An area man has been promoted to lead the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in the state of Mississippi, the organization announced on Friday.
Louisville native Kiel Higginbotham was appointed effective Sept. 1 after nine years of service within the FCA. Former State Director Bill Buckley had a glowing review of Higginbotham upon his promotion.
“Kiel Higginbotham was an unanimous choice as the next Mississippi FCA State Director,” Buckley said in a release. “Kiel excels in organizational and strategic planning and our Mississippi staff knows him and loves him. Kiel loves and pursues the Lord and he’s ready to lead our state!”
The details of his job duties are that Higginbotham will “seek to lead his staff to be healthy and effective ministers who advance the Gospel across Mississippi and globally through the influence of coaches and athletes.”
The FCA website said that the organization had a total of 500 small group studies last year called “campus huddles” and 50 more coaches huddles that met. Higginbotham will be in charge of organizing a plan for the organization and being a thorough leader for the group, of which other leaders believe he’s fully capable.
“The selection of Kiel Higginbotham as the new FCA State Director will be a true blessing to the athletes, coaches and the FCA staff in Mississippi,” Mississippi Chairman Clint Herring said. “Kiel is now a veteran leader who has literally grown into this position as a result of God’s favor and Kiel’s diligent and faithful service. Kiel loves people and has remarkable leadership qualities which I am confident will lead to sustained Mississippi FCA momentum and vision for our future.”
As for Buckley, he’s a longtime servant in the state in FCA and will continue in a different role. He was the State Director for 25 years and will transition to becoming the Area Director for the organization in the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Higginbotham was the Multi-Area Director in South Mississippi before moving up to State Director.
Prior to joining FCA in a full-time capacity, Higginbotham was a Christian athlete. He played baseball at Louisville High School and went on to play for Belhaven University where he earned a degree in History. When he took a job within the organization in 2011, Higginbotham became an Area Representative and has carried a passion for student athletes and his faith since his time in sports.
“My prayer is that God would use FCA as a vehicle to bring many people to faith in Christ and alongside His church, to lead a disciple-making movement across our great state,” Higginbotham said. “The global platform of sports is enormous today. Our hope and goal is to insert the good news of Jesus Christ into every locker room and on every field, court and campus in Mississippi.”
