Welcome Barron Lenz!
Dear Eastern Iowa FCA Family,
The opportunity to join Eastern Iowa FCA is a gracious gift from God. Stepping into the role of Area Representative feels both humbling and surreal, especially when looking back and realizing how God had been preparing the way long before I ever knew He was.
My journey with FCA began in the fall of 2021 at Coe College. As a freshman on the football team, I knew Jesus, but I lacked spiritual maturity. Aaron Reasland, the FCA staff member serving Coe football at the time, faithfully equipped me with God’s Word and encouraged me to live out the Great Commission. Through his investment and leadership, I was invited to step into a new role as a Huddle Leader at All Sports Camp in Pella, where I had the privilege of serving for three summers.
Camp became a powerful place of growth and clarity for me. It was there that I saw God using FCA to grow both coaches and athletes in their love for Jesus. Camp offered a tangible picture of what faith and sport look like when Christ is truly the cornerstone. Over time, God transformed sports from something I once idolized and built my identity upon into a mission field—one where I could love others and share the gospel. I never imagined that God would use my lifelong experiences in athletics, along with my time in FCA at Coe, to prepare me for full-time sports ministry, yet He did so in ways far beyond anything I could have planned.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.”
(Ephesians 3:20–21)
It is truly an honor to be part of Team Eastern Iowa FCA and to labor together for Jesus.
The Lord has also placed a deep passion for college ministry on my heart because of the work He did in me—and around me—during my years as a college athlete. Through my college football career, God showed me that His grace is sufficient not only to forgive the penalty of sin but also to destroy the power of sin. Those years were marked by sanctification through relationships, injuries, discipleship opportunities, failures, and countless circumstances that God used to shape my faith.
God was not only working in my life during those four years, but in the life of our team as well. My freshman year, there were no spiritual leaders on the roster. By my senior year, more than 15 teammates were walking in relationship with Jesus—several of them as mature disciples—along with multiple baptisms and a growing team Bible study. My desire is to see God continue to move in this same way on teams and campuses throughout Eastern Iowa, lifting high the name of Jesus and seeing Him worshiped among all nations.
“The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few.”
(Matthew 9:37)
There is a great need for college coaches and athletes to hear the gospel, and the Lord is opening many doors for that to happen.
Barron Lenz
Eastern Iowa FCA Area Rep
