Saturday, June 6, 1998

FCA provides extra dimension to student's life

By LORETTA FULTON / Abilene Reporter-News

If it weren't for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Steve Keenum might not be where he is today -- head football coach at Methodist-affiliated McMurry University.

As a 15-year-old at Duncanville High School, Keenum came from a split home, and the main male influence in his life was his coach.

"Coach invited me to a meeting," Keenum said. "I became a Christian through FCA."

That will be the testimony of many of the 500 youngsters expected next week at Hardin-Simmons University for a national Fellowship of Christian Athletes leadership camp.

The camp, set for Monday through Friday, annually draws hundreds of high school age students and adult leaders to the HSU campus, said Tim McCarry, HSU facilities coordinator.

"It's part of our whole summer program," he said.

While at Hardin-Simmons, the campers will live in the dorms, eat in the school cafeteria, and take in some shopping. But mainly they will learn how to be leaders of campus Huddles, the local level of FCA.

Before joining the staff at McMurry, Keenum was an assistant to Randy Allen at Ballinger, Brownwood and Cooper High School, where Allen currently is head football coach.

Allen was another strong influence on Keenum's FCA involvement.

"Coach Allen made sure we started a Huddle wherever we went," Keenum said.

FCA still is a major part of Allen's life, too. Having been influenced himself by the legendary Merrill Green as a player at Cooper, Allen learned early on the value of FCA. It even had some influence on his decision to become a coach.

"Being able to combine the two (coaching and FCA) was very appealing to me," he said.

In college at Southern Methodist University, Allen remembers his faith being challenged and the comfort he found in FCA.

"It kept us encouraged during some real challenging times intellectually in the classroom," Allen said.

Abilene's three universities and its high schools all have FCA involvement. At Cooper, football and soccer coach Joel Bundick is beginning his fourth year as a Huddle leader. He became associated with FCA as a student at Hardin-Simmons.

The influence on the high school students he coaches is invaluable, Bundick believes..

"It provides them with a peer group," he said.

Many students feel the need for a safe place to pray and be with friends who are "all on the same page," Bundick said.

A fellow coach and former Cooper player, Jon Harrison, agreed.

"It's just a good opportunity to hear Christian people talk," he said.

Born in 1954, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes held its first summer athletic camp in 1956 with 256 in attendance. Today, an estimated 500,000 people are involved nationwide, evenly divided between men and women.

The involvement includes students in junior and senior high and college.

The mission of the group, founded by Don McClanen, remains the same after 40-plus years: "To present to athletes and coaches, and all whom they influence, the challenge and adventure of receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, serving Him in their relationships and in the fellowship of the church."

For McMurry coach Keenum and others, FCA adds a new dimension to a student-athlete's life.

"Your life is balanced -- it's not all just one thing," he said.