BY STEVE KRAH
Josh Gleason and his family are preparing to move from Indiana to a foreign land as representatives of Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
FCA’s vision is “the see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes.”
It’s mission is “to lead every coach and athlete into a growing relationships with Jesus Christ and His church.”
FCA, which is in 114 countries with nearly 20,000 huddles (Bible studies), engages, equips and empowers those coaches and athletes.
Combining a desire to share faith and an affinity for sports, Josh went to work for the FCA about four years ago.
For about two the former athletic director, sports information director and assistant baseball coach at Goshen (Ind.) College has served as FCA’s North Central Indiana Area Director, overseeing activity in Elkhart, St. Joseph and Marshall counties.
In the summer of 2023, Gleason was the chaplain and bench coach for the Elkhart County Miracle — a first-year college/pro baseball team in the Northern League.
“I’ve know Craig Wallin for a number of years,” says Gleason of the Miracle owner/founder.
Gleason led Sunday chapel services at home games, built relationships with players and — on the baseball side — helped by throwing batting practice, hitting fungoes or coaching first base.
“I couldn’t have asked for more,” says Gleason. “I got to be a positive voice. I love baseball and I love being around it. I wanted to share my hope — my relationship with Jesus.”
Holland Gleason — 11-year-old son of Josh and wife Candace — was a batboy.
When the Gleasons were away, J.J. Dubois or Jim Morris, led chapel for the Miracle.
Also last summer, Josh and Candace (who joined the FCA in January) went to Malaysia with 20 interns.
All the while the couple who has been married for 18 years and has three children (oldest daughter Addion is 12 and youngest daughter Ayva is 4) were looking for a purpose.
“We felt unsettled,” says Josh Gleason. “We knew God has something for us.
“What’s God saying? Where is He calling us?”
Candace Gleason has long wanted to be in a full-time international position.
After talking with several people with that kind of knowledge, including Shepherd Coach Network/Unlimited Potential Inc., founder and former Grace College coach Tom Roy in Indiana and Jimtown High School/Huntington University graduate and president, founder and director of HiS PRINT Ministries David Moss in Texas, the Gleasons began seeking opportunities.
“Our heart was for some place where baseball wasn’t well-established,” says Josh Gleason. “Europe wasn’t on our radar when we first started having these conversations.”
For 30-plus years, Terry Lingenhoel has been in Hungary and more than two decades ago established Erd Baseball es Softball Club in a suburb of Budapest.
One of the oldest and largest club’s in the country, the organization has 115 baseball and softball players — male and female — ages 7 to 40. There is an indoor facility for year-round practice.
There are less than 20 baseball clubs in Hungary, which is about the size of Indiana and has a population of about 10 million. Baseball and softball is often introduced in physical education classes.
Part of the European Union, Hungary is bordered by Slovakia, Austria, Ukraine, Romania, Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia.
The Gleasons visited Hungary in October when the club was hosting a 16U and 13U international tournament. Josh umpired in the first game played under the lights.
“It was an unexpected blessing,” says Gleason.
There was also a trip to Poland to meet with FCA leadership there.
Through it all, the Gleasons decided to go Hungary to lead Erd Baseball es Softball Club. The plan is to go to Sweden in May 2024 for a planning meeting a Colorado in July for missions training before taking up residence in Hungary in August.
Gleason says he expects to be there long-term with hopes that Lingenhoel will stay three years to help with the transition.
His No. 1 goal for the next six months is to find his successor in Indiana.
“The need is incredibly strong,” says Gleason. “I’ve put a lot of work into it. I want to see it thrive.
“I want to see our athletes and coaches supported, especial in their faith development.”
Both Josh and Candace hold degrees from Simpson University in the northern California city of Redding — he is Ministry with a masters in Sports Leadership and she in Cross Cultural Studies.
Josh played for the Red Hawks and was a baseball coach at Simpson for five seasons — about half of that as head coach.
When the Gleasons moved, they wanted to be close to family. Josh’s sister — Shelby Beam — is a Grace College graduate living in Winona Lake, Ind.
After living in Elkhart, the Gleasons moved to Bristol, Ind., and the two oldest children attended Northridge Middle School. Addison is involved in theater and drama. Holland plays baseball in the Middlebury Little League.
Gleason notes that FCA is “faith-funded.”
“We raise our own support,” says Gleason, who estimates it will take $2,500 a month to support his family in Hungary. About 70 percent of recurring giving — some monthly, some quarterly — has been gathered.
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