Category Archives: Sports Ministry

Faith under pressure

Posted in Hard Copy Newsletter, Sports Ministry by

Two young women I coach took athletes to AIA’s high-intensity Ultimate Training Camp (UTC), where athletes learn to integrate their faith and sports. Katie has attended UTC as a camper, intern, athletic trainer, and as AIA staff, and this year she got to take students she is ministering to. Abby also had several students from her campus who attended UTC. Read how God worked in their lives through UTC:

Ean: Throughout the week it was so clear to me that God was near. The Special (which is the 20-hour workout) breaks you down to a point where you can only rely on God, and he carried me through when my body so badly wanted to give up. The relationships I built with like-minded athletes who love Jesus is something special. Reflecting on the week – I’d say it was a glimpse of heaven.


Allen: I’ve never been around so many believers who were my age and also played sports at a high level. Being able to worship and grow closer to Christ both individually and as a group was really inspiring. Learning a new way to give God glory through our sport and our lives changed how I view competition. Our bodies are the temple of God and should be used as a form of worship

Emma: What a blessing it was to intern at UTC! It was life-changing to see the transformation of the campers from when they arrived to how they left. It was transformative to see God revealed through immense suffering. UTC is the place where I felt the purest joy in my life, which is only sourced from the Lord.

Mim: I left camp with a renewed relationship with Christ, willing to commit all areas of my life to his love and plan. A highlight of my time spent at UTC was witnessing two of the campers I mentored, rededicate their lives to Christ! We can have assurance in our salvation and of His love for us – even in suffering. God is good all the time!

On a personal note, our family recently celebrated the life of Rick’s father, Gordon. God gave him 96 years. We are so thankful for all he did for our family as well as his Korean war service where all fifteen of his men survived 12 months of action between the US and Chinese front lines conducting survey work. We miss you, Dad. 

Thank you for your part in reaching the world for Christ!

Please review our prayer page and support needs and lift our ministry to the Lord. Click on the following: August 2025 Hard Copy Newsletter.

Picking up the pace

Posted in Athletes in Action, Hard Copy Newsletter, Sports Ministry by

Thank you all for your prayers for Rick. We’re so grateful for the outpouring of love and support!! He is now working full time, walking 5-6 miles/day and building endurance. His stamina is close to normal. Jesus has been very near to us and has cared for us through you. Thank you!


We shared with you that the John Wooden Family Fieldhouse opened on the AIA campus in June. God is opening doors for ministry through activities there. Recently on campus we:

  • Involved almost 200 volunteers, including groups from AIA, Cru, LCA, Wittenberg and Wilberforce Universities
  • Verified 159 million impressions for Athletes in Action from that event, meaning people read, watched or listened 
  • Hosted our first-ever Prep Team Tournament with five games in three days
  • Hosted 122 soccer games, with more than 11,000 guests at the sports complex
  • Hosted two 300+ person banquets in Schindler on back-to-back nights
  • Welcomed 28 coaches from 15 countries for our International Coaches Academy
  • Hosted our second wrestling clinic in Wooden with more than 125 participants

Each of these events either started or deepened relationships with athletes, coaches and fans, which give us open doors for the gospel. Our Total Athlete focus means that we are committed to helping athletes develop physically, mentally and spiritually. Thank you for the part you play in making this happen!

To bring these big events down to a personal level, let me share something from Genevieve, a young woman I coached recently. Genevieve invited Clara (basketball) to step out in faith and leadership by following up with Marley (softball). Marley had expressed admiration for Clara’s faith, but Clara wasn’t sure about stepping out as a spiritual leader. Clara admitted, “I’m worried I won’t know the answers to her questions.” Genevieve shared 1 Corinthians 2:1-5:

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

When Genevieve asked how this might change her approach with Marley, Clara responded, “I don’t need to have impressive or ‘Christian’ words prepared; I just need to be a vessel for God to speak through me.”

Please review our prayer page and support needs and lift our ministry to the Lord. Click on the following: November Hard Copy Newsletter.

Shaped for His Purpose

Posted in Athletes in Action, Hard Copy Newsletter, Sports Ministry by

Hailey’s Family

When Hailey D. was in college, she found her identity in running. Sport became her idol, but it was not an easy taskmaster. She thought being in control of everything in her life would make her happy, so she became very hard on herself, even on easy runs and practices. That devolved into a negative body image and disordered eating. A fellow runner invited Hailey to Athletes in Action where she learned that putting her faith in Jesus would give her a new identity in Him and that running could become a way for her to thank Him and bring Him glory. This is the first of the AIA 5 Principles.

Hailey became a student leader on her campus, discipling some of her teammates and helping them take steps of faith and obedience to Jesus. Her senior year, she realized that introducing other people to Jesus and helping them grow in their faith was something she wanted to spend her life doing. So Hailey joined the staff of Athletes in Action, and I had the privilege of being her coach. She is working at Wright State University in Dayton, OH with cross country athletes and will be adding track and soccer teams this fall. She is very open with other athletes about the struggles she faced, and God opens doors for the gospel through her vulnerability. One of the girls Hailey discipled was Alicia, whom Hailey helped to begin a team Bible study. Alicia looked for someone she could mentor and began helping Kaitlyn, who became a believer two years ago, to grow in her faith. Now Alicia is encouraging Kaitlyn to step out in faith to lead someone else.

AIA exists to take the gospel where the gospel is not so we can pursue the vision of a Christ follower on every team, in every sport, in every nation. Your prayer and financial partnership is helping create spiritual movements everywhere through sports. Thank you!

Please review our prayer page  and support needs and lift up our ministry to the Lord.  Click the following:  September 2023 hard copy. 

When you are a commodity…

Posted in Athletes in Action, Hard Copy Newsletter, Sports Ministry by

A significant part of Athletes in Action’s ministry is providing sports chaplains in several professional sports and for Olympians. Many people think that elite athletes have it made because of the fame and money they enjoy, but chaplains to these athletes share a different perspective. “An athlete is viewed as a commodity, not as a person,” says Reza Zadeh, AIA chaplain for the Denver Broncos. “They don’t know who to trust because everyone’s out to get something from them.” Former Boston Celtics chaplain Bill Alexson says, “People love them for what they do, not who they are. Their careers are temporary, and when it’s all done, they’re kind of left high and dry. At chapel, they come in and give their burdens to the Lord. A lot of these guys find peace for the first time.”

“The one thing we do more than anything,” says Mike Tatlock, chaplain to the Portland NBA team, “is to help them with their emotional, mental and spiritual well-being. We bring to the table the peace of Christ that passes all understanding. That is the remedy for the things that these guys struggle with.” Chaplains offer Bible studies, retreats, chapel services and individual discipleship with players, coaches and others in the organization. Many chaplains’ wives also conduct Bible studies for the players’ and coaches’ wives and girlfriends.

When Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin collapsed during the game with the Cincinnati Bengals in January, the medical team jumped into action, and so did Vincent Rey, AIA chaplain to the Bengals (and one of Karen’s coachees). He prayed with the Bills’ chaplain and then went to the locker room to support the team. “I gave out a couple dozen hugs just to let them know I’m here.” He also saw the opening for the gospel: “I had a chance to give a message to some people within the organization and management and even some of the coaches. Even though it was a hard thing to get through, I think the Lord used it to get glory throughout our nation.”

Please pray for AIA chaplains as ministers of the gospel and for major sporting events like the upcoming John Wooden Keys to Life breakfast in conjunction with the NCAA Final Four basketball championship.

Thank you for your prayers and gifts that enable us to serve the Lord and help others to serve Him. 

We are grateful for you!

Please review our prayer page  and support needs and lift up our ministry to the Lord.  Click the following:  March 2023 Newsletter hard copy. 

Achieving their highest potential

Posted in Hard Copy Newsletter, Sports Ministry, Sports T.E.A.M. by

Coach Rob: “I’ve seen players and coaches develop as disciples due to AIA … helping Christian players achieve their highest potential, using their platform to promote Christ.”

Coach Rob’s statement sums up Sports TEAM’s 2017 ministry year! We fielded 32 different mission projects in 19 countries, including the U.S. These projects involved competitive teams, coaching clinics, Ultimate Training Camps or leadership academies, based on the needs of the ministry team we were serving.

Sports TEAM Staff Retreat 2017

Sports TEAM Staff @ John Bryan Park (Rick, 2nd row, 3rd from left)

Our biggest impact is changed lives. Coach Kara explains, “While it’s been five years ago, the experience we had together will forever impact the way I coach and develop the culture among my current athletes.” God did amazing things through these teams: they shared the gospel with over 400 individuals one-on-one, and nearly 5,000 heard the gospel in group settings. In addition, Sports TEAM had the privilege of training 120 interns. While only God knows how many new names were added to the Book of Life, we know of at least 230 people who gave their lives to Christ.

Our opportunity to impact lives grows as our involvement with coaches and athletes expands. Coach Cranston agrees. “Showing athletes and coaches how to use this platform to honor and serve the Lord is special, and Jesus will use you in incredible ways if you’re willing to show up for Him!” Over the last two years, AIA has accelerated the development of new camps and academies at the request of many leaders in the sports world.

Coach Matthews told us, “Today’s athlete is slowly getting more and more difficult to coach, and new laws are lessening our rights to be outward with our faith.” Yet God is opening more and more doors to impact our country’s future leaders, because both academic and sports leaders know that without character, their teams and athletes will not reach their full potential now or in the future.

Please review our prayer page  and support needs and lift up our ministry to the Lord.

Click the following: October 2017 Newsletter to print a hard copy newsletter.