The CAC Story

Being an athlete is a great gift and a great challenge. In a world centered around the commodification of bodies, high-pressure environments, and ruthless schedules, it is extremely difficult to simultaneously train and perform at a high level while trying to live a life that is centered and intentional with meaningful conversations around your experiences.

As two former athletes, we, Kelsey and Georgia, have felt the need for an intentional Christian community that helps athletes navigate their personhood within and outside their athletic identity, grow in their spiritual lives, as well as navigate the increasing social and ethical challenges of our day. Kelsey’s experience in collegiate and professional soccer fired her passions for the athletic community. She has long incorporated her love for the Christian faith and theological exploration into her love for soccer and wants to help current athletes do the same. Similarly, Georgia’s experience as a collegiate athlete during the COVID-19 shutdown, racial justice responses, and presidential election caused her to realize the importance of being an athlete and the lack of support they receive for off-the-field realities. As Georgia struggled to cope with the loss of playing seasons and navigated her role in political activism, she saw the immense need for a community that could support athletes with these experiences.

Through and through this ministry has been a collaborative and community effort. We are so grateful to myriad of friends, colleagues, and encouragers along the journey that have helped to form CAC. A special shout out to: Athletes former and current, LGBTQIA+ family, and allies (you know who you are) who have courageously shared their stories with us, Vanderbilt Divinity School alumni who showed up and shared at listening sessions, Asheville City Soccer Club for allowing us to dream and host our first Circle, The Rev. Mary Cat Young at UNC Chapel Hill, The Rev. James Franklin at Wake Forest University, Rev. Shannon Spencer at Warren Wilson College, Eric Dozier, Athlete Ally, The Episcopal Diocese of WNC and The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, The Episcopal Church Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry, and The Center for Contemplative Justice. Our Circle community continues to expand, and we hope you will join us.

Christian Athlete Circles was created out of shared stories, experience, prayer, dialogue, listening, diversities, advocacy, allies, and faithful people saying “yes” to the Way of Love and Jesus Movement. We are currently housed as part of the Incubator Program under the fiscal sponsorship of The Center for Contemplative Justice.

Christian athletes deserve a faith community that will walk with them as they seek to deepen and engage their faith, make meaning of society, ritualize their joys and griefs, celebrate their belovedness, discover their voice, and engage in activism. We desire to take the Bible seriously in study, to follow the Way of Love and be people of the Jesus movement, to learn spiritual practices, to build loving and joyful communities, and to do it with other athletes and athlete allies who understand the complexity of athletic life.

We have also witnessed the need for student-athlete, LGBTQIA+ persons and allies to have a Christian community where they can fully love God, self, and others without feeling like they are choosing between allyship and Christian community. We have too many stories of having ministries “pray away the gay” and other forms of spiritual abuse due to the exclusive theology of these existing para-church organizations. We seek to build an athlete ministry that is rooted in belovedness, original goodness, and dignifies the individual and the collective by honoring diversities and our unity in Christ as mutually inclusive endeavors. We hope to equip campus ministry leaders, student-athletes, coaches, and campus ministry communities with materials that appeal to the particularities of the student-athlete experience, without forcing students to sacrifice their identity or their faith.

with Love,

Georgia + Kelsey