Aminta Geisler has been part of FCA since she was a little girl. From watching her dad speak at family camps and sports camps to attending Indiana Sports Camp for track to being part of the Becker High School huddle to serving as the huddle coach alongside her husband at Spring Lake Park High School (where her son is a member) to now being a speaker at Leadership Camp, Aminta has come full circle with FCA and in her walk with the Lord.
Passing the Baton
Shelley Pearson • July 6, 2022
Legacy.
We do a lot of talking about legacy around The Fellowship of Christian Athletes:
- Coaches pouring into athletes who become coaches that pour into athletes
- Student leaders growing in discipleship who disciple other students who become leaders
- Professional athletes sharing Christ and FCA all around Minnesota in the 1960s that has become over 200 huddles serving thousands of coaches and athletes as they become disciples who make disciples
- Two dads who became friends through FCA and poured faith and coaching into their sons who have also become friends and are bringing their faith into their coaching
And the legacy of one woman who grew up watching her dad speak at various FCA camps and will be a speaker at this year’s Leadership Camp, taking the baton her dad has handed to her.
Aminta’s Dad and FCA
Aminta’s father, Steve Whittaker, was first introduced to FCA when he was the track and cross-country coach at
Bethel University in the 1980s. Mark Tiemann, Minnesota FCA’s state director at the time, reached out to him for help with a winter retreat. He helped. Then Mark was interested in starting an
FCA golf camp and enlisted Steve’s help. Again, he helped. That was 35 years ago, and the camp continues today. Steve has helped get other golf events started and spoken at local and national coaches conferences.
After 10 years of coaching at Bethel, Steve realized he could not coach at the collegiate level and be the father he wanted to be to Aminta and her brother, Matt. While he was seeking God in what to do next, he spoke at a coaches conference in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Dwight Lundeen, football coach and FCA huddle coach in Becker, Minnesota, was in attendance and reached out to Steve at the perfect time. Steve remembers, “He said if I ever want to teach and coach at a public school to come there. I finished out another 30 years of teaching and coaching in Becker.”
He continued to be involved with FCA, and it has influenced him in many ways over the past 40 years. Steve says, “FCA has been a wonderful way to share my faith and how God has worked in my life. It has challenged me to grow. It has been a fun and important and growing experience for myself, our kids, and now our grandkids” (he served as a clinician at the Indiana track camp that Aminta attended, Matt attended golf camp for six years, and now his grandson is attending golf camp).
Passing the Baton
While FCA has almost always been a part of Aminta’s life, there was a period of deep challenge where she was not living surrendered to the Lord. Aminta says, “I went to church and volunteered but didn’t read my Bible, so when the storms of life hit, I was uprooted. I spent a lot of years angry with God for not answering my prayers. I thought if He loved me, He would give me what I wanted. I spent three years in my 30s running away from Him and had the blessing of hitting rock bottom and realizing there was no hope apart from Christ. I told Him if He would take me back, I would spend the rest of my life chasing Him with reckless abandon. That was 10 years ago.” And today, Aminta is indeed chasing her Lord with reckless abandon and sharing the message of His grace and love for His Word with whomever she can, including campers at the upcoming FCA Leadership Camp.
The message she will share with campers comes from her passion to see others in God’s Word and boldly living out their faith walks. She remembers her dad always being clear and concise in how he shared the Gospel, and she tries to emulate that. She remembers that he often shared about WINning. Steve says, “I did a lot of study and created the WIN philosophy. It turns the worldly values upside down as we look at a scriptural context.” He has shared this philosophy many times over the past 40 years.
- W (Colossians 3:23) Work hard in whatever you do. Use your talents to serve Him.
- I (Romans 13:14) Imitate Christ. How will you be like Christ in competition?
- N (Matthew 12:41-44, Story of the widow’s mite) - Numbers are secondary. It’s not the number you get, but did you give it your all?
That heart is behind what Aminta shares as well.
“It’s Really Priceless”
Steve is happy to pass the baton of speaking and FCA on to his daughter. He says, “It’s priceless to see when your kid allows God to really get a hold of their life. What would you trade for that? You can’t put a price on it. You can’t explain how much it means. To see her allow God to come back in her life and really change her life and use the abilities He’s given her . . . it’s wonderful. It’s really priceless.”
And Aminta just wants to serve her Lord and see other believers grow in Him. She sees FCA as a vehicle for this to happen. She says, “I am so thankful for the role that FCA has played in my life and in my family’s life, and I’m so thankful for the ministry that they have with coaches and athletes. I’m married to a coach, and I’ve seen the fruit of FCA and it’s such an honor to be part of that.” And it is an honor for FCA that she has accepted the call to speak at camp. We are praying for God to move mightily through her words as she shares her heart.
We are excited to see what God does through Aminta and others at FCA’s 2022 Leadership Camp. If you know a high school student, consider letting them know (and even sending them) to Leadership Camp.
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