FCA Asks, What Does It Mean To Give God The Glory In Sports?
Courtesy of FCA
Since 1954, Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) has been challenging coaches and athletes to use the dynamic platform of sports to reach their peers with the transforming power of Jesus Christ.
Each year FCA launches an annual theme designed to encourage participants with God’s truth, provide them with opportunities to connect to the ministry of FCA and help them go deeper in their faith.
For 2025, FCA’s theme is “Glory,” an initiative that encourages coaches and athletes to compete and pursue excellence in a way that honors God and elevates His name.
But what does it look like for an athlete to give God the glory?
FCA Chief Sport Officer Sean McNamara said, “When we shift our focus from self-glory to God's glory, we find true purpose and the joy that God wants us to experience in competition. As we desire to bring honor to God in competition, we are reminded it’s not just what we accomplish that matters, but that we compete to represent Him.”
To equip coaches and athletes with ways to give God the glory in their sport, FCA takes a deeper look at this game-changing idea, starting off with a key insight: The drive and desire for achieving personal glory is everywhere in today’s culture.
“It’s all over the place: the push to move yourself up the ladder of influence, success and fame. From self-indulgent Instagram posts to pushing a teammate out of the way to end up on top, we can be tempted to try and amass as much glory for ourselves in our sport as possible.
“But, even if you reach the heights of success, isn’t something off? Does it feel like something is missing? Could it be that we were never meant to hold the weight of glory? Perhaps, that glory belongs to Someone else.
“The way you play basketball effortlessly — that’s a gift given by God. Your ability to lead a team well? Another talent tailored by God. He’s intimately acquainted with every part of us, and if we lean into this wonderful knowledge that we are created in God’s image because He deemed it good, our focus begins to shift off self and onto the glorious One who is God.
“If we recognize that we are made in God’s image and that He has given us our abilities, how do we use that knowledge to guide us in our sport?”
For coaches and athletes, it’s vital that they stop and listen to His voice.
“Take time during the day to listen to God. Talk to Him, pause, get still and listen to what He is saying. Read the Bible, meditate on a verse and see how you can incorporate it into your day. Maybe that’s giving a word of encouragement to a struggling teammate or staying late at practice to help clean up. Live out what you’ve learned from God.”
Next, coaches and athletes should actively seek after His heart.
“Read about Jesus’ life in the Gospels. How did He interact with the people around Him? What kinds of people did He meet with, pray for and teach?”
And finally, it’s key to shift one’s focus from self to others.
“God created us to rely on one another. Think about how you can make someone’s day better, instead of just bettering your own. When we live out of the love of God, we want to share that same love with others.
“God created you with care and wants you to use the talents He has placed in you to pursue His glory. When you do well in a game, give Him praise. When you don’t do well, give Him praise. Remember Whose you are and lean into that identity.”
FCA’s theme for 2025 is “Glory,” based on 2 Corinthians 3:18: “We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.” FCA reminds coaches and athletes that their identity and value is found in Christ, rather than their sport.
Visit Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ website at www.fca.org, its Facebook page at www. f acebook. com/ TheFCATeam, its Instagram page at www.instagram. com/thefcateam or its X (formerly Twitter) feed www.x.com/TheFCATeam.
