After finding Christ in a hotel room in Arizona on Nov. 6, 1983, Tanana finally understood the gospel and himself through scripture, which in turn helped him better understand his teammates and work hard at keeping is body and mind in shape.

"I lived a successful and fulfilling life according to human standards," Tanana said. "But there was still a nagging inside and I wondered, is this it? Finally, I decided to serve christ and he helped me have faith with my sport. We all want to give our best at what were doing and through god we get the guidance we need."

Tanana gave a talk to the students of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Feb. 25. He taught them about how to reach others through God and how to be better athletes through Him. There were about ten people in attendance including some visitors from His House Church, but in the FCA there are about 20 students total.

"I heard him speak last year as well," said Rochester Hills junior, Nikki Wiedbush. "His lessons and talks just get more powerful every time. It's always a pleasure being able to hear the word."

Tanana visits many schools, prisons and goes to ministry events often to spread the love and word of God. During his presentation, he referenced several scriptures and students followed along with their Bibles and took notes. He talked about salvation and referenced many real life examples for students to relate to.

"My advice to any student athlete would be first, to come to christ and serve him," Tanana said. "Secondly, it's just a matter of giving it your very best. Practice, dedication, drive, discipline, time, these are all factors into being successful. With me, it was baseball. I watched, listened, played it and read about it. When you love something, its pleasurable and fun, the hard work is worth it."

The students that come to FCA don't all have to be of a certain sport, they're are people involved with cheer, softball, wrestling and more. The group offers a support system for student athletes of the Christian faith and is a place where students can talk about similar struggles, sinful ways associated with college and stereotyping of athletes. The students are encouraged to open up to their peers.

“The group really gives you a sense of community amongst all athletes,” said Spring Lake senior Evelyn Lorimer. “A lot of times we get confined to our sport or our team, but the group allows us to pray and reach out to people in different teams and communities. It is definitely a fellowship.”

Tanana also shared his personal story and how he got involved with the Christian faith. He was born in Detroit and offered 200 scholarships for basketball and baseball. He ended up going to Duke. He was drafted into the Angels right out of high school, and soon grew to be a very successful pitcher. He had 82 wins in only a few years and in the 70's could throw up to 100 miles per hour.

After hurting his arm around the age of 30, getting married and having a friend pass away, he was influenced by a chaplain on his team and his wife to attend a bible study. After that he studied the word and learned how to be even more successful.

FCA meets at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night in the IAC football meeting rooms.