Big SPLASH at U of L
By Ruth Schenk | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Clapping echoed through the Ralph R. Wright Natatorium at the University of Louisville for each one of the 35 athletes baptized Monday, Oct. 24.
Many called it the perfect setting: warm, humid air, the smell of chlorine, divided lanes, buoys and bright fluorescent lights, stands full of athletes, coaches and
pastors.
University of Louisville swimmer Kevin Bandy, who came to support friends, said he would never look at the swimming pool at the Ralph R. Wright Natatorium
the same again.
That night, more than 100 coaches and athletes, including football players, basketball players, swimmers, soccer players, baseball players, Ladybirds,
athletes from Lacrosse and tennis filled bleachers around the pool. They came to applaud more than a win or a new record. They came to applaud faith.
Earlier that night, some 180 athletes met for Bible study with Fellowship of Christian Athletes. They had been studying the book of Romans with U of L Chaplain
Chris Morgan.
“Throughout the study, we had been talking about building a relationship with God through faith,” Morgan said. “We talked about putting our faith and trust in
Christ. He is the model for baptism. We follow Him to be obedient. And that night, we had been talking about Jesus touching the lepers—how Jesus wants to
make us clean as we identify our lives with Him.”
That message struck home with athletes.
At the end of the study, Morgan gave athletes the opportunity to make the monumental decision to follow Christ and be baptized. Thirty-five chose T-shirts from
Southeast that said "Freed," "Forgiven" or "Alive."
U of L women’s basketball player Cierra Warren was one of the first to be baptized.
“It was such an amazing night,” she said. “I’ll always remember it.”
Later that night, Warren called her mom in California to tell her all about it.
“FCA has been so incredible through college,” she said. “Being baptized was a way for me to be obedient.”
U of L swimmer Lindsey LaPorte grew up in a Christian home where her parents and sisters supported her walk with Christ, yet never had been baptized. She
made the decision to be baptized when Morgan talked about the significance of being obedient.
“I don't believe baptism is the way to get to heaven, but a proclamation that I believe Jesus is my Savior,” she said. “My personal mission is to love God and love
people with the same unconditional love that Jesus showed me through His sacrifice. I'm not perfect and I know I can't do life on my own, but like it says in
Matthew 17:20, with faith as small as a mustard seed, nothing is impossible with God. I want to stand by that every day in every aspect of my life.”
U of L soccer player Jimmy Crick came to cheer for friends being baptized. He has been involved in FCA for the last four years.
“It was the first time we ever had anything like that,” he said. “To see that obedience of Christ in so many athletes’ lives is phenomenal."
High jumper Megan Schubert said she never worried much about the fact she had never been baptized.
“God gave me the opportunity to truly dedicate my life to Him and rely fully on Him in my sophomore year of college by knocking me flat on my face,” she said.
“As I became a regular FCA attendee, I was amazed at how many student athletes were able to navigate the challenge of being a true follower of Jesus so
gracefully. God, through FCA and the people involved, got a hold of my life in a major way. Since then I have been working desperately to help my family, friends
and teammates come to know the crazy love of God.”
Schubert decided to be baptized while studying the book of Romans in FCA.
“I was thrilled when Chris offered us the chance to be baptized,” she said. “Initial thoughts crossed my mind. What will everyone think? My hair turns green in
chlorine and that isn’t a good look for me. But I was overwhelmed by how many people wanted to be baptized and how many from the community came to
support us. I was awed and humbled by the work God has done on campus.”
Former U of L soccer player Emily Prockopic drove from Nashville to be baptized with her best friend.
She graduated from U of L last year and now leads mission trips for Soles for Souls, a non-profit organization that recycles shoes for people around the world.
“Being baptized was a way for me to be obedient and washed in the Spirit,” Prockopic said. “The setting was picture perfect. Four years ago, when I was a
freshman, I sat in a study with 10 other athletes. To see how much the Lord has done in four years is incredible.”
As the U of L swimming coach, Arthur Albiero spends a lot of time at the pool training swimmers. He also attends the FCA coaches' Bible study with Morgan.
He came to the night of baptisms to cheer for student athletes.
“The pool is normally where we work,” he said. “To see that same setting used for a great purpose was humbling and exciting. It turned out perfect.”
Former U of L football player Scott Long, who now works with FCA, was baptized by Morgan, then baptized his wife.
“I was raised in a Christian home,” he said. “I was exposed to the Gospel. In fact, I could tell all the stories, but I wasn’t walking with the Lord until l was in college.”
He described the night as “humbling.”
“To see how far God has brought me is amazing,” Long said. “Just to think He would want to use me and change my path in life is something special. I wanted to be baptized as an act of obedience. To share that experience with my wife is something I’ll never forget.”
U of L soccer coach Ken Lola cheered for each baptism from the sidelines.
“That evening was a testament to what Chris Morgan and FCA are doing on campus and the overwhelming sense of the Sprit moving among students. It was a
beautiful evening,” he said. “It was wonderful to see so many athletes there.”
Southeast member Lizzie DeVries baptized her friend and teammate on the U of L rowing team.
“It was such a blessing that the Lord would allow us to witness the conversion of friends we had been praying for,” she said. “The whole night was full of
decisions and commitments that were made out of obedience to the Word’s commandment to be baptized.”
Eight pastors from area churches also came to support athletes being baptized.
Steve Wigginton, regional director of FCA, watched the evening unfold.
“It was good to see a diverse group of athletes come together as one body with Christ as the head,” he said. “What an encouragement thing to see them cheer
for each other—to be one team. That night, for those baptisms, multiple teams came together as one team.”
To learn more about supporting ministry on the U of L campus, email Chris Morgan, cmorgan@fca.org or call (502) 777-0400.