About Us
Echo is a speech and debate club located in the Texas Highland Lakes area. As image-bearers to the God Almighty, we have an immense privilege to point others to the life-changing reality of Jesus Christ through our words. Our mission is to sharpen students’ skills of rhetoric for the purpose of amplifying our effectiveness of this privilege. We echo God’s message of grace through the testimony of honing rhetoric skills, and we do this primarily through the tool of speech and debate competition. Our club’s purpose echoes the NCFCA’s mission: “To challenge and equip ambassadors for Christ to communicate truth with integrity and grace.”
Competition brings out opportunities for growth like no other. We compete under the NCFCA Speech and Debate League, and we whole-heartedly aim for their motto: “Meet your challenge. Grow in grace. Communicate with confidence.” Competition pushes us to confront fears, to choose excellence, and to trust God with results. This environment allows students to personally grow in their faith as well as their skills of reasoning and delivery.
Testimonies
This is what some NCFCA alumni have to say about speech and debate:
“I’ve learned to better analyze, organize, and apply information I gather from others, as well as myself. Speech and debate has benefited me in every aspect of my life!”
"If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a mature man who is also able to control his whole body." (James 3:2) NCFCA taught me to control how I communicated my thoughts, and therefore how I actually thought. Whether it be sharing the Gospel or my latest school research findings, I'm confident that I am prepared to speak in a convincing, understandable, God-honoring way.”
Foundational Beliefs, Values, and Regulations
We are a value-driven club. We affirm all the Statement of Faith, Position statements, and values detailed in the NCFCA League Handbook. We also affirm the rules and regulations detailed in the handbook for the purpose of fair competition. All club families will sign their agreement when they affiliate with NCFCA, and our club does not add to these statements.
Member Expectations
- Each family will need to affiliate with NCFCA. There is an annual fee for this.
- Each competitor should plan to compete in at least 2 tournaments in the spring. These tournaments are where things start coming together for students, and the learning really starts to solidify.
- These (usually) 3-day tournaments are a time commitment. One parent per tournament is required to volunteer.
- These are also financial commitments. Costs for tournaments include tournament fees, food and lodging for onsite tournaments, and possible wardrobe costs for the business attire requirement.
- We expect options for online and onsite tournaments going forward from 2021.
- One parent should plan to participate during club to help facilitate operations.
- If your student is competing in debate, consider participating in Ziggy Debates. We will discuss this in the club. Regardless, students should expect homework and online meetups outside of club.
- Most debate competitors want to participate in a debate camp in late summer to kick off their year. This is really beneficial, especially for new debaters. Camps vary from year to year.