Hudson Henry

Ryan Folkes • April 18, 2022

Hudson Henry - RS Junior - Arkansas Football


Hudson Henry, a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, is currently a redshirt Junior on the University of Arkansas football team. Hudson’s father, Mark Henry, serves as a teaching pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, so to say Hudson “grew up” in the church might be a bit of an understatement.


Hudson gave his life to Jesus at 7-years-old. Although he believes the saving power of Jesus was at work in his life that day, he looks back on that moment and remembers it as a step of obedience that he took because he knew it would make his parents happy. He confesses that he didn’t truly understand the magnitude of what happened that day.

Fast forward 7 years to a 14-year-old Hudson continued to grow in his faith. He grew so much in his faith that he realized he had not taken ownership of his faith. Between church, family, friendship, and fellowship with other believers he felt as if he had simply hitched his faith-wagon to everyone around him.



But God had bigger plans for Hudson. God revealed to Hudson that Jesus isn’t merely a distant savior who came and went a long time ago, but that Jesus is a savior who desires to have a personal relationship with each and every one of us today, including Hudson! It was then that Hudson decided to rededicate himself to Christ, not because it was something he though his parents would be proud of him for, but because he truly believed. The next three years proved to be a season of exponential spiritual growth for Hudson.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.


- Galatians 2:20 -

As a senior in high school Hudson’s spiritual growth started to plateau at the expense of football. Hudson had never struggled to be an obedient Jesus-follower as a football player, but when new layers were added, such as the recruiting process, his faith suffered at the hands of football. You could say that the priority on recruiting paid off given that he was offered a spot on the University of Arkansas football team, but the ground he lost on his faith journey proved to be costly.


Hudson’s freshman year at Arkansas presented struggles that he had never faced before. For the first time he was truly on his own. Hudson has always set high standards for himself and his freshman year those standards were all based on performance. He not only measured his performance on the field or in the classroom (as many student-athletes do), he also measured his performance when it came to spiritual growth. Hudson was struggling to meet his personal standards across the board.

Hudson’s poor performance led to shame. Shame gave way to anxiety. Anxiety made it difficult to focus. The lack of focus led to poor performance. The cycle was real and it was weighing on him.


Hudson needed grace. God provided.


Toward the back end of his freshman year God provided Hudson with a new community of believers. Hudson felt called to invite some people over to read the Bible. Those people accepted the invitation, and a Bible study was born.


God started transforming Hudson’s heart. Hudson once thought that God expects a certain level of performance – reading the Bible, praying, playing – and if he didn’t perform well that God would give up on him. Now Hudson knows that God will never give up on him.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

 

    He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.


He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.


- Psalm 23:1-2 -

As Hudson’s faith was reignited, he felt the Spirit moving him to share the Gospel with more people. One morning he prayed that God would put someone in his path that he could share the Gospel with THAT day. It turns out THAT day it was pouring rain and Hudson’s only way to get to class was on his moped. He arrived to class soaking wet and the auditorium was empty with the exception of one other student who also didn’t get the memo that class was cancelled that day. Now, in addition to being soaking wet, Hudson felt frustrated, annoyed, and a little bit defeated. But God had him right where he wanted him.


Hudson felt the Spirit pushing him to talk to this other student. He asked him his name, his life, and where he went to church. Bryant introduced himself and told Hudson he wasn’t really interested in church. He told Hudson that he believed there is a God, but wasn’t convinced that Jesus is God. Hudson and Bryant exchanged numbers and planned to meet again another day. Over the course of a couple weeks Hudson and Bryant grabbed lunch where Hudson opened himself up to answer any questions (or as many as he could!) about the Bible. A week later Hudson and Bryant met for dinner and Bryant confessed that he was ready to give his life to Jesus!

Hudson has always desired to grow in his faith and aspires to help other’s grow in their faith. In he summer of 2021 Hudson started attending the FCA Summer huddles where he would always bring his teammates along. In the Fall of 2021 he committed to a weekly team huddle, led by FCA Character Coach Garrett Rybak, along with some of his teammates where they studied the book of Daniel. This continued into the Spring of 2022 where they studied Galatians.


Hudson has experienced some days that God has felt really far away, but he knows deep down that God is right next to him. God is showing Hudson that he will never give up on him and is always growing him.

"God is always teaching and showing me what it means to be a follower. What it means to live for him and be loved by him."

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