Led by a team of strong leaders, the Fellowship of Christian Students, formerly known as FCA, has started off their influential studies. Starting with the book of James in the Bible, they plan on going through at least two to three books this year and host some guest speakers from the churches they have represented. Senior Grace Eckart is on the leadership team that makes these decisions.

“There is more joy, more hope, there’s more love for other people [in FCS],” Eckart said. “You know who you can go to if you’re struggling with things or if you need encouragement about faith.”

A large part of FCS is their small group time. Each of the leaders splits up into their small group and goes through the material they are discussing. They don’t keep track of how many show up, just getting a main group that will show up every week ready to learn and ready to discuss.

“We can also talk about how [the message] can change our lives and change the school, which is a really cool kind of lens we put on it this year,” Eckart said. “We are really trying to be outward focused and spread our love around the school.”

The leadership team consists of 10 sophomores, juniors and seniors. They lead small groups, decide what to study and help each other grow as leaders. Sophomore Cameron Paschke said what makes a good leader for this group.

“You can’t lead people somewhere you’re not willing to go and you have to have strong faith,” Paschke said. “You’ve got to have good communication skills, be able to talk to people, be able to help people, and be willing to show up.”

Paschke helps lead the middle school with their FCA and leads his fellow students. He and the other members of the club live to spread joy and peace around the school.

“High school is one of the darkest times in people’s lives,” Paschke said. “[I want people to be] shown the light and see how they can live for God.” 

Eckart wants to see more community and she wants to do it through her organization because of what she sees God doing in her school.

“I’ve seen just a lot of friendships being made,” Eckart said. “It’s just a great community to be around. You know who you can go to if you’re struggling with things or if you need encouragement about faith.