The circle on the Morehouse College football field spanned from the 10 yard-line to midfield. Locked arm-in-arm were football players, cheerleaders, coaches, administrators and volunteers from both sides of the rivalry.

Morehouse and Clark Atlanta. They’re two of Georgia’s 10 Historically Black Colleges and Universities and, even more specifically, two of the four undergraduate colleges seated on a single 200-acre lot on the west end of downtown Atlanta.

Every coach has followers. But to be the kind of leader worth following, we must follow The Leader.

For many families, FCA is more than a summer activity or a school-year ministry; it’s a vehicle of spiritual transformation that draws each member closer to the Lord through sports. As the ministry ages, more and more stories are surfacing regarding how FCA has become a way of life for many families, even impacting multiple generations.

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.

Every Friday morning at Hardee Junior High School in Wauchula, Fla., more than 750 students can be found crammed into the auditorium for an FCA Huddle meeting. In a little more than half an hour, school will begin for the day. But for now, in the junior high auditorium amid the backpacks, textbooks and hundreds of sixth, seventh and eighth graders, praise music blares, and the message of Christ's redeeming love is preached.

Almost 200 students have given their lives to Christ during the morning meetings.

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.

Emotions are never in short supply during open-mic time. Although not many people knew this particular couple's past when the man grabbed the microphone, during the brief minutes that followed, they became part of a story they would never forget.

With tears in his eyes and a quiver in his voice, the man explained to the crowd at the 2007 FCA Couples Getaway at The Cove that he and the woman next to him didn't really know how they got there.

For the second year in a row, the Drake University women’s basketball team was the preseason favorite to win the Missouri Valley Conference, but the Bulldogs have learned that preseason rankings mean nothing. When it comes to the season itself, anything can happen. And they mean anything. Last fall, Drake, a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, entered the season as a team loaded with talented veterans.

"Age is nothing but a number."

This year’s NFL postseason has proven just that. The league’s oldest (Brett Favre, 40) and youngest (Mark Sanchez, 23) quarterbacks competed for the chance to stand toe-to-toe in Miami at Super Bowl XLIV. But even though both the Jets and Vikings lost their respective conference championships, we will still be watching history unfold on February 7, 2010.

As a junior at the University of Southern California, Devon Kennard is familiar with the difficulties that come with being a collegiate student-athlete—both common (position changes and injuries) and unique (coaching changes and university-related NCAA sanctions). But for this starting defensive end, who is in full pursuit of Christ, the challenges have only deepened his faith and fueled his passion to lead his teammates and USC fans closer to the Lord.

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.

There’s not much about Anthony Parker that isn’t unique. Among NBA starters, he’s probably the only one who can rattle off useful phrases in Hebrew — something he picked up while dominating the European League from 2000-2006. He’s also the only playoff-caliber shooting guard who really does have the potential to be shown up on the court by his little sister. (He refers to little sis, All-American Candace Parker, as the Parker.) And he may be the only person who can read or owns a TV who’ll defend the good reputation of the NBA.