Amidst the daily pressures of training, competing and passing classes as a collegiate athlete, the Christian ministry organization, Athletes in Action (AIA), provides a space for Bobcat athletes of all backgrounds to seek community and find an identity outside of being an athlete.
AIA is a Christian ministry with local groups located across the globe. Texas State AIA Team Leader Nick Land was first introduced to the organization while playing baseball at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas.
Land played through his college baseball years with the goal to play professionally. One day those plans were turned upside down after tearing a ligament in his elbow during senior year.
“Ironically, that was one of my favorite seasons. I learned that my identity wasn’t in who I was as an athlete,” Land said. “It wasn’t in my performance, but it was in something that was secure.”
Land found that both security in his faith and being out with an injury were what changed everything about his plans, setting him on a new mission to pursue athlete ministry with AIA.
“On the outside looking in, athletes have it all together. We, as the fans see, [athletes] could make NIL money and have a team, so that means they have community, they get all these resources, but when you sit down with the athletes, that’s not their story,” Land said. “There’s something missing, and so I want to share that with others, and show people that they’re more than just an athlete.”
Since joining Texas State AIA in 2016, Land has seen the San Marcos chapter grow from around 20 people to a now consistent group of over 40 athletes, and sometimes sees up to 70-80 students join together at “Tuesday Timeout,” a weekly gathering where athletes join for Bible study as a community.
“We just want to know you and let you be known, seen and valued. That’s why we actually advertise it as kind of a non-spiritual event,” Land said. “We want to just meet a need where they can build a connection outside of their sport and outside of what they tend to put their identity in.”
Getting involved with AIA provided support for exercise and sports science senior Justin Wagner, who joined while competing with the track and field team as a distance runner.
Throughout his career as a runner at Texas State, Wagner worked through many injuries and at times struggled to get back into competing, but said he discovered a new purpose through AIA.
“A lot of my self-worth used to come from how well I did a practice that morning or in the last race, things like that,” Wagner said. “God cares about me, he loves me. I am enough because of Jesus, not because of anything I’ve done.”
Now in his senior year, Wagner is pursuing his passion for ministry while staying connected to fellow athletes as he joins AIA as part-time staff for 2025-26.
For some athletes like Kason O’Riley, a former Bobcat high jumper who took his career to the professional level, being a part of AIA played a role in supporting his career and finding purpose on the outside, all at the same time.
“Sports take a lot out of you mentally, and put a lot of stress on you, so doing the discipleship [with AIA], I really learned that what you do [and] your sport does not define who you are,” O’Riley said.
O’Riley said spending more time in the AIA community and seeking discipleship helped him adopt a new mindset, which resulted in the improvement of his athletic performance.
“I started pretty much going to ‘I don’t really care what happens at the meet, if I succeed, I succeed, if I do bad, I do bad. I’m not going to let it beat me up inside,’” O’Riley said. “I started jumping better, I go with that mindset, and I ended up PRing by like, three inches.”
In the final seasons of her collegiate tennis career, Texas State alumna Callie Creath found new purpose in playing while competing as a graduate student.
“I realized that the things that we do on the court, on the field, whatever it may be, are for God, and that is something that has really, really stuck with me,” Creath said. “So in my second year, when I came back and played tennis, I felt like I was a completely different person.”
Now navigating life outside of Texas State and tennis, Creath said what she learned from AIA still sticks with her in everyday life and can be applied to everything.
“I would encourage people, if they’re thinking about joining AIA, I would say just go. It’s going to change your life,” Creath said. “It changed my life, and now I’m able to tell that story.”
