In our last newsletter Why We’re Here, we shared why AIA repurposed athletesinaction.org. One reason was to provide encouragement and material to help believers impact their world with the light of the gospel and make a difference in the lives they touch.
The body of Christ is also in a historic position. Today, over two billion people have smart phones. We can reach them directly with unfiltered material, but as always, it’s up to the body of Christ to take the message to them.
How does this work? On November 23, 2016 athletesinaction.org posted “7 Habits of a Grateful Athlete.” The post was seen 20,000 times. It has also been reposted a few times, because it contains timeless material. Two weeks ago, a few people shared the post AND why it resonated with them, some on Facebook, others by email. The difference was their testimony about why the post was meaningful to them.
Here are just two examples:
“I had this article emailed to me this morning by a close friend. It’s a short, but powerful read on “Grateful Athletes”. If you have a free moment, take a minute to read it. These are some of the exact things we’re trying to teach to all of our wrestlers from Kindergarten through Seniors every day. For those of you who don’t know who the lady is in the photo, that is Helen Maroulis. She is the first US female to ever win a gold in Freestyle wrestling, which she did this last summer in Rio.”
“Grateful athletes. This article touches on a lot of the conversations the coaches touched on this weekend.”
This process happened over and over because the post was relevant to them and they took a moment to share it with their family, friends, and coworkers. The post has been shared 13,000 times and seen over 109,000 times.
That is the power of US, the body of Christ working together to impact our world by sharing God’s word and wisdom as we live our lives. Join the team by following us on Facebook or visiting athletesinaction.org.
As a partner in our ministry you are reaching the world! Thank you.
On the family front, please pray for Karen’s family. Karen’s father went home to be with the Lord last month. You can read the piece written by Karen on Facebook by searching Paul Gohmann, Sr., 1931.
Please review our prayer page and support needs and lift up our ministry to the Lord.
Click the following: February 2017 Newsletter to print a hard copy newsletter.
Just like you, Athletes in Action (AIA) has been witnessing our culture’s moral decline and its impact. In late 2014, God gave AIA the vision to make a difference in today’s digitally-driven world by assisting the body of Christ to have a relevant answer that will bless everyone, thus drawing people to God’s ultimate answer, a personal relationship with Him! Read more about this initiative at
the biggest story of game. Their off-the-field and between-the-whistle character was the true story. They helped Team China up after hits and always had a positive word for them. They slapped hands with kids and signed autographs. One of the more powerful moments came during halftime, though. Team USA invited Team China to meet up at midfield and prayed for them. The moment wasn’t planned. It was spurred on by an injury to one of Team China’s players.”
Can you image an entire football team playing for Christ? 
This summer has been quite eventful! Our family witnessed two big events for Ellie and Elizabeth.
This is a very exciting summer for us. In addition to our regular work of managing 
In family news, we rejoiced to watch Elizabeth graduate from high school, which is a miracle we continually thank God for; we are preparing for Ellie’s wedding to Austin Church; and we recently learned we will be grandparents to Erica and Parrish’s first child.
AIA’s vision is to see Christ-followers on every team, in every sport, in every nation by using the platform of sports so that everyone knows someone who truly follows Jesus; in other words, the Great Commission found in Matt 28:18-20.
players from around the country and took us to the Philippines. We knew we would be playing against university and professional teams and doing mission work, but we all discovered our plans pale in comparison to the plans God has for us.
clicking as if we had known each other for years. We were able to go so much further than surface level conversation and shared life together as men. We discovered what it means to be a man of God’s kingdom through His Word and the experiences He took us on. God grew each of us closer to Him and to the life He has for us.
really about. Many of us discovered our “why”-our foundational rock on which we will build for the rest of our lives. We discovered we can use our gifts and passions to bring glory to God. Using our play as our worship and our worship as our play, we can use basketball or whatever we do to be a spotlight for Jesus.
bigger than the scoreboard. It was so cool to fellowship with the teams after our games and share laughs, God’s love and the gospel story. It was counter-cultural in the realm of sport. It’s amazing that each one of us went on the same trip, did the same activities, and yet God worked in different ways in everyone. He marked us in ways that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.
The Rogers 