come in. Those games would get pretty heated, but that was the norm for brothers as close as we were.

In the 1970s, Swiss biologist Hermann Brandt created a game called tchoukball (pronounced “chook-ball”)—a teamwork-heavy mashup of more well-known sports, including volleyball, jai alai and handball. The goal was to allow players of all ages and walks of life to experience the thrill of competition without the aggressiveness and violence that commonly permeates athletic events.

Four decades later, tchoukball has increased so much in popularity that it now boasts junior, women’s and men’s world championships at the international level. And today, it is helping a passionate group of FCA International missionaries and partners in the Philippines reach athletes and coaches for Christ and share a love that transcends creed, culture and competition.

It was the first FCA meeting of my freshman year. A couple of weeks had gone by since the beginning of school, and I had yet to find a group—not a good way to start off high school. I felt left out. I felt like an outcast. For years, people targeted me as the brunt of all the jokes, whether because of my size or my lack of athleticism. But that night... That night changed me for the better.
 

Seven-footers stand out in a crowd. Wichita State junior Garrett Stutz has understood that for several years now, and it’s something his basketball opponents have to deal with every time they take the floor against the Shockers. Last season, the Kansas City, Mo., native hit his stride on the court, closing the season by earning All-Tournament honors in the MVC Tournament. This season, Stutz is working on cultivating a spiritual stature that rivals his physical frame as part of the FCA leadership team at WSU.

On Oct. 10, students across the nation will pack their local football stadiums, standing shoulder to shoulder on a cool fall night. The crowds won’t be drawn in for matchups against big rivals, but for a far more powerful and important cause—the salvation of their classmates and the opportunity to share Jesus’ love at a Fields of Faith event.