'Phenomenal to See' -God Moving among SoCal Students; Christian Coaches Prove to Be Valuable Role Models for Kids

Michael Ashcraft : Sep 6, 2018
God Reports

"Billy Graham once said, 'A coach will influence more people in one year than most people will influence in a lifetime.' So we want to see our coaches empowered and equipped to make an impact on their students for Christ and to guide them in the right direction." -Josh Brodt, Fellowship of Christian Athletes

[God Reports] Whenever Christians complain about declining attendance in established churches, Josh Brodt pipes up about the thousands of kids who accept Jesus every year. Revival is happening in public schools, he says. (Photo: FCA/via God Reports)

"We've seen quite a revival taking place in the San Fernando Valley," says Josh, 34. "Students are hungry for something real, something more than what the world offers. It's clear to me that students need genuine faith in something more than themselves, and they're searching for that.

"It's been phenomenal to see."

Josh works for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which coordinates with students to bring professional and college athletes to talk to high school sports teams. He personally meets with coaches and students at 15 high schools.

Last academic year, FCA workers in the San Fernando Valley, a part of Los Angeles that holds about half its population, saw 459 kids get saved, and they gave away 2,000 Bibles. The year prior, 900 students accepted Jesus, he says.

"A lot of students feel like outsiders, like they don't have a place to belong, a place to call their own." Josh says. "FCA is a place where people can belong, a spiritual community where students can feel comfortable."

"On campuses people are desperate for God, they're desperate for Jesus," he adds. "A lot of them are recognizing that, and they're making decisions towards that end."

Media and sociological reports harp on declining memberships in established protestant churches and the growth of "nones," people who report to Census and other surveys as having no religion.

But these depressing numbers don't tell the whole story. While "established" churches may be declining and closing, those same surveys don't catch the number of new churches opening simply because they don't register them.

Josh Brodt speaks before student athletes at Bellevue Recreation Center in Los Angeles.

And while the number of "nones" grows significantly, the hopelessness of a meaningless and moral-less worldview make for a ripe harvest field.

FCA works mostly with football teams because they have more players. They meet twice a week, first in the huddle with student leaders to pray and plan, then with the whole team for pep talks, pizzas, games and prizes. They push for the kids to accept Jesus.

Then they run summer weeklong football camps for about a thousand students with college and pro athletes at UCLA... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here.

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