We wanted to try something different to kick off a new year of ministry with FCA in the US Virgin Islands. We plan to bring you monthly highlight stories along with quarterly newsletters allowing you to experience the ministry in a new and different way.

The month of September marks the beginning of the 2026-27 fiscal year for FCA. This month's highlight focuses on a facility partnership that has become a home base of operations for FCA in the US Virgin Islands

Free Will Baptist Christian School (and Church) is a small Christian mission school on St. Croix that serves a little over 200 students age 3 to 12th grade. They strive to provide a quality Christian education for students and families on the island and for almost 4 years now, FWBCS has provided FCA the opportunity to do ministry on its campus. This has enabled FCA to host Huddles, basketball camps and clinics, Fields of Faith, and much more.

The FWBCS gym serves as the current home for our HOOPS Academy program as well as a brand new program for coaches and local ministry leaders called the FCA Leaders' Huddle. The main athletic field has served as the host site for Fields of Faith since 2023 and is set to host the 4th annual event in November of this year. This past spring and summer two different mission teams were able to use the gym to host a 3 on 3 basketball tournament as well as a week long camp. One of our most long-standing opportunities to do ministry on the FWBCS campus has come through their chapel services. We are in our 4th year of being a part of this weekly service that provides an opportunity to share God's Word with over 200 students.

Every Huddle, camp, clinic, chapel service, and event means an opportunity to build relationships and share the Gospel with athletes, coaches and families. We are extremely thankful to Free Will Baptist Christian School for their ongoing partnership with FCA and allowing us to use their campus as a primary base of operations.

Special Opportunity:

Like most small private schools, FWBCS relies on tuition, grants, and donations as a means of funding operations, maintaining facilities, and funding upgrades and improvements. FWBCS works hard to keep their tuition affordable which requires them to operate on a limited budget. Currently the school has a need to do some upgrades and improvements to their gym. This includes new basketball goals mounted from the ceiling, new flooring, new signage and paint, and other facility needs. These improvements and upgrades will enable FWBCS as well as FCA to host various sporting events, tournaments and programs that not only provide opportunities for ministry but that also are a means of generating revenue to help support ongoing ministry opportunities for both organizations.

If you would like to learn more about how you, your church, or your business could be a part of making these improvements possible, please reach out to me. We are open to work groups, supply and equipment donations, and sponsorships of various aspects of these projects.

Matt Roberts

FCA Director | US Virgin Islands

mroberts@fca.org | (812) 345-2774

The 2026-27 school year is in full swing for our household. Emily is in year 2 as elementary principal at FWBCS and Jada's senior year is underway. Jada decided to help out as an assistant coach for the elementary cross country team and she also works as and aftercare supervisor on Emily's campus 2-3 days a week. Emily's daily schedule ranges from checking with her teaching staff, conferencing with students, planning special events, meeting with other administrators, and much more. Needless to say there is never a dull moment.

I am also settling into my expanded role with FWBCS as I serve as Athletic Director and Athletic Facilities Manager. I was excited to step into this new role to help expand my opportunities to work with coaches, athletes, and families. Our fall season featured athletes participating in flag football, volleyball, and cross country. As an athletic department, we have implemented a student athlete recognition and incentive program called "The Warrior Way". This program is centered on helping athletes and coaches alike learn how to compete with character, ownership, relationships, and excellence and developing a strong CORE.

We officially hit the 5 year mark of moving to St. Croix back at the beginning of August. As we look back, it is clearly evident that God directed us here and has blessed us with opportunities to serve Him in many different ways. Thank you for continuing on this journey with us!