Real-Time is an event that ultimately blows your mind. Every four years Fellowship of Christian Athletes has an event called Real-Time. During this time FCA Staff came from all over the world for faith, fellowship, and fun this last event was in Orlando, Fl, and wow was it amazing.
My co-worker Adriana Aranguren and I drove up from South Florida to Orlando. Once we got there, we met Gustavo Rivero who is the director in Venezuela.
It was so interesting getting to know him and speaking Spanish with him. We connected so quickly and so well and it was awesome to learn what he is doing in Venezuela.
Mr. Rivero goes all over the country of Venezuela doing FCA. Out of 73 participants globally, only four won an award for the ministry in their country and Gustavo was one of the winners.
The first night was epic! Cain the Christian band was there performing songs like I’m So Blessed, Yes, He Can, and other songs. Sage Steele was the emcee, formerly known as ESPN’s anchor. She introduced and interviewed a lot of the speakers.
Johnathan Isaac from the Orlando Magic spoke about standing out from the crowd. He chose not to kneel for the NBA’s Black Lives Matter movement and got a lot of flak for it. He didn’t know if he’d lose his job or not, but he trusted God with the process. However, he stayed in his faith and trusted God. He is still playing with the Magic today.
Joe Kennedy was another speaker who stood for his faith. The ex-marine turned coach would pray after every game for the football team. The school district didn’t approve and went to court against Mr. Kennedy.
After a lengthy legal process, the courts ruled in favor of Mr. Kennedy, and he was reinstated as a football coach at Bremerton High School on March 8, 2023. It’s such a miracle and shows that God can do anything and with Him all things are possible!
What’s special about FCA is the all-abilities camp. Anthony Martinez and Shane Sorrentino both spoke about it and it was very powerful. It’s awesome that FCA gives people with disabilities the chance and platform to use their gifts and talents as well as share the gospel with them.
Grace Turk was another speaker and she’s known for going viral after the Oklahoma Sooners Soft Ball team won the national championship. When asked where her joy comes from, she simply stated that it was from the Lord. That gave the rest of the team the freedom to talk about their faith which made headlines and went viral on YouTube. It was just so inspiring to see these girls confess Christ on a huge stage.
My favorite speaker though had to be Tony Dungy. He said that he told the producers at NBC that he would not apologize for being a Christian and that he would not apologize for what he said on air. He also talked about the Super Bowl and how he was more excited about a Christian coach winning (Lovie Smith was also a Christian) than a black coach winning the first Super Bowl.
Overall Real-Time was a great experience and I would urge any FCA staff member to go because it is amazing!