Goal
To show students that, much like having a workout partner who spots us while lifting weights and pushes us to do our best, we also need a partner who will help us to stick with our commitment to play drug free. Accountability will help them stick to their commitment.

Key Scriptures
Proverbs 17:17; Proverbs 27:6, 17; 2 Timothy 4:2

Warm Up
In a small group, discuss or list things that normally do not need accountability to complete (like eating, sleeping) and discuss or list things that do need accountability (homework, working out). Have the groups report their findings to the entire group and explain why there is a difference between the two lists.

When Todd Abernethy first got the phone call from Rod Barnes, head basketball coach at the University of Mississippi, neither he nor the coach knew just how much God’s hand was at work. Abernethy didn’t know that as the head coach had searched for a point guard who could guide his team with maturity and integrity, that the Lord had given Barnes his name.

At a typical San Diego Chargers practice or game, offensive coordinator Cam Cameron does a lot of pointing.

“That’s what we do as coaches,” Cameron joked. “We point.” And as cliché as it may sound, it remains true that the 20-year coaching veteran does more than just point out the plays he wants the reigning AFC-West Champion Chargers to run on the field. He also points his athletes to Jesus Christ through his life, which has been transformed since the day Cameron accepted Christ at an FCA Camp when he was 13.

To hear Texas A&M University basketball coach Billy Gillispie talk about Chris Walker's natural talent, you'd probably think the senior was a benchwarmer, not a guy who started 23 games last season. But to hear Gillispie gush, in the same sentence, about the "intangibles" that Walker brings to the Aggies, you'd think he was a sure-fire NBA lottery pick.

The clock hits "0," and the blare of the buzzer fills the already noisy arena. The joy on the victors' faces is evident from even the highest balcony as tears of happiness, relief and exhaustion stream down their faces. The roar of the crowd is deafening as streamers fall and cameras flash in every fan's attempt to capture the winning moment-one that will forever be imprinted on the minds and hearts of the newly crowned champions.

Kevin “Chappy” Hynes, Jill Perry, Scott Shepherd and Ray Lawrence share an office in Athens, Georgia. One of the most visibly enticing elements is a large dry erase board, topped with this question: SITUATION ANALYSIS — WHAT ARE WE DOING WELL? Below that are the answers: variety, weekly meetings, discipleship with leaders, buddy relationships, trips, Bible study. And below that, another question: WHERE CAN WE IMPROVE? And the answers: discipleship with others, team interaction, feature teams, worship team, coaches.

Jesus knows how to build His church. He also knows how to build your body. In fact, He even designed the food we eat to perform very specific functions in our bodies to promote health, healing, energy and growth. Athletes today know that what they eat has a direct effect on how they train and how they ultimately perform during competition. But there still seems to be a lot of confusion when it comes to the amount of protein needed for peak performance.

“There’s definitely a right and a wrong. And I know what that is.”
-Michelle, junior on girl’s varsity soccer team.

Bobby Bowden has the attention of hundreds of high school boys. They’re listening because he has more wins than any coach in major-college football history — the head coach of the only program ever to appear in 14 consecutive bowl games without a loss, the only coach to lead his team, the Florida State Seminoles, to 14 straight seasons that ended with a top-five Associated Press ranking.

But they’re going to find themselves listening for a different reason. Bobby Bowden “The Legend” is about to become Bobby Bowden “The Evangelist.”

If God’s will is a highway, Russ Ortiz doesn’t want to spend anymore time on the side roads.

After tearing through his first seven seasons in the majors with outstanding numbers, Ortiz found himself in unfamiliar territory in 2005. Not only did he make his first trip to the disabled list with a stress fracture in his ribs, he also experienced his first losing season at the major-league level. As a result, Ortiz, who came to Christ at an FCA Huddle meeting at the University of Oklahoma, found himself struggling with new challenges and frustrations. And what he learned was that God’s way is always better than man’s way.