Empowered: Nate McMullan

As we approach the end of another incredible year at Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), we are reminded of the countless ways God has been at work through our ministry, changing lives and bringing people closer to Him. Today, we want to share a story that embodies the heart of FCA’s mission and the profound impact your generosity makes possible. This is the story of Sarah Mann—a coach whose life has been transformed by Christ through FCA. Before joining FCA as a basketball coach, Sarah worked tirelessly to find happiness and peace. She pursued success in her career and constantly sought new opportunities, but despite all her efforts, she felt unsettled and unrooted. Sarah believed that if she could just achieve the next big thing, she would finally find contentment. Yet, the joy and peace she longed for continued to elude her. Everything changed in the spring of 2023 when Sarah came to FCA with a single goal: to coach young athletes and share her passion for basketball. Little did she know, God had bigger plans for her life. Through FCA, Sarah was introduced to the idea that athletics and faith go hand in hand. She discovered that her true purpose wasn’t just to coach a sport, but to guide young athletes toward a deeper relationship with Christ. Through FCA’s influence, Sarah found true joy in sharing God’s unconditional love with her players. She began helping them understand their worth as children of God—an identity that is unshakable and far greater than any victory or defeat on the court. Sarah realized that coaching is about so much more than wins and losses; it’s about using her God-given gifts to shine the light of Jesus into the lives of those she coaches. Today, Sarah coaches with a renewed sense of purpose. No longer driven by the pursuit of success, she coaches not just for the love of the game but to help her athletes know the peace, love, and eternal hope that comes from knowing Christ. Her story is just one example of how FCA is empowering coaches and athletes to live out their faith boldly and to share God’s love with a generation hungry for belonging, identity, and purpose. Partner With FCA to Make an Eternal Impact As we close out the year, we invite you to partner with us in continuing this life-changing work. Sarah’s story represents the heart of FCA’s mission: to see coaches and athletes transformed by Jesus Christ and empowered to be disciples that make disciples with their influence. Your support makes it possible for more coaches like Sarah to experience the transformative power of Jesus and to pass that message on to the next generation of athletes. Together, we can help more coaches and athletes discover their God-given purpose as disciples and find true joy in following Him. Would you prayerfully consider making a year-end gift to FCA? Your generosity is an investment in God’s Kingdom and ensures that more stories like Sarah’s will be written in the year to come. Get in the Game today with FCA.

Kobe, an FCA Pacific Northwest Huddle Leader and athlete, shares his journey from competitor to disciple-maker, highlighting the importance of faith and discipleship in sports. Through FCA, Kobe mentors athletes, encouraging them to find their identity in Christ and invest in making disciples. Support FCA Pacific Northwest's mission to empower coaches and athletes to be disciple-makers at pnwfca.org.

Hailey, FCA Pacific Northwest staff member, shares her passion for sports ministry as she helps athletes and coaches grow in their faith through FCA. Discover how FCA impacts lives both on and off the field, providing discipleship and mentorship opportunities through Huddles and FCA Camps. Learn more about how you can support this life-changing mission at pnwfca.org.

When Pat Bailey gazes from his back porch in Corvallis, Oregon, he witnesses a range of breathtaking views. Literally, a mountain range of them. On a clear day, he can see the Three Sisters, a trio of volcanic peaks, each exceeding 10,000 feet, that are part of the greater Cascade Range extending from northern California to British Columbia. Turning slightly to the north, he can see Mount Jefferson, another peak with a 10,000-foot apex. And on some days, when the air and atmosphere are just right, he can see the majestic pinnacle of Mount Hood, the tallest peak in Oregon at 11,249 feet. Such grandeur is a constant reminder of why he and his wife, Susan, have remained in Oregon for 45 years after moving there from Idaho in 1978 when Bailey got a job at a local high school. “We thought we’d be in Oregon a year,” he says. “And here it is, 40-plus years later, we’re still in Oregon. ... We’re an hour away from the coast. Or if we want to go to the mountains, we’re an hour and a half away from the mountains. It’s beautiful. Personally, I think it's the prettiest place in the country.” Bailey isn’t a state tourism official. He’s a baseball coach. And over a remarkable 42-year coaching career, he has reached summits—in the world of athletics—similar to those he sees outside his window. In 1995, after posting a .625 winning percentage over 14 seasons at Williamette and West Linn high schools, he became the head coach of George Fox University, a Christian school near Portland. Over 12 seasons, Bailey compiled a 353-158 record, won eight Northwest Conference Coach of the Year awards, and led the 2004 team to the NCAA Division III national championship—ultimately becoming the winningest coach in school history. In 2007, Pat Casey, the legendary head coach at Oregon State who had preceded Bailey as coach at George Fox, invited Bailey to join his staff as an assistant coach. The Beavers had just won back-to-back national championships. It was a remarkable opportunity. But Bailey had a proviso. “I can’t come unless you let me run Bible studies and pray with our guys,” Bailey told Casey. “Pat,” Casey responded, “that’s one of the reasons why I want you to come here.” Bailey accepted the offer. “I've always considered my job a mission field.” During his time at Oregon State, Bailey helped the Beavers program reach the College World Series (CWS) three more times, including winning the 2018 national championship with a team that featured seven All-Americans and six Major League Baseball draft picks, including three first-rounders. Oregon State’s NCAA title that season wasn’t a shocker. The previous year’s team was ranked No. 1 in the country entering the CWS and finished 56-6 (.903), the best winning percentage in NCAA Division I baseball since Texas posted a .908 mark in 1982. Most of the team’s key players returned in 2018, setting up the historic season. For Bailey, it was extra gratifying because he hand-selected the players. As the team’s recruiting coordinator, he looked for individuals with strong character, humility, and classroom diligence. Bailey practiced what he preached. In 2012, he won the annual American Baseball Coaches Association Ethics in Coaching Award. “The most important thing that we did ... [was] build men,” he says. “We’re in the men-building business. That’s what coaching should be. It’s not about wins and losses; it’s about man-building. And if you do the man-building part, wins and losses take care of themselves. Because culture is everything. Culture eats strategy for breakfast. Everybody has great strategy until they get punched in the mouth. But your culture is who you are and what you’re about.” When Casey retired after the 2018 national championship, Bailey took over as the interim head coach and led the 2019 Beavers to a 36-20-1 record, including the program’s 10th postseason appearance during his tenure. His top star that season was catcher Adley Rutschman, whom the Baltimore Orioles selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft. After the season, Bailey applied for the head coach position although he realized, at age 63, he likely wasn’t going to get it. Instead, the school hired Mitch Canham, the manager of the Arkansas Travelers (the Seattle Mariners’ Double-A minor league affiliate) and a former Oregon State star who helped the Beavers win their consecutive titles in 2006-07. When Canham asked Bailey to remain on staff for 2020, Bailey obliged. But a lifetime of baseball wear-and-tear was catching up to him. He had ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (“Tommy John surgery”) in 2010 and knee surgery in 2011. In 2022, an MRI revealed arthritis in both hips that might require double hip replacement surgery in the future. Shortly before the 2020 season started, Bailey had major shoulder surgery, and the painful recovery process took about eight months. Oregon State played only 14 games before the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the remainder of the season. Bailey admits he was “thankful” for the unexpected break because of his post-surgery pain. But in August 2020, he was let go and landed in a new, though perhaps fortuitous, season. “I just thought, ‘OK, I really don’t know how much longer I can keep coaching,’” he says. “Because [with] baseball, you have to be able to throw [batting] practice, and you have to be able to swing a fungo and just all those things you have to do to coach.” Call it a new chapter of life. He has always been a hard worker, thanks to his father instilling a strong work ethic in him. He started working in tire centers and gas stations when he was 14 years old, and he’s not about to slow down now. “There’s nowhere in the Bible where it says you’re supposed to retire,” he says. So when Ryan Johnston, FCA’s Pacific Northwest Regional vice president, reached out to Bailey to discuss the possibilities of full-time sports ministry, the longtime coach said, “I’m in.” Bailey is now FCA’s Multi-Area Director for the Williamette Valley region, which extends from Salem to Eugene and out to the coast. He is also on the coaches development team of FCA Baseball Oregon. In his home office, Bailey has two verses posted. One is Matthew 9:37-38, where Jesus tells His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” The other is the prayer of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:10: “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory!” So far, so good. When Bailey started, he was one of five Williamette Valley staff members. Now there are 10. “I want to advance our territory here in this area,” he says. “That’s my sole goal, to get into more schools and have an impact on young people.” As for a potential return to coaching? The 67-year-old Bailey demurs. He has turned down other college offers after leaving Oregon State, mainly for family reasons. He and Susan are relishing time with their two grown children and three grandkids. Bailey’s daughter, who is a part-time administrative assistant for him, and her family also live in Corvallis, and his son’s family lives about 70 minutes away. “Unless Jesus came into my house, sat on my couch and said, ‘Pat, you have to leave Oregon,’ I’m not leaving,” he says. “We’re really tight as a family. We do a lot of stuff together.” So Bailey continues to work hard, like he’s always done. But these days, instead of teaching players how to produce at the plate, he trains coaches and athletes how to produce—and reproduce—as disciples of Christ. He leads a weekly Huddle at Western Oregon University; trains groups in E3—FCA’s discipleship course (“Engage. Equip. Empower.”); and helps guide local Student Athletic Leadership Teams (SALT). “I just love being around young people and doing stuff like that,” he says. “It’s not people my age that are going to change this country. It’s the young people.” Pray for Pat Bailey as he continues to build relationships in the baseball world and for the work he’s doing on staff. If you’d like to learn more about Bailey’s ministry, visit here . Learn more about playing for the best team.

"The FCA 7on7 team was everything right with sports."

Alyssa Root - Longview, WA

Discover what it means to have a Greater Purpose in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

“Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing; you hold my future. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I will bless the Lord who counsels me—even at night when my thoughts trouble me. I always let the Lord guide me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices; my body also rests securely. For you will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful one to see decay. You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures.” Psalm 16:5-11 CSB

God moved big this year at our Fellowship of Christian Athlete Multi-sport camp in Nampa, ID. Coaches and athletes were engaged, equipped and empowered to be disciples that make disciples.