On a typical Friday morning at 7 a.m., senior Eisley Sandefur can be found in the lecture hall with a box of donuts on the front table and chattering voices filling the air.
This consistency in Eisley’s weekday mornings was only started a few months ago with the beginning of FHC’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). Other schools in the area, like Forest Hills Northern, have their own divisions of FCA, which is how Eisley learned about it.
“I wanted to start FCA because a teacher from [Forest Hills] Northern brought it up to me [about] how big it was getting there and how cool it would be to have FCA [at FHC],” Eisley said. “I wanted people from school to get the opportunity to meet some other Christians and build a community in the school.”
Eisley then got in touch with West Michigan FCA to try to create an FCA group at FHC. But to make a new club, Eisley needed members.
“I spread the word to get people interested and involved,” Eisley said. “[Seniors] Mia Young and Jonas Vander Woude were willing to help with anything, and [information] eventually got around. We eventually set up an interest meeting to see who was interested.”
Before the interest meeting, Eisley also needed a teacher advisor since every club at FHC needs one.
Luckily, Eisley didn’t have to look far, as woodshop teacher Rob Miedema was excited to help.
“A few students approached me about being the advisor a few months ago,” Miedema said. “I loved the idea of having a place where students could meet at school with other students and grow in their understanding of God’s word and faith in Jesus Christ. My faith is at the core of who I am and how I live, so to advise a group like this and connect with students was an easy decision.”
With an advisor as passionate about FCA as Miedema, the group was ready for a meeting to see who was interested.
At the interest meeting, the group set their day and time of the week for FCA’s meetings and got the leaders of FCA together.
Senior Hayden Bolter became one of the leaders of FCA following the interest meeting, though he didn’t anticipate that outcome before walking into the room.
“I originally wasn’t interested in FCA,” Hayden said, “but then my friend [senior] Will Hoffman was like, ‘we should just go to the meeting and just see.’ Then, I learned that it was a new thing to FHC, which I didn’t know. And then, I really liked the people, and I liked how we were starting this, and I liked the idea of what it could be. So, I was like, ‘this seems like a really fun thing just to get involved in.’”
Since the first meeting, FCA has developed a pretty typical routine for all of their meetings—which are called huddles—and are led by the FCA leaders, like Hayden.
In a typical huddle, for the first few minutes, people socialize and grab donuts before an icebreaker, such as this or that questions. Then, the leaders begin a discussion and lesson about different topics each week. Finally, FCA closes with a prayer.
Hayden believes that the structure and lessons of FCA are important for Christian students.
“I think, in my opinion, public school can sometimes be difficult for Christians because there’s a lot of temptation that is normalized,” Hayden said. “And there are a lot of things normally in high school that really shouldn’t be or that don’t necessarily align with Christianity. And so it’s hard to see through that, especially if stuff has been normalized. So, I think having FCA once a week in addition to whatever else people do, like church, is nice to have a community at school. Specifically, [a community] where people can help you with various things you are struggling with at high school rather than just having church friends who aren’t in public school.”
Miedema agrees with Hayden’s sentiment of wanting students to join.
The name may seem like only Christian athletes may join, but the group is open to anyone questioning their faith or wanting to learn more about Christianity as well. Non-athletes are also more than welcome.
While FCA is new to FHC this year, Miedema still hopes to see more involvement during the current school year and has a growing interest in keeping it for years to come.
“I’d love to see more kids get involved by showing up to the huddle on Friday mornings and to watch kids grow in their faith and build positive relationships with each other,” Miedema said. “Huddles provide a quality environment for students to connect with other students. [They are] also a place to learn more about what the Bible teaches, who God is, and what that looks like in their daily life.”
