Sports can build confidence, but it can also crush a kid’s sense of worth when the scoreboard becomes their identity. We sit down with BJ Laughter, an area representative for Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) in Henderson, Polk, and Rutherford counties, to talk about what students are really carrying and how faith-based mentorship shows up inside real schools in Western North Carolina.

BJ shares what FCA looks like on the ground: 86 active huddles across his three-county area, many led by students, where kids gather for devotionals, prayer, and real conversations about integrity, sportsmanship, and pressure. We also hear BJ’s path from a long career in education and school leadership to becoming a fully support-raised “missionary” in his own hometown, plus how FCA helps communities process grief when tragedy hits a team or a campus.

We also break down a big local fundraiser: a donated 1997 Harley Davidson Springer being raffled with 300 tickets at $100 each, benefiting Southwest North Carolina FCA, Donnie Jones’s special needs sports program, and the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office STAR Camp. If you want to follow along, look up Southwest North Carolina FCA on Facebook or Instagram, or connect with BJ at bjlaughter.com. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves youth sports, and leave a review so more Western North Carolina listeners can find the show.