Local Area FCA Blog

Meet our Student Leaders: Devin Luckett

Wed, 30 Nov 2022 17:12:18 GMT

Another one of the newest members to join the Concord FCA Leadership this year is Devin Luckett.

On the football field, Devin is a sophomore offensive lineman—usually playing at the guard spot. He attended Cartersville High School in Cartersville, GA, which is a very familiar location for high school football fanatics because it was once attended by current Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback, Trevor Lawrence; Devin was a freshman when Lawrence was a senior.

Devin may not be as influential as Trevor Lawrence, but he has a profound impact on those around him at Concord, especially in FCA.

I asked Devin about what he brings to FCA, and he said, “Smiles. I’m a goofy guy and I feel like I can keep people laughing whenever I’m actually talking… [and] I always try to stay positive, and I hope that maybe I can brighten someone’s day.”

If you ask anybody that attends FCA regularly, they will confirm the infectiousness of Devin’s positive attitude.

In the summer prior to Devin’s sophomore year of high school, the seed of the gospel was planted after a hangout with one of his best friends back home.

“I was sitting in my room one day after I’d been with my friend, and I saw the way he was living (his dad was a pastor). [Then], I started thinking about the worldly things I was doing. I started questioning myself, like ‘Do I really wanna be doing all these things? Is that who I am?’ And I realized it wasn’t. [Later that summer], I went to offensive lineman camp, and I got saved there. Going into my senior year, I got baptized. Then, God led me to Concord [through football], and here I am.”

In a later part of our conversation, Devin discussed how FCA came into the picture for him.

“I heard about FCA in high school through Fields of Faith, and I’ve been attending meetings since sophomore year of high school. I joined leadership my junior year, and this year makes 5 years I’ve been in FCA.”

Those 5 years have benefited Devin greatly and can be accredited to keeping his steps from winding off the narrow path while here at Concord.

“I think FCA has helped me stay on track. I want to be able to help other people when they need it, so I need to be in line and making sure I’m in my word every day [in case] someone wants to come talk to me or needs [spiritual guidance], then I can give them good advice. I feel like [FCA] keeps me motivated, especially with the environment of like-minded people I have around me that hold me accountable. [Plus} it’s helped me get to know more people and get out of my shell [a little bit].”

FCA has also been Devin’s opportunity to break out of his shyness, and he felt determined to change that when he was offered a leadership role in Concord’s FCA.

“Whenever Brian texted a group of us at the end of last year and asked us if we were interested in being leaders, I was like, ‘You know what, this would be a great way for me to get out of my bubble and share how good Jesus is and how your life can change just by turning to him.’”

And along the way, FCA and those involved with it stepped in and made Devin feel more comfortable when he was homesick.

“I didn’t really want to be [at Concord] my first semester. I wasn’t used to being this far away from home, but FCA made me feel at-home. I felt like FCA could be a great opportunity to discover my purpose in Christ too.”

Devin wasted no time figuring out where his purpose lies. When I first met Devin near the end of his first semester here, he already had ambitions for the future.

“I feel like I’m called toward behind-the-scenes work for production and promotion with social media, photography, edits, shooting videos, etc., where I can create and edit my own graphics and post about a message.”

I asked him how he came to this revelation, and he provided a lengthy response.

“I didn’t know my calling up until my senior year. It started with music because I didn’t really do well with [on-the-spot thinking], but I liked behind the scenes stuff and loved music. My friend mentioned one day, ‘Devin you could be a worship pastor.’ I really thought about what he said, and it just felt right, so I tried that. After I [took some classes] first semester, I wasn’t enjoying being a music major like I thought I would when I got here and wanted to switch to something else. Then, I heard about Communications and switched to that with an emphasis in Multimedia Production because it gave me a taste of editing, photography, and everything I’d always liked to do in my free time. It seemed like the perfect match for me, and now I feel confident I’m right where God wants me.”

Devin has big plans, as he aspires to manage and execute production and promotion for a church someday in addition to having a day job in business requiring similar responsibilities. He also wants to own his own farm.

Another interesting thing about Devin is a segment he does on his Instagram story every Friday called Fast Gospel Friday, which involves asking various Bible-related questions to those on Instagram or people in-person and posting their responses on Instagram. Devin briefly explained how Fast Gospel Friday began.

“My friend at home started asking Bible-related questions on his social media and then posted everyone’s responses, and I thought, ‘Man this is an awesome way to get the gospel out there and the good news,’ so I started doing it too. I thought it’d be a good way to get out of my shell with something I’d be comfortable doing.”

Some of the previous questions asked on Fast Gospel Friday include: What promise of God is your favorite?, What kind of car would Jesus drive?, What’s your best Bible dad joke?, Why is prayer important?, and What three words would you use to describe Jesus?

I jumped at the chance to ask him, “What promise of God is your favorite?”

His response was, “The promise that God forgives us, and he’ll never leave us.”

As for Devin’s favorite verse, he immediately replied 1 Peter 3:8-9: “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.”

The last thing I’ll leave with you is Devin’s best advice to give someone, and he was quick to point out this powerful quote he has saved to his laptop:

“The best advice I can give you is to prepare for times of pressure by putting the word of God into your heart daily and staying in an attitude of prayer. Then when the pressure comes, you will be full of the truth of God’s word and the power of the Holy Ghost.”

Concord FCA continues to enable individuals like Devin to find, channel, and share their gift from God, and most importantly, teaches college students to spread the good news of the Gospel.

In the meantime, you can catch a glimpse of Devin’s behind-the-scenes work on Concord FCA’s Instagram page, where you can see his photos, videos, ad edits posted on the page.

Meet Our Student Leaders: Joshua Ramos

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 20:20:32 GMT

Meet our Student Leader: Joshua Ramos

As the Fall 2022 semester began for students at Concord University just over a month ago, Concord’s FCA returned as well to greet a multitude of faces—new and old.

Following the graduation of several leadership members from last spring, FCA is excited to introduce several new members to the leadership team at Concord University. In this article, you’ll get a closer look at offensive lineman Joshua Ramos, his journey with FCA, the positive impact the organization has made on his life, and what a typical FCA meeting looks like at Concord.

Josh is a fifth-year senior from Fontana, California. He received his associate degree from Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, and transferred to Concord University to continue his football career with the Mountain Lions in Fall 2020. He has been here since then and is scheduled to graduate this semester with a bachelor’s degree in health science with an emphasis in exercise science.

Josh heard about FCA through one of his teammates on the football team (who joined as an FCA leader this year as well) during his first semester and continued to show up each week.

He went on to explain what transpires at a Concord FCA meeting.

“We come in, greet everybody, and do fellowship, then we play an icebreaker game to help get to know everyone and make [them] a little more comfortable, especially if it’s their first time being there. After that, we’ll do two songs of worship, and then we’ll have the word brought to us from one of the leaders. At the end, we’ll take prayer requests and close and a lot of us will stay after and talk for a bit.”

The meetings usually last about an hour and allow students to have an enjoyable bible study and socialize with each other. In our one-on-one session, Josh discussed how FCA has served as a great catalyst for his spiritual growth and deepening his relationship with Christ.

“Before FCA, I really didn’t have a relationship with God. I’ve always believed in him and went to church, but I didn’t realize what it meant to have a relationship with him before I started coming to FCA. I never realized how low my faith really was. I never knew how much more there was to being a Christian than just believing.”

Later, Josh expanded this thought and described the lasting impact FCA has had on his life.

“I hadn’t really read the Bible until I came here to Concord. FCA really helped with developing my relationship with the Lord and having more faith, and just [recognizing] that he's always there for me in every situation. And that this is something that won't stop when I leave here, it's just going to continue and my relationship with him will just keep getting better.”

As it has done for countless individuals in the past, FCA operated as the facilitator for discipleship in Josh’s life and remains an important part of spreading the gospel. Josh’s favorite message from FCA was Jesus’s sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7 and the seriousness of sin and how we’re held to higher standard as Christians.

“It really brought my attention to how much more [is expected of us], how much better we’re supposed to be than what we think, and how there are more ways to sin than I thought.”

Following that strong message in Matthew and progressing in scripture reading and comprehension, Josh felt drawn to leadership.

“Toward the end of this last semester, I knew that there were a lot of seniors that were leaving and felt like it was my time to step up and be a leader and try and fill the shoes that they left behind.”

Currently, Josh is unsure of his plans beyond graduation this December, but he believes FCA is the first step and “whatever [God] calls him to do, he’ll do.”

As Josh’s favorite verse Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many plans are in a person’s heart, but the Lord’s decree will prevail” (CSB).

We are excited to see what God has in store for Josh and the rest of the FCA Leadership team at Concord University for the 2022-23 school year. This school year, we hope Concord’s FCA impacts not just athletes, but the entire student body.