Maggie is a softball player for the Minnesota Ice, a traveling team out of Lakeville, Minnesota. She recently suffered the loss of a dear family member and has been walking through the uncertainty of a pandemic. In her struggle and through the ministry of FCA, she found God.
A Life Transformed - Maggie's Story
Shelley Pearson • Aug 13, 2020
Contagious Joy. Deep Peace. Renewed Hope.
Things that seem largely absent from our world today.
But God.
Allison Carpenter (known as “Carp” to the girls on the team) is a coach for the Minnesota Ice and an FCA staff member. She loves building relationships with members of the team and lives for the moments where she can share the truth of God’s love with her players.
A Missing Piece
Like many stories begin, Maggie grew up going to church and faith was important to her family. She was baptized and confirmed, but she didn’t let it take hold of her heart or know how to pursue God on her own. She quit going to youth group and rarely went to church. She didn’t see God moving around her and wasn’t interested in spiritual things. “My entire life was softball, and I didn’t pursue God at all.”
“When Maggie joined the program, immediately I knew she was a great kid, a great ball player and a great fit for the program. But I could tell there was a piece missing. She was loved by coaching staff and had a fantastic attitude but never wanted to invest in the faith piece of the program,” said Allison. As Maggie came face to face with some difficult circumstances, she also realized that something was missing in her life. She thought she knew God but realized she really knew very little about Him.
As God often works, He used the circumstances in Maggie’s life to draw her heart to His.
“Last July, my grandma started having health issues, so I turned to prayer. It was super weird for me because I didn’t know how to do it. It helped a lot to pray, but I still didn’t talk to Carp or anyone about faith. Friends invited me to take part in FCA activities, but I always pushed it away.” Maggie wasn’t ready to hear the truth about God yet, but He was moving in her heart. “The day my grandma died, when I was walking to my car, I started praying and felt a sense of calm and was like ‘wow that’s really cool.’ I turned on the Christian radio station which I never did, but the songs spoke to me.” God was planting seeds in her heart.
Maggie’s grandma passed away in February. Then the pandemic hit. No school. No softball. Maggie began struggling. Allison sensed that Maggie was spiraling, so she called to see if Maggie wanted to do a Bible study with her. Even though she had so often denied requests from her friends to take part in FCA activities, Maggie agreed to the Bible study. “I knew Carp, and I knew she did FCA stuff and I always kind of watched that. She never came up and talked to me about her faith.” Even though Allison never pushed her faith on Maggie, she had been intentionally building their relationship so that when Maggie needed help, she could turn to Allison.
Maggie almost canceled the night before their first Bible study, but she knew she couldn’t keep going as she had been. Throughout the pandemic, Allison and Maggie continued to meet two to three times a week to study Psalm 23. At first, the conversation remained at the surface level, but as their relationship grew stronger, the conversations also grew deeper. Maggie learned about the depth of God’s love for her, how He cares for her as a shepherd, and how He can fill her with peace.
A Pivotal Conversation
In June, Maggie had a conversation with her sister and friend about spiritual matters that left her confused. “I called Carp and was completely clueless. She talked me through things and helped me understand.” Allison showed her that she could trust God with her life through all the uncertainty of the future and that Maggie no longer had to live with anxiety of what the future may hold. Allison helped her understand what it looked like to fully trust God with her life.
Maggie surrendered her life to God and now wants everyone to know what she knows. Psalm 23 taught her so much about the love of a Savior, and she learned to trust Him in every area of her life, including softball. She has Deuteronomy 31:6 on her bat and helmet: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
The difference this has made in Maggie’s life is obvious to anyone who comes in contact with her. She radiates joy. “The peace of God resides in her, and her teammates notice it. I see a peace and less anxiety. That, to me, is when the Holy Spirit came and took hold. I’ve seen so much joy in her. Maggie is so excited to share Christ with others. It’s really cool to see her want to share her story with her teammates,” Allison said. “Maggie even stated to me that she feels like she’s living different and wasn’t sure if that was right. That’s been a huge piece for me - just seeing her transformation from the inside out.”
FCA Transforms
Allison went on to say, “It’s been so fun to see Maggie’s journey. To me, it is reaffirming of what we do at FCA every day. I probably spent nine months just building a relationship with Maggie and had no idea what God was up to. It’s really cool to see that at the core of discipleship it’s about relationships. The fact that Maggie trusted me enough to come to me and show she was struggling . . . To me, if one kid comes to Christ through this whole thing, it’s worth it.”
The heart of FCA is to see coaches and athletes come into a growing relationship with Christ and the Church. It’s about discipleship and becoming more like Jesus. Because of the mission and the intentionality with which FCA pursues its mission, Maggie now really knows God and wants others to know Him too.
E3 Discipleship
Allison engaged Maggie in relationship, equipped her with the truth of God’s love, and empowered her to share her story with others. If you want to learn more about this E3 Discipleship training program, check out our blog posts here:
Engage: minnesotafca.org/making-disciples-engage
Equip: minnesotafca.org/making-disciples-equip
Empower: minnesotafca.org/making-disciples-empower
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