Welcome To The Metro Detroit FCA Blog

The first SE Michigan FCA Vision Dinner is a huge success!

Mon, 25 May 2026 20:24:02 GMT

Over 300 gathered together to celebrate what the Lord has done in SE Michigan through FCA.

At 6:30pm on Friday, May 8th, the doors opened to our very first Vision Dinner for SE Michigan FCA. This event required 22 weeks of work as our Vision Dinner team was guided by the organization Fundraising Masterminds. A huge thank you to the members of our team: Audra Brockway, Vision Dinner Coordinator, Tom Gordy, Table Host Coordinator, May Boudreaux, Director of Volunteer Efforts, Bryan Masi, Registration Coordinator, and Rachel Everett, Marketing. Each played a major role in the planning, organization, and execution of our first Vision Dinner in SE Michigan. We are so grateful for you.

We are also grateful for the 37 table hosts that invited our attendees. Thank you for sharing your time, talents, and treasures so that more coaches and athletes can be impacted in our area. It was so encouraging to see 322 members of the body of Christ come together with intentionality. The Holy Spirit was in the room as we activated our gifts and became unified toward one goal. To lead every coach and athlete in SE Michigan into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His church!

We were blessed to have Pastor Steve Barkey of Orchard Ridge Church in Romeo open and close our evening in prayer. His church has become a FCA partner in the Romeo Community. They have not just provided financially, but with volunteers as well. He was intentional and thoughtful as he invited the Holy Spirit to guide and lead our event.

Our first testimony of the evening was delivered by Pat Threet, Football Coach at St. Clair Shores Lakeview. Pat shared passionately how FCA has impacted his team and his family. His story of how his son David has been to impact teammates was inspiring.

Our third testimony was delivered by Maria Bartolone Varner, board member of Metro Detroit FCA for the last seven years. She spoke from the experience of being a Home Team member, a part time administrative assistant, as well as an empowered volunteer. She values the relationships with staff and other board members. They are like a family to her.

To close out our program we asked two high school athletes if they would honor us with a sharing of the Gospel using The Four as their guide. FCA uses The Four to help provide coaches and athletes a simple and repeatable way to share the Gospel with others. Bryson Park and Skylar Paduch of Romeo High are both sophomores and are multisport athletes. They were articulate and passionate about sharing the Good News of why Jesus came to rescue us!

Thank you to our Emcee Kurt David whose professionalism and humor kept our evening flowing in a smooth and effective pace. Kurt is former professional basketball player who now helps individuals and businesses deal with change. He has also mentored our current FCA staff in Michigan in their leadership. He added so much value to our event!

Our current Board Chair, Dave VanEpps delivered a power personal story of Jeff and his FCA bible that helped set the tone for the giving opportunities that were to come later in the evening. He has been the chair for the last 7 years. His leadership and guidance are second to none. His attention to detail was amazing to watch!

Our second testimony was delivered by Sam Broome, athlete from Milford Lakeland High School. FCA has showed him that having a relationship with Jesus isn't private. He now is living his life with the intention to spread the Word of God.

We were honored to have Pastor Steve Andrews, co-founder of Kensington Churches. Steve has had a front row seat to seeing the ministry of FCA grow in SE Michigan. He has provided encouragement and guidance to current Director Tim Morton, over the last 6 years. He delivered a powerful message that included the urgency to minister to coaches. "Who is going to guide these coaches who have so much influence?" It was amazing to hear how much FCA has had influence in his own life and others he has known.

To date, there has been nearly $135,000 committed to help three of our goals to become a reality:

To develop and resource 25 new campus ministries by the fall of 2027.
To plan, organize and implement 5 new camps in the 2027 ministry year.
To recruit, hire, train, and develop our first Area Director by the 2027 ministry year.

There are still a few financial commitments left to come in. We could not have done this without everyone involved and the help of the Lord! Fundraising Masterminds has awarded SE Michigan FCA a Bronze award for raising over $100,000 in our first Vision Dinner. This qualifies us for the Winner's Circle. This is an extension of the current program that helps organizations build momentum from their first dinner. We are excited about this opportunity!

It was also very clear that we will need a new location as the Twin Lakes facility will not be large enough. Can you imagine 500 attendees for next year? If we choose to move forward with the Winner's Circle program, we will start on July 1st. What we are most excited about are the new relationships that have been started and the current relationships that have been strengthened. The best is yet to come!

Faith, Fellowship, & Football 2026 Moves to St.Clair Shores!

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 16:13:02 GMT

This next generation leaves us feeling one thing...HOPE.

This event began as a thought in the fall of 2023 when three Christ pursuing high school football coaches came to us with a vision of an event that they had been thinking about. We are grateful for the intentionality of Curt Rienas (Romeo), Pat Threet (St. Clair Shores Lakeview), and Justin Newcomb (Sterling Heights Stevenson). The first Faith, Fellowship and Football event was held on February 17th, 2024 at Grace Christian Church in Sterling Heights. We had 10 high schools represented with 50 coaches and athletes in attendance. They wanted to create an opportunity for coaches and athletes to come together and build community and grow in their faith. Many of the schools that attended competed with each other during the season. Faith, Fellowship and Football is now thriving.

We were blessed to have former Detroit Lion Jason Hanson to help us kick off the evening with an inspiring message based on 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. "If you are not doing spiritual training, you are not competing for Christ." God is not asking you to prove yourself. Jesus is asking you to put your identity in Him.

The agenda for the evening started with Pregame from 5-6pm with fellowship and dinner provided by Buscemi's Pizza. A great big thank you to Josh and Serena Holbrooks, for sponsoring the dinner.

The first quarter included some icebreaker activities to help the athletes and huddle leaders engage before Jason Hanson took the stage. This was led by Curt Rienas of Romeo.

The second quarter provide some huddle up time with our athletes being guided by some amazing huddle leaders made up of volunteers and current FCA staff. Coaches huddled up with FCA Director Tim Morton for some reflection and fellowship.

Faith, Fellowship and Football 2026 was held on March 8th. 16 high schools were represented with over 100 coaches and athletes in attendance. There were over a dozen guests that just wanted to see it. Most importantly, 22 athletes dedicated their life to Christ!

As an added bonus, we were blessed to hear the testimony of four EMU football athletes that were recruited by Justin Newcomb. We want to thank Carter Evans, Caleb Coley, Zach Mowchan, and Warren Stevens-Tayou for their testimonies and being huddle leaders for the high school athletes in attendance.

The fourth quarter started with some wonderful worship led by the New Life Church worship team. Pat Threet, of Lakeview High School and three of his athletes closed out our evening with a powerful sharing of the Gospel and a call to receive Christ as Savior.

This event has proved some great follow up opportunities with the coaches and athletes involved. A special thanks to Pastor Tommy Sheerer, Phil Semlow, Rich Lastomirsky and the worship team at New Life Christian Church for their partnership and their willingness to be a part of our evening. Our prayer is that this event will continue to grow and be a launch point for ministry opportunities for Metro Detroit FCA.

A Record-Breaking Day: FCA Raises Over $25,000 at the Champions Invitational

Sat, 29 Nov 2025 03:49:15 GMT

Over $25,000 was raised to help fund SE Michigan Summer Camps and to sow seeds into the SE Michigan Camp Scholarship Fund. 88 amazing individuals that made up 22 teams took on the challenge to go low using a standard scramble format at the R & S Sharf Golf Course at Oakland University. It turned out to be a beautiful fall day!

Thank you to Metro Detroit FCA board members Frantzie Beauduy, Bob Wingfield, Maria Bartolone Varner and Carm Bambrick who helped with check in as well as on the course and at our closing dinner program. A special thank you and well done goes out to Administrative Assistant Audra Brockway, who fought through a knee injury to help with logistics. It was great to have Multi Area Director Tim Morton, and Area Representative Glynn Blackwell as participants with their prospective teams. A special thank you to Anthony Lietz and Aaron Jackson who took pictures and video for this follow up report and for creating the highlight video! We are also grateful for the effort of board members Rob Crosby, Tom Gordy, Branden Carney, and Jim Lambrecht who sponsored teams and were very instrumental in the planning and execution of this event.

Congrats to Team Combs (Caleb Combs, Carter Combs, Jason Combs, Silas Combs) who won with a score of 17 under par! A great big thank you for our dinner speakers who came in to share their personal testimonies and how Metro Detroit FCA has played a part in their spiritual journey's.

Jason Malloy - Athletic Director for Westland John Glenn HS and Adult Huddle Leader

Steve James - Lacrosse Coach at Linden HS and Adult Huddle Leader

Serina Hua - Athlete at Troy HS and Student Huddle Leader

Finally, we want to thank Golf Services Manager Ashley Dewling and Business Office Assistant Katie Grund and their team for their help in the planning and execution of the event. Our prayer is to have this event continue to grow so we can provide resources and serve coaches and athletes in SE Michigan with excellence!

Sponsors:

Event – Jim Lambrecht Family

Dinner – Al Beahn, Real Estate One

Lunch – Craig Meyer, CR Meyer and Associates

Carts – Dave Sokol, Wilshire Benefits Group and Gordie Lindsay, The River Church Holly

Swag Bag – Ben Rush, Smith Brothers Tool

Hole in One – Scott Tanghe, Boulevard Carts

Hole Sponsors:

Dan Young, BCAM

Scott Tanghe, Boulevard Carts

Maria Kopicki, Coldwell Banker

Roger Norberg, C12 Ministries

Mindy Hardwick, Author

Melba Drew, Auburn Hills Community Church

Tony Faraj, Peak Performance Physical Therapy

Steve Barkey, Orchard Ridge Community Church

Dave Halsey, Band of Brothers

Matt Loria, Auxiom

John Morton, Detroit Lions

Alex Snider, Imlay City Christian Reformed Church

Lorriane Armstrong, Katrina Goitz Foundation

Jeremy Barkey, Conqueror’s Way

Shane Gianino, Neway Works

Josh and Serina Holbrooks, Chick Fil A Roseville

Metro Detroit FCA Power Camp Enters Second Year!

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 19:19:02 GMT

Over 130 Campers Have Now Experienced Camp!

On July 28th to July 31st, we hosted our second annual Metro Detroit Basketball Power Camp at the Faith Lutheran Church in Troy, Michigan. This year’s camp we were able to serve 70 athletes and their families. These 3rd through 8th graders trained and competed in soccer, flag football, beach volleyball and basketball.

This was followed by a practice under the instruction of the lead clinician. Snack time and free play was next before closing with huddle time, athlete testimonies and a final encouragement from the camp.

Thank you to our lead clinicians Casey Colussi, Patrick Reyes, Sam Franjione, Mary Stafford and Gloria Wolken for providing some top-notch instruction and motivation during the week. Campers and our staff and volunteers did an amazing job! The Lord did His part by keeping the weather in our favor and no major injuries were suffered. Our camp chaplain Kevin Dupree was outstanding in setting the tone and providing a moving closing each day.

We were joined by 20 amazing staff and volunteers! Each day started out with fifteen minute warm up in their sport. They then transitioned to the opening message and prayer led by our camp chaplain.

We would like to thank our wonderful volunteers who gave of their time and talents to help this camp become a reality. Thank you to our huddle leaders, Serena, Hua, Tom Nance, Ryan Christensen, Tomassino and Benedetto Offer, Ezekiel Schuler, Luke Reyes, Rachel Everett (FCA staff) , and Jahlen Boyce. We saw the Lord work in you and through you!

Thank you to our current Metro Detroit staff Hayden Beckholt, Chris Woolen, Llynette Molan, Austin Molan, Audra Brockway and volunteers Ashley Gilbert, April Lee and Frantzie Beauduy for filling all the roles necessary to make this happen. A special thank you to the Faith Lutheran staff Jeff Olson, Erin Roenicke and Laurie Guidry who locked arms with us and added so much value. Most importantly, there were six camper that gave their lives to Christ for the first time!

Metro Detroit FCA Coaches Kairos Retreat Continues to Create Impact

Sun, 17 Aug 2025 14:58:25 GMT

Over 20 Coaches Have Now Experienced this One of Kind Event!

Purpose: This is a special invite to coaches in Metro Detroit that we feel would add value and appreciate the format. We believe this is the toughest time in the history of sports to be a head coach. This “Kairos” experience is designed to restore, refresh, and reinvigorate coaches for the next season. Coaches are 3-dimensional beings, just like the players they serve. We have created an experience that produces growth in the body, mind, and spirit of each coach that attends. They are treated to a 3-day, 2-night stay on Harsens Island in July. This experience is a collaboration of leadership, motivation, and reconnecting with our purpose in coaching and what brings meaning to our profession. Participants will be provided meals, reflection time, collaboration, and enrichment.

Sunday:

The afternoon begins with a welcome and introductions along with a program overview. One change that we have added is inviting the alumni of this event to come back and be a part of the evening dinner. Some alumni are also asked to reach out to the new coaches that will be experiencing this event. It has been a great way to grow this community. To close the evening, Mike Massucci leads our first session on how to work in your joy. Each coach takes the Working Genius Assessment and gets a profile of how to know if they are working in their joy.

Session three was led by Tim Morton and introduced the concept of a 10-year vision of who they want to become in the areas of faith, family, finances, and fitness. The coaches studied the life of Viktor Frankl who wrote the book Man's Search for Meaning. This laid the foundation for the vision that each coach was considering and the reason for considering it.

Retreat Facilitators: Tim Morton FCA SE Michigan Director, Glynn Blackwell FCA Area Representative, Michael Massucci AEO, Leadership, LLC, Jim Lambrecht, FCA Metro Detroit Board Member.

Retreat Location: Harsens Island on South Channel of St. Clair River.

Monday:

The morning is started with devotional time on the deck overlooking the South Channel of the St. Clair River. The sun is rising over the channel, and it creates a beautiful back drop to dive into God's Word with intentionality. This is led by Tim Morton or Glynn Blackwell. After breakfast, Mike Massucci leads session two on how to work in your joy. There is plenty of free time for coaches to enjoy the property, to fish, paddleboard. This time, we enjoyed a midday boat ride with Jim Lambrecht as our captain. The weather was perfect!

In session four, the coaches did a deep dive into where they were currently at in the areas of faith and family. Vision is not just about setting goals. It's about creating a direction that has intentionality and accountability. It needs to come from a place of vulnerability and humility.

Tuesday:

The day starts again with a morning devotional on the deck before breakfast. The retreat ended with a final morning session, where the coaches explored a vision for the areas of finances and fitness. The goal was to have clarity in all four areas and a plan of action steps to live it out. Each coach was encouraged to seek out mentorship to help provide accountability and encouragement.

There have been over 20 coaches and athletic directors who have experienced this retreat. It has been a blessing to all involved. We have seen coaches be empowered to lead themselves in a better way so they can be better for those that our under their care. It has created a community of like-minded coaches that are on mission for Christ. The are highly motivated, very intentional, and are learning to fall in love with the process of sanctification that we are all on. The best is yet to come!

Metro Detroit FCA Team Basketball Camp continues to grow!

tmorton@fca.org (Timothy Morton) — Sat, 16 Aug 2025 05:12:40 GMT

28 Schools with over 400 athletes and coaches from all over Metro Detroit!

On June 13th and 14th, we hosted our fourth annual Metro Detroit Basketball Team Camp at the United Wholesale Mortgage Sports Complex in Pontiac, Michigan. This year’s camp increase to 28 teams competing over a two-day period. We were especially excited to add seven girls' teams! Varsity teams from Oakland, Macomb, Wayne, Genesse and Lapeer counties participated.

Macomb County Representation: Chippewa Valley; St. Clair Shores Lakeview; Centerline Prep; Utica Ford, Utica

Genesse County Representation: Linden

Lapeer County Representation: Imlay City

Teams were assigned a character coach that served as FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) ambassador. We were blessed to have 15 amazing men and women who gave of their time and talents to serve. They guided the coaches and athletes into intentional time that included a sharing of their own personal testimony and a follow up after the Gospel was shared with the camp.

Oakland County Representation: Southfield A & T; Birmingham Brother Rice; Clarkston; Avondale, Pontiac, Troy, Rochester, Ferndale University; Southfield Christian, Ortonville Brandon, Bloomfield

Wayne County Representation: Canton, Dearborn Robichaud; Detroit Denby; Westland John Glenn, Detroit Fredrick Douglas; Detroit Central

We were also blessed to have an outstanding guest speaker on Saturday afternoon. A special thank you Jonathan Wynne, Chaplain for the Detroit Pistons and Educational consultant for Detroit Public Schools. His message of the power of grace and how it fits into the Gospel was amazing!

Grace Sees

Grace Cares

Grace Comes Close

Grace Rescues

Our staff has continued to increase engagement with varsity boys' and girls' basketball programs, and we anticipate adding at least four more teams next year to give us a full field of 32 teams. A big thank you the Reimagine Recreation staff at UWM. This was a true collaborative effort. Many seeds were planted this year through our efforts. Many relationships were established and cultivated. We are excited to see what the Lord is going to do with this event in the future!

Movie Night Sparks Faith and Fellowship at John Glenn High School

tmorton@fca.org (Timothy Morton) — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 20:36:09 GMT

John Glenn FCA Hosts Impactful Movie Night and Student-Led Discussion

The John Glenn High School FCA huddle recently hosted a powerful movie night that left a lasting impact on over 50 students. Led by Huddle Coach Jason Malloy, the students gathered to watch The Forge, a film designed to inspire reflection, spiritual growth, and leadership development.

The event included more than just popcorn and pizza—students engaged in meaningful discussion, diving deep into themes of patience, faith, and the power of community. An open Q&A session afterward allowed students to process what they had seen and share their thoughts in a safe, spiritually centered space.

“We ultimately revealed patience, faith, and the power of community,” said Coach Malloy, describing the tone of the evening and the students’ heartfelt responses.

Lunch was generously provided by local partner church Heaven Culture , and Cross Pointe Church—another vital partner in the Westland area—was recognized for their continued support of the FCA mission at John Glenn.

But the real fruit of the evening came afterward.

“A testimony is that the next day at the track meet, several students who had participated in the movie were in the middle of the field sitting with their Bible open and discussing the Word.”

That moment embodies what the evening was all about—planting seeds. As Scripture reminds us:

“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase…”

— 1 Corinthians 3:6–8

Through simple moments like movie night, God is moving through the lives of student-athletes. With the ongoing support of Southeast Michigan FCA , local churches, and dedicated volunteers like Coach Malloy, a generation of leaders is being formed—right in our schools.

Want to bring FCA to your school?

Reach out to our team

Athletes & Coaches Pack the Sanctuary for Faith, Fellowship, & Football 2025

tmorton@fca.org (Timothy Morton) — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 18:01:13 GMT

This next generation leaves us feeling one thing...HOPE.

This event began as a thought in the fall of 2023 when three Christ pursuing high school football coaches came to me with a vision of an event that they had been thinking about. We are grateful for the intentionality of Curt Rienas (Romeo), Pat Threet (St. Clair Shores Lakeview), and Justin Newcomb (Sterling Heights Stevenson). The first Faith, Fellowship and Football event was held on February 17th, 2024 at Grace Christian Church in Sterling Heights. We had 10 high schools represented with 50 coaches and athletes in attendance. They wanted to create an opportunity for coaches and athletes to come together and build community and grow in their faith. Many of the schools that attended competed with each other during the season. Faith, Fellowship and Football is now thriving.

We were blessed to have two NFL Chaplains help us kick off the evening with some inspiring messages. Thank you to Sean Pugh of the Detroit Lions and Nobles Darby of the Cleveland Browns for taking the time to set the tone for the evening.

The agenda for the evening started with Pregame from 5-6pm with fellowship and dinner provided by Chick Fil A. A great big thank you to Josh and Serena Holbrooks, the owner/operators for the Roseville location. The first quarter included some icebreaker activities before our guest speakers took the stage. The second quarter provide some huddle up time with our athletes being guided by some amazing huddle leaders. Coaches huddled up with Jeremy Barkey to learn the Conqueror's Way.

Faith, Fellowship and Football 2025 was held on March 14th. 26 high schools were represented with over 150 coaches and athletes in attendance. There were over a dozen guests that just wanted to see it.

As an added bonus, Jeremy Barkey, author of the Conqueror's Way was able to share with the all in attendance. Jeremy is from Holland, Michigan and is a former high school football coach and athletic director. We want to thank Jeremy for his testimony and passionate message that got us all fired up!

The third quarter provided some space for attending coaches and athletes to share powerful testimonies of the Lord's faithfulness. We were all inspired and encouraged by what we saw and heard. The fourth quarter started with some wonderful worship led by Grace Christian Church's worship team. Curt Rienas, of Romeo closed out our evening with a powerful personal testimony along with three of his athletes.

This event has proved some great follow up opportunities with the coaches and athletes involved. A special thanks to Seth Ricard and the staff at Grace Christian Church for their partnership and their willingness to be a part of our event. Our prayer is that this event will continue to grow and be a launch point for ministry opportunities for Metro Detroit FCA.