August 22, 2008
“remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, TO BE READY FOR EVERY GOOD DEED, to malign no one, to be uncontentious, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.” Titus 3:1-2
Campus:
HUDDLE IS SHIFTING TO MONDAY NIGHTS! This marks a great transition in our campus ministry as more athletes and students will be able to attend. Monday is normally an off day for most teams and practices/workouts are complete by 7:00 PM. We are very excited about the transition. A major part of the change is being able to offer a dinner prior to huddle for the athletes and students. We have been cleared by compliance and the football program to host the dinner inside the Puskar center. This is no small thing! We have the first three dinners fully sponsored. Chic-fil-A has committed to sponsor the first two dinners and our long time supporters, Denise and Garrett Bragg are sponsoring the third dinner. Shawn is contacting local vendors to invite them to sponsor the dinners. We will have 30 dinners in all this semester. If you are interested in sponsoring a dinner, please contact Shawn.
Josh and Courtney have been working hard to get the curriculum together for this semesters huddles. The theme is going to focus on “Getting/Staying Focused”. They will be incorporating audio/visual components into their teachings. Josh and Courtney will be alternating week to week, with our student leaders teaching periodically. God continues to open opportunities for us to serve more athletes and coaches. Shawn and Courtney have been invited to attend the first swim team meeting to explain about FCA and to see if the team is interested in starting team chapels before their events. Josh will be providing his first Men’s soccer team chapel this coming week and continuing the pre-game football chapels on the 29th at Lakeview with the team. Courtney was invited by Coach Walters to attend the women’s tennis team social this past Saturday. This provided a great opportunity for Courtney to interact with the team and their parents. Coach Walters has welcomed Courtney into his program and we are hoping for the opportunity to facilitate team chapels and study. Courtney and Josh met individually with 15 athletes this week to encourage them in their faith. We continue to see God moving the coaches and athletes lives as we spend more time with each of the programs. Please continue to pray for favor with the students and coaches and for Josh and Courtney to have wisdom to balance their complex schedules. Please continue to pray for the freshman students as they transition to collegiate life on campus.
Coaches:
The Football coach’s study resumed this Friday as Josh taught from Titus 3 and being “The Real Deal”. Shawn, Courtney and Josh continue to attend practices and workouts seizing the opportunities to interact, encourage and pray for the coaches while they are on the field. The coaches seem to genuinely appreciate our contact and encouragement. Please pray for God to encourage and touch the lives of each of the coaches as they gather together to study God’s word and navigate the challenges of their profession. Several of the coaches wives have expressed interest in beginning a coaches wives Bible study. Our board member, Sabra Spiker will be supporting this effort. Pray that God would orchestrate a support for these women as they navigate the very unique challenges of professional athletics.
Community:
MARK YOU CALENDARS FOR OCT 4TH. We will be hosting an FCA breakfast get-together the morning of the Rutgers game at a facility very close to the stadium. We will be sending out announcements very soon with details. Volunteers are needed to help with the event. If you are interested please contact Shawn. We are still recruiting individuals that see the value of FCA at WVU and desire to financially support the work here. Our ultimate goal is to have 200 supporters committed to financially support WVU FCA $100 per month. We presently have 31 folks committed and engaged. If you know someone that would like to be involved and would like information sent to them, please contact Shawn. There are many ways to support this work financially. As a non-profit organization, we can receive donations of vehicles, stocks and properties for donation and tax write-off purposes. If you are interested in donating a vehicle or other items or would like more information, please contact Shawn. We are planning fundraising events for Petersburg and Martinsburg. If you or someone you know would like to attend an event or host an event, please contact Shawn at sfrasher@fca.org.
Our “PRAYER TEAM” is growing strong and now has 11 members committed to faithfully call out to God on behalf of FCA at WVU. We are very blessed God is raising up individuals willing to intercede for the coaches, athletes and ministry of FCA at WVU on a weekly basis. We believe this is where our victories will be won. We are planning to host a prayer team brunch in Morgantown in October. Courtney will be contacting the team to coordinate the event. Courtney continues to send weekly prayer needs to our Prayer Team for intercessory prayer. Please consider joining the Team and join us in praying for God to continue His work on campus at WVU. We will be safeguarding the privacy of the prayer requests to ensure our athletes and coach’s privacy is protected. If you would like to join the prayer team, email Courtney at cwilkes@fca.org. We have had several folks recently express a desire to be involved with volunteering with FCA. We are blessed to see God raising up good folks in our community that desire to see our coaches and athletes grow in Christ. We are always looking for volunteer support, if you would like to be more involved with WVU-FCA email Shawn at sfrasher@fca.org. Courtney and Josh are also compiling a contact list of FCA Alumni. If you are an FCA Alum and would like more info please contact Josh at jsonoga@fca.org.
Camps:
On campus camps were a tremendous blessing this year as God opened the opportunity to provide FCA during two of the camps. Our prayer is to have more opportunity next year. Please join us in praying for the opportunity to offer FCA at each youth sports camp next year. Josh and Courtney will be encouraging the students over the coming year to seize the opportunity serve at camp during the next year.
Opportunities to Serve WVU-FCA:
1. Join WVU/FCA prayer support team. (11 members already on the team)
2. Host a fundraising event in your local area.
3. Volunteer to help with events.
4. Financial support.
Prayer requests for WVU-FCA:
1. Strength and endurance for the Coaching staff’s as they ramp up for their seasons.
2. Safe travel for the teams.
3. Healing for injured athletes.
4. Smooth and safe transition for incoming freshman.
5. Smooth transition to Monday nights for huddle.
6. Sponsors for Monday night dinners.
7. On-going financial support for the FCA ministry at WVU.
