October 22, 2024
NASHVILLE -- Coaches constantly encourage their teams to focus on the fundamentals. Now, a new tool from Fellowship of Christian Athletes is helping coaches and players do the same when it comes to discipleship.
The CSB E3 Discipleship Bible, published by Lifeway’s B&H Publishing Group, is structured around the Christian Standard Bible translation and hundreds of study notes, articles and other features that integrate athletics and faith in the context of discipleship. “E3” represents FCA’s discipleship method of engaging individuals relationally, equipping them with biblical truth and applying it to life and empowering them to share the gospel and develop other disciples.
“Fellowship of Christian Athletes has a legacy of influencing coaches and athletes to see the world transformed by Christ,” said Ben Mandrell, president of Lifeway Christian Resources. “Lifeway is thrilled to work alongside FCA in producing the ‘CSB E3 Discipleship Bible.’ This resource is designed for athletes and coaches participating in FCA, as well as alumni or others whose lives have been impacted by their ministry.”
The CSB E3 Discipleship Bible contains discipleship-focused study notes on every page, dozens of articles with devotional and interactive QR code content, 99 verses for the Christian competitor and more than 40 character spotlights to inspire coaches and athletes. It also features reading plans and introductions for biblical genres and books of the Bible.
“In 2021, FCA reported an impact of more than 16,000 faith decisions through its worldwide ministry,” said Bill Craig, senior vice president of publishing at Lifeway. “We are excited for how the ‘CSB E3 Discipleship Bible’ will help many believers, including those who are new to the faith, grow deeper in their discipleship journey.”
FCA adopts the Christian Standard Bible Translation
The launch of the CSB E3 Discipleship Bible coincides with FCA adopting the Christian Standard Bible as their primary translation for their line of ministry resources. The CSB translation uses an optimal equivalence translation philosophy that pursues both linguistic precision to the original languages and readability in contemporary English.
“As FCA grows into a disciple-making ministry, FCA is launching a strategic Bible plan to meet the needs for all ages and all stages of the E3 discipleship journey,” said Kellen Cox, FCA executive VP of ministry advancement. “In order to do this, we needed a Bible translation that is readable while staying accurate to the original text. After much research and prayer, we believe God is leading us to the Christian Standard Bible. To celebrate this move, we are excited to partner with Lifeway in developing the “E3 Discipleship Bible” as FCA’s first, full study Bible in the CSB translation.”
One of the primary ways FCA will use the CSB text will be through providing Bibles for FCA camps and ministry events. Last year, more than 43,000 campers attended one of FCA’s camps in the U.S. Each athlete who participates in an FCA camp receives a Bible that is used for specific functions at camp.
FCA also conducts Huddle ministry, which is focused on reaching coaches and athletes in middle and high schools and at the collegiate level. And, FCA has developed a sprawling global ministry, hosting 240 international camps and serving in more than 100 countries. Across all these ministry environments, FCA distributed more than 208,000 Bibles last year.
“Lifeway’s first value is ‘treasuring biblical truth,’ which is built upon our belief in the power of God’s Word to change the world,” said Mandrell. “Likewise, FCA’s vision is to see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes. I’m grateful for the partnership between our two ministries as we work together to help spread the gospel and make disciples.”
