MS FCA April/May 2015 Ministry Update

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them - Ephesians 2:9-10

When we know Whose we are, we know who we are, and when we know who we are, we know what to do. Coaches have tremendous opportunity to shape the internal compass & identity, of athletes around our state. Identity fuels purpose and living on purpose leads us to legacy. Our prayer is that coaches and athletes would find their identity and purpose in Christ.

Dennis sharing Christ at Golf Tournament.

Dennis Shirley, a retired coach who serves as volunteer staff member, models legacy. Several months ago I was talking to Dennis via phone and his prayer request was to recover from a stroke enough to be able to travel to schools and minister to coaches. While Dennis's health prevented him from traveling, he consistently ministered to coaches through phone calls and text messages.

God has answered Dennis's prayer request. He is back driving and ministering to coaches in Alcorn, Prentiss, and Tishomingo counties. Last Friday, a golf tournament benefiting FCA was held in his honor. 21 teams participated and everyone I met had a Dennis Shirley story. Dennis gets it. We were created for legacy and legacy is built on God-honoring relationships.

Sincerely Inspired,

Josh Gilreath

State Director

Mississippi FCA

PRAY FOR LEADERSHIP CAMP

2015 Camp Theme

39 College Students from around MS will arrive on June 2nd to serve as Huddle Leaders for our 191 HS FCA Leaders who will be on the campus of Belhaven University on June 4 - 6. These HS leaders are strategic in reaching the campuses of Mississippi with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please pray the the Lord will make significant spiritual deposits in them, which will result in the Kingdom of God being expanded at their local schools.

Coaches Ministry Academy

COACHES Ministry

FCA Coaches Academy

The words and actions of coaches are very influential and powerful. Sport has now become the largest discretionary activity we participate in as a culture. The ESPN family of networks has a larger viewership than all of the other cable news stations combined. Sport is the number one thing we read about on the internet, media, and other media outlets. It shouldn't be any surprise that the words and actions of coaches are shaping our culture. Most coaches have a strategy for X's and O's but don't have a Y ( Why do I coach and what is my strategy to develop people?) If a coach is only concerned in developing athletes (1st dimension skills) and not the whole person (their identity and values), he/she is missing their true purpose.

FCA Coaches Academy is a 23-unit online coaches academy that empowers coaches to maximize their influence by creating a strategy for all three levels (body, mind and heart). This enables them to capture the hearts of their athletes and develop and fulfill their transformational purpose.

Our staff is continuing to launch coaches huddles where coaches can journey thorough this academy together.

Staffing

"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" - Luke 10:2

Please welcome Chelsea Deleon to our FC A staff team. Chelsea is a graduate of Belhaven and former soccer player for the Blaz ers. She is joining our staff June 1 as an intern for District 6 (Metro Area).

Please pray for Jacob Hickman (Pearl River Coutny) and Jonathan Fulcher (Meridian Area) as they work to secure support needed to join our staff team in the near future.

FCA INTERNATIONAL

The FCA vision is to "impact the world for Jesus Christ through the influence of athletes and coaches". Our Mississippi FCA staff is continuing to follow God's leading and carry out our vision. In addition to our spring trips to Haiti and Honduras, Justin Graves (Jones County FCA) will be leading athletes and coaches to Spanish Wells (June 19-26 & July 18-15). Mitchell Williams will be leading a team to Guatemala (June 11-18).

Mississippi FCA | 601-856-3224 | [email protected] | http://www.mississippifca.org
PO Box 449
Ridgeland, MS 39158