ENGAGING VOLUNTEERS…
Jerry Walters is a soft-spoken, gentle
man with a big heart and passion for
Christ. He spends his days selling
dental equipment and supplies to
dentists around the state, but on
Thursday afternoons (when he can), he
carves time out to go to Murrah High
School in Jackson, MS and spend time
with the football team. He and two
other men, Quentin Adams and Jerry
Tanner, serve as chaplains to the team
and this year have taken the team
through the FCA Toolbox program mentioned on page 5.
Jerry Walters at Murrah High School’s practice field.
The impact these men are having is incalculable. Jerry shares a story of his first time speaking
to the team in 2015:
“Who is #3?” A young man timidly raises his hand and mumbles his name…”Mmmmm”
“I’m sorry I didn’t hear you. What’s your name?” He mumbles his name a couple more times
and so a teammate yells out, “Melvin! His name is Melvin!”
“Melvin, were you the one that scored a touchdown in Friday night’s game?” A huge grin
broke out across Melvin’s face and his whole countenance changed. “Melvin, tell us about
when you scored!”
Melvin told the story of how he saw the football laying on the ground…knowing that it was
fumbled and spotting his chance, he jumped on the ball and ran it in for a touchdown.
There was a lot of celebrating, jumping and dancing in the end zone that evening.
Jerry took that story of celebration and related it to the story of the Prodigal
Son. A son who was lost but came back home and was celebrated. It
was a great celebration because what was lost had been found.
…to
change
lives
Jerry shared the truth of the Gospel with the team that day.
Nine months later, at the end of school, team workouts were over
early, so Melvin and a couple of friends decided to go fishing. By the end of
that day, an FCA representative called Jerry to tell him that a player from Murrah had
drowned. Jerry made some calls and soon discovered it was Melvin who had drowned.
Jerry shares, “I want to be able to tell you he received Christ because of our time together
through the year, but I don’t know for certain. I do know that classmates and friends of his said
he did receive Christ and was a believer. I have faith in God that Melvin heard the truth of the
Gospel and I will see him in eternity.”
Volunteers are critical to what we do through FCA. Just an hour or so a week with a team of
young men can mean the difference in their lives for all eternity. Pray for our staff and
volunteers - they are on the front lines bringing the life-changing news of the Gospel to young
people throughout the state.
For more details on these stories, visit: mississippifca.org/2016
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