The Fellowship of Christian Athletes announced in a press release Wednesday that Lamar football coach Mac Barnes will be inducted into the organization’s Hall of Champions next spring in Kansas City.

Barnes, who first started an FCA chapter at Meridian High School while he was head coach of the Wildcats football team, has been serving on local and state FCA boards for more than 30 years, according to the press release. He will join other nominees in the class of 2019 like former Georgia football coach Mark Richt and professional baseball coach Trey Hillman, who is currently the first base coach and infield instructor for the Miami Marlins.

The Hall of Champions is reserved for volunteers who have devoted their time and energy to FCA, and Barnes said he was surprised when finding out the news.

“If you’re in a state and coach for 40 years then you think a hall of fame is a possibility if you win some games and stuff like that,” Barnes said. “I’ve won a couple of FCA awards, which are really nice, but from a national standpoint, this isn’t something I even thought about.”

Barnes said he’s grateful for the recognition and for the opportunity to meet many people through FCA who have blessed him personally, and he admitted he’s still trying to process the recognition.

“I don’t know how to consider this,” Barnes said. “I don’t look at it as an award — I don’t know what to look at it as, because I’ve gotten more out of (FCA) than I’ve given.”

When starting a local FCA chapter in 1978, Barnes said he had no idea he would stay involved with the organization for as long as he has.

“I was 26, and most of the people in FCA played football back then, so I probably thought that would be another way to help us win, to tell you the truth,” Barnes said. “I would love to say my motives were pure, but at that time I was so overwhelmed with coaching that everything was geared toward that.”

A decade later, Barnes said he spoke to a former Wildcat who was a sophomore on the team in 1978, and that player expressed gratitude for Barnes using FCA as an outlet to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

“All he said was, ‘You were right,’ and I appreciated that because the hard thing I see in society today is that kids don’t really understand what’s out there in front of them,” Barnes explained. “You go through junior high, high school and even college, and you think life will be easy. When you look at the stats of suicide and addiction in young people, what we’re finding is that they’re not pleased with where they’re getting to and the way the world is. I do the FCA here and teach a couple of Bible classes, and the greatest purpose I have is trying to do that.”

With the nomination, Barnes said he hopes it will bring attention to the FCA and its need for both financial support and volunteers.