{"id":49753,"date":"2021-07-06T08:29:10","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T12:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=49753"},"modified":"2021-07-12T16:09:15","modified_gmt":"2021-07-12T20:09:15","slug":"back-in-business-fellowship-for-christian-athletes-campers-kick-off-summer-season-for-campus-crews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/back-in-business-fellowship-for-christian-athletes-campers-kick-off-summer-season-for-campus-crews\/","title":{"rendered":"Back in business: Fellowship for Christian Athletes campers kick off summer season for campus crews"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For a few weeks, Jenn Gustavus<\/strong> was holding her breath about the Mid-Atlantic region\u2019s Fellowship for Christian Athletes (FCA) summer camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe opened registration May 5 and by May 24, we only had 50 campers and we weren\u2019t sure this was going to happen,\u201d said Gustavus, administrative assistant to the state FCA director. \u201cBut God was at work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She gives this synopsis while also, in succession, handling a request for XL t-shirts, telling a camper how to work around a lost ID card, and fielding other questions from various staff and coaches coming in and out of camp headquarters in the Eastern Mennonite University commons. With no sign of flagging energy on the third day of the four-day camp, she also mentions doing a dorm check at 11:30 p.m. the night before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGod at work\u201d in this particular context means that by Sunday [June 27], 268 teenagers were travelling to EMU from Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Gustavus, camp director Todd Burger<\/strong>, 25 coaches, and 56 staffers were ready for action — and ready to shake the rust off after a year of interactions that were limited by COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So were EMU\u2019s director of auxiliary services, Cheryl Montgomery<\/strong>, and her staff, as well as Bruce Emmerson<\/strong>, director of dining services at Pioneer College Catering, and his staff in the university dining hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Montgomery has actually been waiting for the FCA campers for close to two years. The organization booked EMU facilities for the first time in summer 2020 after having been based at University of Richmond for many years. Then COVID hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
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FCA athletes participate in activities on the turf field.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Even up until a few months ago, Montgomery was liaising with FCA and campus officials and paying close attention to government regulations to determine if events would be allowed and what limitations might be in effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FCA camp is the first large group that EMU has hosted this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unusual sight of hundreds of teenagers — string bags on their backs and athletic gear in their hands, crossing Park Avenue, lined up on the turf field or clustered in small groups under any available shade tree — has drawn a lot of attention. (\u201cCampus is hopping. What\u2019s going on?\u201d came the email from one curious EMU employee.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been a slow process, Montgomery says, working with planners through so many uncertainties. She estimates EMU will host only about 25 percent of their normal summer bookings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStill, we\u2019re so glad to have people back on campus this summer. It\u2019s been great getting to know FCA staff and volunteers,\u201d she said. \u201cOur groups usually return, we get to know them and they become like family. Every summer is a bit of a family reunion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family is one theme of the FCA camp, too. Many coaches and staff bring their families, which means all-camp events includes all age ranges from babies on up, Gustavus said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s also \u201cour SuperBowl,\u201d she said, the biggest event of the year in part because of its size but also for its potential impact on young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn some ways, high school is the last opportunity to introduce them to Jesus,\u201d Gustavus said, \u201cand this age group is prime for the introduction. We get every kind of background under the sun and they all need Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming to faith in Christ through sports is the natural hook for athletes, said Burger, who moved into his FCA work through involvement in baseball. (FCA also offers some sport-specific camps.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At all-sports camps, campers work out in two practice sessions guided by college and high school coaches each day. Instruction in eight sports is offered. Campers also participate in huddles, or devotionals, with leaders who are college athletes.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kendrick Golhston<\/strong>, a former professional football player and director of Northern Roanoke Valley FCA, guides a daily devotional time \u201cDoing Sports God\u2019s Way,\u201d built around 1 Timothy 6:11 and the camp theme of \u201cPursue.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSunday was pursuing love, yesterday was \u2018pursue worship,\u2019 today was \u2018pursue unity,\u2019 and tomorrow will be \u2018pursue rest.\u2019 God is in each one of those things,\u201d Gohlson said. \u201cWe talk about being competitive and in pursuit. You can be competitive and still have the will to win but when you win what are you winning for? That\u2019s the difference between those who have accepted Christ and those who haven\u2019t.  When I\u2019m winning, I\u2019m bringing Him glory. I am not bringing it on myself but on Him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each evening, everyone gathers for a program, which includes games, skits, music, testimonials, and a speaker. Burger said the highlight of the week, for him and many others, is the last evening program. \u201cThursday, our last day, we do a last chapel and the athletes and sometimes coaches give a testimonial about what happened at camp and it\u2019s so powerful. Sometimes we hear about an athlete who their coach will say at the beginning may not be open and then they\u2019ll get up and talk about what happened \u2026 that\u2019s what we\u2019re here for.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For a few weeks, Jenn Gustavus was holding her breath about the Mid-Atlantic region\u2019s Fellowship for Christian Athletes (FCA) summer camp. \u201cWe opened registration May 5 and by May 24, ... read more about Back in business: Fellowship for Christian Athletes campers kick off summer season for campus crews<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4516,5583,14184,17562,5642],"tags":[17830,14034,17831,17832],"feature":[17427,17426,17241,17422],"class_list":["post-49753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletics","category-campus-community","category-campus-guests","category-digest","category-faculty-and-staff","tag-auxiliary-services","tag-bruce-emmerson","tag-cheryl-montgomery","tag-dining-services","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature","feature-news-landing-page-main-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nBack in business: Fellowship for Christian Athletes campers kick off summer season for campus crews - 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