The Story I Didn’t Know I Was Living — Wade Hopkins
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My name is Wade Hopkins, and for the last 30 years I’ve had the privilege of serving with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in and around the Houston area. When I look back, I’m still amazed at what God has allowed me to witness. Over the last three years alone, our team has focused intentionally on inner‑city Houston, and the results have been nothing short of miraculous. More than 5,000 young people have heard the gospel. 1,292 have made decisions to follow Jesus Christ. 2,946 Bibles have been placed directly into the hands of students who may have never owned one. These aren’t just numbers to me—they’re stories, faces, and eternal destinies. And all of it is evidence of what God can do through a heart fully surrendered to Him.
But my story doesn’t begin in ministry. It begins in Pasadena—South Houston—where I grew up as a fatherless kid with one dream: to play football. That dream was everything to me. I wanted the NFL. I wanted the lights, the roar of the crowd, the identity that came with being “somebody.” But growing up without a father meant I didn’t have many opportunities. My dad left when I was young, and that absence could have easily shaped my life in all the wrong ways.
Instead, God sent coaches.
Coach Oden was the first. When I played Mighty Mite football, he picked me up every single day and drove me to practice. He didn’t have to. He wasn’t paid extra. He just saw a kid who needed someone to show up. And he did.
Then came Coach Hurry in junior high. He pushed me harder than anyone ever had. I still remember him saying, “Hopkins, you should wear out a pair of shoes every day.” He saw potential in me long before I saw it in myself. He believed in me, and that belief became fuel.
My senior year of high school, everything seemed to be lining up—until the day I blew out my knee. In an instant, my dream felt like it was slipping away. But once again, God used a coach. Coach Edwards gathered my junior‑year film, packaged it up, and sent it to every Division II school he could find. He didn’t wait for me to ask. He didn’t let my injury define my future. He fought for me.
One of those coaches—Jim Hall at Southwest Baptist University—offered me a scholarship.
I didn’t know what “Baptist” meant. I didn’t care. I just wanted to play football.
What I didn’t realize was that God was setting me up for the greatest encounter of my life.
Up to that point, I had never heard the name of Jesus. Not once. I was a straight‑A student, never had detention, did everything right. I thought being a “good kid” was enough. I thought goodness was the goal. But spiritually, I was completely unaware—living in the dark and not even knowing it.
When I arrived at Southwest Baptist, Coach Hall became more than a coach. He became a model of what it meant to be a godly man, a faithful husband, and a loving father. I had never seen that before. His life made me curious. His consistency made me listen. And one day, he invited me to something called FCA.
I didn’t know what FCA was, but I respected him, so I went.
That night, I heard the gospel for the first time. Someone shared that one day Jesus will return and separate those who know Him from those who don’t. I remember sitting there, stunned. I was so grateful the story didn’t say He would separate the good from the bad. If that had been the standard, I would have felt confident. I thought I was good. I thought God must love me—what wasn’t to love?
But in that moment, I realized something I had never considered: my goodness was empty. My motives were selfish. My heart was wrong. I didn’t know Jesus at all.
And if knowing Him—not being good—was the standard, then I was lost.
That night, everything changed. I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. It wasn’t emotional hype. It wasn’t pressure. It was clarity. It was truth. It was the first time I understood who Jesus was and why I needed Him.
From that moment on, my life took a different direction.
Looking back now, I can see how God used every coach, every injury, every disappointment, and every open door to lead me to Himself. He took a fatherless kid with a football dream and turned him into a man with a calling. He took my desire for the NFL and replaced it with a desire to see lives changed for eternity.
For the last three decades, God has allowed me to use sports as a tool to share the gospel—especially through the influence of coaches, the very people He used to shape me. I’ve seen God transform locker rooms, campuses, families, and entire communities. I’ve watched young men and women discover hope, purpose, and identity in Christ.
I’m grateful for FCA. But even more, I’m grateful for the gospel that rescued me.
My message is simple: Trust Jesus. Surrender your plans. And watch Him do miracles in and through your life.
-Wade Hopkins
