West Branch will once again have a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) program in the 2024-2025 school year. While the overall message of FCA is to learn to encourage conversations about Christ, participants are not required to have religious affiliations and everyone is welcome to join the activities for some fun. The FCA program is led by David Learish, who also serves as the high school physical education and driver’s education teacher at West Branch Area High School. Learish has run the FCA program at West Branch for nearly 20 years. The program holds several after-school meetings throughout the year and includes a variety of fun annual activities for students to enjoy.

A great way to get started in FCA is by attending the meetings. They meet every Wednesday in Mr. Learish’s room from 2:45-3:45. If you attend, you will play fun games, participate in bible studies, and eat snacks. You will also share stories and listen to testimonies. 

There is a “See You At the Pole” gathering for people to attend as well. See You At The Pole (SYATP) was inspired by students in a youth group in Burleson, Texas early in 1990. The teenagers felt led to go and pray at several area schools during their weekend youth group retreat. West Branch has held SYATP for about 18 years. People gather at the school’s flagpole before school to pray for various needs, including those of the teachers, students, staff, administration, school board, bus drivers and more. Learish emphasized, “We believe in the power of prayer and when the righteous gather to pray, God hears our prayers. He desires that we pray more than once a year, but this is a great event to remind people that we need to pray more for our schools.” Attendance at the event typically ranges from 8 to 20 people, though numbers can vary. This year’s SYATP event will take place on Tuesday, September 25, from 7:15 to 7:40 a.m. at the flagpole in front of the school.

Flag football is another fun annual activity FCA holds. It usually takes place in the beginning of November. After school, you head to the football field and play for a little over two hours. After the first hour of play, participants take a break to hear a guest speaker from West Branch share their testimony. The speaker closes with a prayer and then playing continues. Attendance is open to everyone, regardless of membership.  

FCA also hosts an annual badminton tournament, which I’ve participated in every year and always find to be a great time. The tournament usually takes place later in the evening. After pool play, playoff brackets are used to determine the winner. Like the flag football event, there is a break during the badminton tournament where participants listen to a testimony. 

Learish and the FCA members have done an outstanding job at getting students involved and will continue to do so. Joining the FCA and participating in their activities is definitely worth your time. As Junior Bella Koleno puts it, “FCA is a great opportunity to learn and grow in faith. It would be awesome to get more people involved.”