High school groups naturally sort themselves out — jocks hang with jocks, nerds hang with nerds, gamers hang with gamers, and thespians hang with thespians, but what if one of the members of each tribe have something in common with the other? What if there was a club to bring together the common factor? Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an organized club at Nixa High School where students who hold a Christian faith can come together, learn from the Bible and meet fellow Christians. Lance Brumley, a physical science teacher at NHS and a faculty sponsor for FCA, joined because of his interest in what FCA offers and believes. “[FCA] is a club that offers an opportunity for students and athletes to gather, share ideas, fellowship and study,” Brumley said. Brumley has been a part of FCA since

his first year teaching in 1998. He provides guidance to the leadership team within the club, helping with meeting ideas and club activities. Meetings for FCA happen on Wednesday mornings at 7 a.m. where students sit at a social distance in regular classroom desks. The group of FCA members contains a wide variety of people from different sports such as volleyball, football, basketball and even cheerleading. Junior Emily Harris is a member of FCA. “I joined FCA because I was both an athlete and a Christian that wanted to build community with other Christians,” Harris said. Harris has been a part of FCA since seventh grade, and has seen all kinds of different people within the club that are athletes, non-athletes and anyone in between. “You don’t even have to be a Christian to come to the club. FCA is for anyone and everyone who wants to
build relationships within the NHS,” Harris said. When members show up for a meeting, they hear a passage from the Bible and then split up into groups. In these groups, they talk about what they heard in the scripture and how they feel about it. The groups are split evenly down the middle, allowing for a wide range of people to talk together. “FCA has good people in it that allowed for me to listen to other people’s views of Christianity, as well as allow me to build relationships with people,” Harris said. Being an athlete is not a requirement for people who wish to join the club. The group welcomes people with different religions, race, gender, interests and hobbies. The club is meant for people to make new relationships and grow them. “Anyone who wants to grow as a person and make the school a better place, should join FCA,” Harris said.