The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is the largest Christian campus ministry in the world. It is on more campuses than the next three largest campus ministries combined. In the past year, FCA reached more than 350,000 people on over 7,100 campuses and worked with more than 46,000 coaches and athletes at camps across the globe.

The numbers for this ministry are staggering. Still, even though it's been around since 1954, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a mystery to many. Even the late Tom Landry, legendary Dallas Cowboys’ coach and lifetime trustee of FCA, used to call FCA “America’s best-kept secret.”

Most people have at least heard of it, but some of them can’t really say for sure what FCA is all about.

One of LaDainian Tomlinson’s favorite verses is Luke 12:48: “...Much will be required of everyone who has been given much...” The passage, which is a direct quote from Jesus to His disciples, is one LT’s mother instilled in him when he was young and that now serves as one of his core life principles. It sits there, in the back of his mind, waiting to be recalled at any moment that he might need to explain just why he is so generous with his time and resources.

Into the first 10 years of my pro golf career, my spiritual life could be described as “just going through the motions.” I went to church growing up and knew all the right things to say, but I didn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. That all changed in 1985.

A bicycle kick in itself is pretty mystifying, considering the player begins the kick with his back facing the intended target. He then hurls his head and upper body backward toward the ground while his feet and legs whip up into the place his upper body was. All of these acrobatics are an attempt to accurately strike a flying soccer ball.

Imagine executing that kind of kick while your team is trailing 1-0 in the waning seconds of a highly competitive Superliga final match.

Wildfires aren’t typically associated with Hawaii, but that may be about to change—just don’t expect to see actual flames consuming the palm trees and pineapples. This fire is spiritual, and it’s one that is being used by God to spread His Word across the islands, specifically through FCA and the student-athletes at the University of Hawaii.

Florida State University sophomore Caroline Smith made an immediate splash with the Seminole swimming team when, as a freshman, she set the school record in the 500-yard freestyle. Even more impressive was the fact that she did so while turning in a stellar classroom performance, earning ACC Honor Roll honors and a 4.0 GPA. Still, as member of FSU’s FCA leadership team, Smith knows the records and honors are blessings from the Lord, whom she joyfully worships both in and out of the pool.

The life of Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews has been epitomized by resilience and perseverance, stability and strength. The stats he produced as a fixture on the Houston-turned-Tennessee offensive line are legendary, and his name is a consistent example for line coaches who seek to inspire greatness in their athletes. And if those athletes never had the opportunity to see Matthews play, a quick reading of his accomplishments makes their jaws drop in awe.

In August, Sports Illustrated tabbed 16 athletes as their “Stars of Tomorrow.” One of those talented, young competitors was 17-year-old Rocco Grimaldi, who has accumulated a long list of athletic achievements even though he’s still in high school. This month, we discovered that there’s more to this young hockey phenom than great puck-handling skills. One thing? His desire to bring Christ to the world of hockey one teammate at a time.

The love that Cameron Mills had for Kentucky Wildcat basketball earned him little more than an unheralded spot on the bench. His passion for the sport, however, and his deadly accuracy from three-point range, brought him into the national spotlight through a pair of NCAA national championships.

Whether you realize it or not, you are a warrior — one enlisted in a great battle. As a Christian, the moment you pledged your allegiance to Jesus Christ and became a member of God’s Kingdom you became a sworn enemy of the devil and his armies of darkness. And every day, you wage war against those armies of evil. The question is, are you armed and ready?

I grew up in McKeesport, Pa., which is a town of about 24,000 right outside of Pittsburgh. It was a quiet place for my mom and stepdad to raise our family, which consisted of me, my two younger siblings and my older cousin, who became my older brother after my parents adopted him.