Sports Ministry - The beginning

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined"

-Henry David Thoreau-

Hello to anyone that comes on board and follows this. I currently reside in Texas and have been here for just over 3 years. I am married to a wonderful, supporting wife. I have 1 boy, Miller Ray, and another boy on the way due at the end of June, Nate Brandon.

I am a straight-forward guy. I don't "beat around the bush" on a lot of things. I am here to let everyone know that Sports and Ministry can go hand-in-hand. While I was in high school God was preparing me to be in sports ministry. I didn't realize it until around June of 2010. I am very excited and feel peace in my life for the first time in a while.

How did this come about?

I first saw the impact that ministry could have on sports when I was a freshman in high school. My dad took a team of guys to a tournament called Hoopfest. This is put on by the group Sports Crusaders. From this tournament an "All-Star" team is selected to go somewhere internationally to play basketball and to take the Word of God into that area. I was not selected that year, which is understandable considering I had a stick for a body and really wasn't a good player. I returned by Sophomore year then skipped my Junior year and returned my Senior year of high school. This year I was chosen for the All-Star team. We went to Juarez, Mexico. While there we won all our games, but that wasn't the main reason we were there. We taught basketball camps during the day and gave our testimonies at different locations. I remember being asked to give my testimony in front of a church service. I was very nervous, but God got me through.

College

I walked onto the team at Hannibal-LaGrange College(now Hannibal LaGrange University). While there I spent 2 summers being apart of Sports Crusaders. I traveled to inner-city areas and to churches to perform the basketball camps. There were numerous kids that we presented the Gospel to, there were numerous kids that gave their lives to God during those camps. It is truly a remarkable thing to experience. While at college I fell hard with where my life as going and with my walk with God. I felt I needed to leave college at that time and continue somewhere else. I left and moved to Joplin, MO. While there I finished college at Missouri Southern State University. While in Joplin my life didn't reflect God at all. I believe now, this was one of those trials that God puts you through to see how you will come out of it. During my time there I had fallen even farther from God. I made a very hard call to my parents and told them I needed to come home. I came home in October of 2006.

Finding God Again

During my time at home I feel like I got back to where God wanted me to be. I helped coached an Upward basketball team. During this time I had received 3 separate calls from Sports Crusaders about them needing people to work camps the summer of 2007. Since I received 3 separate calls I believed that God was calling me to join. I took the step of faith and joined. It was a great summer. Met some great people. While living at home I had made a reconnection with a past camp-crush from high school. She lived in Texas. We emailed and talked on the phone for about 3 months before actually seeing each other again. We both felt that God had brought us together. We became engaged at the end of the summer.

Making A Change

I moved to Texas in November of 2007. Stacy and I got married on June 14, 2008. Through this marriage I have seen God open a number of doors for me to get back into sports. Our church completed a gym in the Spring of 2009. I have been able to help start an Upward Cheerleading and Basketball league at our church. I have recently started an open gym night, plus introducing a once-a-month volleyball night.

What Next

Starting in June of 2010, Stacy and I agreed to start praying about how I could get into Sports Ministry on a full-time basis. Since I have been a part of Sports Crusaders in the past I have always felt led to be a part of them. I made some calls to talk about this to Tricia at Sports Crusaders headquarters. She helped out a lot with explaining everything. I feel as though God wants a Sports Crusader chapter to begin here in Texas. This is the direction that Stacy and I are going. What does this include? It includes me recruiting Christian college athletes for volleyball, basketball, soccer, and cheerleading. I will be contacting churches in the Texas/Louisiana area. We are very excited about this possibility and are now waiting official approval from the Sports Crusaders' board on April 8. Please pray for us in this endeavor.