Moreno is married to Eleanor, and they have four sons: Ni (25), Jairue (23), Roha (21), Raffa (13). They live in the capital city of Antananarivo, the largest city in Madagascar with a population of 1.3 million. The country of Madagascar is beautiful with mountains and valleys and is rich with natural resources (tradition even says that when David sent Solomon to search for precious stones, wood, and gold for the temple that they came to Madagascar). Unfortunately, the island’s inhabitants are largely poor due to centuries of oppression. In addition, the island is commonly in the path of one cyclone or another. They experienced five in the area just last year. The people are desperate for hope.
Transforming Madagascar
One Man's Dream to Change an Island
What is the first thing you think of when you hear “Madagascar”?
Lemurs? The island country of Madagascar is home to 110 species of lemurs. Instead of the “Big Five,” they have the “Small One.”
Vanilla? Madagascar vanilla is among the highest quality in the world.
Baobab Tree? It’s the national tree of Madagascar and is often called the “Tree of Life” because of its ability to bear fruit even in the driest seasons.
King Julian singing, “I like to move it, move it”? Okay, that has nothing to do with the country of Madagascar and everything to do with the movie by the same title that is not actually accurate to the country (except, of course, the lemurs).
Moreno? This is the answer given by FCA staff involved in FCA’s international ministry. Moreno is one of our international teammates and has lived in Madagascar all his life. He has been doing sports ministry for 16 years and connected to FCA for the past six years. Moreno can attest to the fact that there are many species of lemurs in his country and that the vanilla there is so good. When asked if he knew that we have a movie in the United States called Madagascar, he just smiled and said, “Yes, I know . . . It is good.”ur post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.
Moreno’s Story
Moreno and his staff work tirelessly to bring that hope of Christ through sports ministry in all of Madagascar. Moreno wants to tell others about God’s love through sports ministry because God used sport (and more specifically, an injury) to draw Moreno to Himself. Moreno says, “I was 21 years old playing professional football (soccer). I got injured in training, and then I got malaria. I received an injection, but the doctor put it in the wrong place resulting in a 7 cm [approximately 3 inch] difference between my right leg and left.”
As any athlete could guess, that type of injury is undoubtedly career ending. Moreno remembers praying, “Oh God, if you are real, please heal me.” Every day he would pray and cry. Two weeks later, his prayer changed to, “O Lord, if you heal me, I’m going to serve you and give you my life.” The Lord began healing his leg from seven centimeters to five to three. He then forgot his promise to serve God, but God kept drawing him through the invitation of a friend. He finally agreed to go to church. When he arrived, he remembers, “I just fell down on my knees and cried. I didn’t know what was happening, but the stories of the song spoke to my heart, that only the Lord was the light of the world . . . He got me.” There remains a 2 cm (~3/4”) difference between his legs, but that doesn’t slow him down even for a moment.
Ministry Today
When asked what a week of ministry looks like for Moreno, he says, “Making disciples everywhere using mostly sport touching coaches and athletes and teachers.” There is no typical day in this ministry, but Moreno goes where there are coaches and athletes who need to hear about the hope of Christ. He invests in both coaches and athletes, always remembering that the coaches are special significance in the lives of their athletes.
Moreno says, “I sometimes go to conferences with pastors and share about sports ministry. I work in my city and go out of the city. In my city, I have many disciples so we need to go out so we can reach all of Madagascar.” When they go into a new community, they often start with vision casting and a prayer walk where they work to discern what the Lord may show them about that area. Following this, they do a sports ministry training, and they typically stay for a day or two afterwards for fellowship, follow-up, and determining next steps.
They also use this time in these last days to look for a catalyst leader to invite to the next Multiply School. The Ready, Set, Go Multiply School is a 21-day training school for new sports ministry leaders. It is an intense time of challenge, teamwork, and growth. Moreno and his team have held three Multiply Schools and see increasing fruit from the investment in future leaders.
God at Work
The day before the last Multiply School, Moreno was going over the agenda. He suddenly remembered that there had been another young man right who had wanted to attend, but he could not remember his name or find his number. Finally, he found the number and called him, and he showed up for Multiply School the very next day. And over the next few days, the Lord completely changed him. Not long after Multiply School, Moreno received a call from this young man’s mother. She said, “Moreno! A revival is happening in my family! He is speaking about God and many repented! It’s amazing. He’s on his knees and reading the Bibles!” He now comes to the Friday night service with Moreno and his team so that he can have strong Christian community and continue to grow. These evenings begin with dinner at 6 pm and end at 2 am with prayer for their nation and for FCA globally.
Believing God for Big Results
When asked about his vision for Madagascar, he said, “Only the Word of God can change Madagascar. We want to raise lots of leaders to make disciples who make disciples. If we do this, even the economy and social things should change.”
Northland FCA Blog
God at work through Tanzania and beyond
How God is using Danny in Tanzania to build His Kingdom
God Working through a Community . . . and a Country
A story on the impact of a coach in Mitchell, South Dakota
Photo courtesy of North Dakota State University
A story on the impact of a coach in Weyauwega, WI
A story on the impact of a coach in Rainy River, Minnesota
To and through the coach. This strategy brings the mission and vision of FCA to fruition: to see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes and to lead every coach and athlete into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His church. FCA has seen the incredible impact a single coach can have when engaged in a growing relationship with Christ, equipped to lead and serve fellow coaches and athletes, and empowered to do the work. To the Coach Brock Thompson attended the weekly FCA huddle at Blair High School in Nebraska. He grew in his faith, but it wasn’t until years later that God really grabbed hold of his life. He attended the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. In the fall of his senior year, he took a job coaching a high school girls soccer team. That was a major turning point in his life. He says, “At the end of that season I remember feeling called - like this is my path. I had changed my major four times thinking healthcare. That was the first time I felt called to go down a new path.” After graduating with a degree in Biology Education, he served as head coach of the women’s soccer team for three years at Mary (at the age of 22) and then at the University of North Dakota. Thompson admitted that his early years of coaching were more about his own achievements than the teams he coached. He says, “I wanted to coach at the highest level. My focus was on climbing the ladder of success and coaching the biggest and best place I could.”
“If not us, then who, if not me and you? Right now, it's time for us to do something. If not now, then when will we see an end to all this pain? It's not enough to do nothing. It's time for us to do something.” The sentiment of these words, sung by contemporary recording artist Matthew West, is what drives Coach Tom Milbrandt as a math teacher, football coach, and FCA huddle coach at Valley City High School in North Dakota. He doesn’t want to take life for granted for even one moment, and he knows God has him at Valley City to bring the light of Jesus to every student and athlete he meets. Five years ago, he made a transition from Maple Valley High School to Valley City. He says, “I never thought I’d end up in a bigger school. I was nervous about going from a smaller, class B school with two hallways to a bigger city and class A school, but it’s my opportunity to reach more kids.” Coach Milbrandt has a positive impact on 500 kids every day, from those he coaches in 7th grade football, to his math students, to every student he passes in the hall, and to the FCA huddle members. Coach Milbrandt is driven by what Christ has done for him. He says, “I serve because that’s what I feel led to do. I love the Lord and want people to see that. It doesn’t mean I’m perfect – I fail – but my sins are covered, and I want kids to know that. Knowing Christ, the world’s going to look different to you and you will look different to the world, and even your everyday language will look different. If I can model that to kids, what better place to do that than in a public school?” On the Field Coach Milbrandt has been coaching since he returned to his hometown of Hankinson, North Dakota, during the summers while he was in college. It was during that time that he was moved toward a career in education and coaching. He says, “You have much different relationships when you coach. It’s on a more personal level and makes a greater impact on your athletes’ lives.” He knew even then that he wanted to have an impact on as many people as possible, and he knew that coaching and teaching was a great way to do it.
It’s easy to underestimate the impact one person can have in a world with such great need, but the Fellowship of Christian Athletes has witnessed time and time again the influence one coach can have on an athlete, a team, and a school. God uses coaches to influence young people on and off the field every single day through their words and actions. One such coach is a young man named John Dewitt. Coach Dewitt is a native of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. During high school, he played football, wrestling, baseball, and ran track and cross country. He grew in his love of running and found he was especially fond of the longest distances, like the two-mile run for track. When he attended UW-Oshkosh for secondary math education, he kept running, again gravitating toward the longest distance - the 10k. He regularly ran 80-110 miles per week in college (that’s 15-18 miles per day!). After college, he just kept running and extended up to the marathon, where he has qualified for two U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. He has no plans of stopping and feels he has great running years ahead of him. A Teacher and Coach for God Dewitt’s love of running made him a natural for coaching track and cross country at Nathan Hale High School in West Allis, Wisconsin, where he has taught upper-level math classes since 2014. While he trains athletes and prepares students for post-secondary education, he is at West Allis for so much more than that.
