Raised in a family of competitive athletes and coaches, Callie grew up going to church, but sports were her religion.
“The ball field really was my church,” Callie said. “We knew Jesus loved us, but He wasn’t at the forefront of everything.”
That began to change when she learned about Team Second, an initiative by I Am Second, e3’s digital media ministry. Intentionally investing in the next generation of Christian leaders, Team Second equips and encourages college athletes to share the Gospel and make disciples on their campuses.
Having just transferred to a new college, Callie felt adrift. Having moved from home, discovering who she was, and in a new environment, what had anchored her no longer held. Soccer remained the most important thing in her life, and her relationship with Jesus was stagnant.
“I wasn’t really growing in my faith,” she said. “I needed someone to disciple me and a community, but I didn’t even know that’s what I needed.”
Callie found both when she joined Team Second.
A Season of Redefinition
Not long after joining, Callie faced something every athlete dreads – a serious injury. One requiring surgery and months of rehab that would keep her off the soccer field.
“For a soccer player, getting a bone taken out of your foot is kind of a big deal,” she said. “I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life. I’d played soccer for 19 years. That was my identity. That was my purpose. That was everything.”
While she learned how to walk, then run, again, she also reassessed her purpose in life. That’s when she attended her first Team Second Summit — a weeklong event designed to build community among the athletes, teach them how to use their sports platforms to glorify God, and equip them with tools for sharing the Gospel and making disciples on campus.
“My eyes were opened to a whole new way of living,” Callie said. “God was calling me to so much more than soccer. I needed to grow in my faith, yes, but I needed to be sharing it and teaching other people how to share their faith, too.”
The other Team Second athletes came alongside her as she wrestled with her post-injury soccer career. They inspired her to seek God’s wisdom about her next steps in soccer and at her school.
“Without the encouragement from the Summit, I don’t know that I would have made it,” she said. “I used to lean so heavily on the approval of coaches, my parents, stats, goals, minutes … I never stopped to think, ‘Where is the Lord in all of this?’”
When Callie began to reflect on those questions, God started to redefine her purpose. She returned to her campus and, since she couldn’t be on the field, began to pour into her teammates from the sidelines.
“I found so much more joy in being on the other side of the white lines,” she said. “Encouraging my teammates, praying with them, taking the freshmen under my wing — that became my ministry.”
Her community in Team Second walked with her through every step of that season.
“Team Second played such a vital role in shaping me,” she said. “These are my people. I know I can call them any time of day or night and they’ll answer. I never had people like that before.”
The Training That Changes Everything
The Summit didn’t just inspire Callie; it equipped her. She brought back the tools she learned – the 3 Circles, the 3/3rds process, and the Four Fields – and began applying them with her teammates.
“Before the Summit, I’d started a Bible study that was just a few of us reading Scripture without much direction,” she said. “After learning the 3/3rds model, suddenly everyone had a role. People started stepping up, praying out loud, leading parts of the discussion. It created space for real discipleship.”
Soon, Callie was sharing the Gospel in new ways – at practice, in her dorm, even while babysitting.
And when one of her teammates accepted Christ, Callie had the privilege of baptizing her at a local reservoir.
From the Field to the Ice
Callie isn’t the only athlete experiencing transformation through Team Second.
Alex, a hockey player at Minnesota State, met the Team Second crew during a training session in early 2024. At the time, he was a brand-new believer, just beginning to understand what following Jesus really meant.
“That training opened my eyes,” Alex said. “I realized my faith wasn’t just something to keep to myself – it was something to share.”
He took the tools he learned from Team Second and brought them to his locker room. Alongside his friend Brendan, Alex began a Bible study with teammates – starting small, praying for direction, and inviting his teammates to hang out after practice.
“By the end of the semester, we had eight guys showing up every week,” Alex said. “Some of them had never opened a Bible before. They just kept coming.”
Using the 3/3rds method and other Team Second discipleship tools, Alex and Brendan began giving away leadership – letting their teammates pray, teach, and lead discussions. Before long, guys who were once silent were leading whole studies themselves.
“We went from two believers on the team to identifying as a church,” Alex said. “We’ve seen teammates give their lives to Christ, get baptized, and start leading their own Bible studies. It’s been incredible. Now, people outside the team are getting baptized. Team Second equipped us, and God’s been using it to change lives.”
A Movement in Motion
Whether on the soccer field or the hockey rink, Callie and Alex’s stories echo the same truth: God is using Team Second to turn athletes into disciple-makers and start a movement for Christ on college campuses.
Through tools, training, and a tight-knit community of faith, college athletes are learning to see their sports not as their identity, but as their mission field.
“I know God has put me exactly where He needs me,” Callie said. “Through Team Second, I found my identity in Christ … and now I get to help others do the same.”
And Alex agrees.
“Winning is great, but it’s not my purpose anymore,” he said. “I used to live for hockey. Now I live for Jesus.”
From uncertain college students to bold disciple-makers, Callie and Alex represent what Team Second is all about – athletes who love God, love others, and are changing the world one locker room, campus, and conversation at a time.
Be Part of What God Is Doing
Across the country, college athletes like Callie and Alex are discovering that their sport is more than a game – it’s a platform given by God to spread the Gospel, make disciples, and plant churches.
As this movement continues to grow, your partnership helps make it possible. When you give to e3 Partners this year-end, you’re investing in initiatives like Team Second and stepping into the story of lives transformed by Jesus and multiplied across campuses, teams, and nations.
Join us in equipping the next generation of disciple-makers.
Team Second is a part of e3’s digital media initiative, I Am Second.