Tag Archives: Transforming Lives

To Share the Heart of God

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I’d like to introduce you to Joel Greenfield, one of the new AIA staff members I am coaching as he prepares to report to his assignment with AIA volleyball. Joel grew up in California with several family members who encouraged his faith in Jesus. By the time he was in high school, sharing his faith was a passion, and so was sports. He played water polo, basketball and volleyball in high school and went on to play volleyball in college. Being cut from the team after his freshman year revealed that his sport had become an idol and he needed a reset. Now Joel helps other athletes learn to worship God through their sport, rather than worship their sport

Joel in black shirt on right working Volleyball Camp in South Asia.

In college Joel studied sports management and found that he loved coaching and also loved sharing his faith. As his involvement in ministry grew, he made the decision to invest his life in helping others know Jesus. An internship with Athletes in Action was the perfect place for him to pair his love for God with his love for sports; a place to pursue the vision of a Christ follower on every team, in every sport, in every nation.

Joel with student in South Asia.

During his internship Joel went on a volleyball mission trip to South Asia and a basketball mission trip to Alaska, coached high school volleyball and led Bible studies at a rehab facility for addicts. Then one of the graduates from rehab started going with Joel to lead a Bible study at a homeless shelter. Joel is eager to find a team of ministry partners and get back to serving with AIA volleyball full time. He says, “My sole purpose is to bring others to God. God has been teaching me consistency in prayer. He has me in a position where I MUST pray. I want to share the pain the Lord feels toward His creation. I want to share the heart of God.”

Joel in right and James from rehab study. (James in middle)

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:  February 2023 Newsletter hard copy. 

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Heart, Soul, and Passion

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Last month, Kaylyn, whom I coached and who is directing AIA Softball, made her fourth trip to a middle eastern country where she partnered with Competitive Edge and SportsLife to put on a softball mission trip. They worked with the softball national team of the country they visited, which is made up of 20-55 year-old women, mostly moms. Several of these were women they have met on previous trips. The women know that the American team members love Jesus, and they are open to that idea.

During the trip, Kaylyn got to share her heart and soul, her passion, not only for softball, but also for worshiping God through her sport. Rhonda, one of the women on the middle eastern team, had a believing mother, and she herself is now asking, “Who is Jesus?” Pray that the seeds that have been planted will take root.

Another middle eastern softball player recently trusted in Jesus along with her whole family. Kaylyn was able to give her the AIA Five Principles book about how to worship God through sport. The woman responded through her tears, “I can’t get this here. It’s hard to grow in my faith when there are no resources.” Pray for her continued growth in Christ.

During a dinner shared with the middle eastern women, Kaylyn said they were asked questions like: “If what you are telling us is true, Jesus is the human example of God and He is the Messiah?” To which we were able to answer, “Yes! He is.” Pray the women would seek Jesus as their Messiah.

This year, Efrat, whom Kaylyn met on her first trip to this country in 2017, and who has been pretty closed to spiritual things, has been pondering what it means to know God personally. Sandy, their softball contact in the country, was able to share her journey of faith in Jesus and what it means to know Him personally. Pray Efrat would hunger for a personal relationship with Him.

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:  November 2022 newsletter hard copy. 

Cancelled means Opportunity

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

As of January 30th, the Sports TEAM division of AIA planned 40+ mission trips, leadership academies, and camps for 2020. Meanwhile, our leadership had been tracking the Covid-19 outbreak and planning since early January.Cancelled Image

Then on March 13th, we received an email from Cru stating:

“Effective March 15, all ministry sponsored projects, missions and conferences are postponed through June … limit group meetings to a maximum of 20 people until then… comply with all local, city, state and university guidelines during this time.”

Opportuintiy             Opportuintiy

Like every other organization, AIA is adapting to ramp up all forms of digitally operations for at least the next 30-90 days and maybe longer, while closing our traditional ministry facilities.

Stay tuned, we will share more about how AIA is adapting to full-time digital ministry. The good news for Karen and me is that both of us can and do much of our work through virtual and digital means.

Karen Working1

Karen is coaching and encouraging new staff. We just heard 58 people are currently applying for staff. God is clearly calling more to serve with AIA. In addition, she continues to write and edit for a variety of our platforms.

Rick Working

Rick’s role of providing analytics and insights for Sports TEAM leadership has become even more important around transitioning to an entirely digital ministry. He will be helping our division redefine and manage assisting our staff as we expand and explore new opportunities for ministry to athletes, coaches and sports fans. Your partnership with us is touching many lives through our staff.

Please review our prayer page  and support needs and lift up our ministry to the Lord.  Click the following: March 2020 Newsletter to print a hard copy newsletter.

Praise God for how He is leading us in redefining our ministry today and in the coming year! Your partnership makes a difference. 

Teach Me to Do That!

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When Hailey was in high school, her friend Brinna shared the gospel with her, and she gave her life to Jesus. They became roommates when Hailey started at Wright State University, where she ran cross country and Brinna played soccer.

Brinna, Oct 2019

Brinna introduced Hailey to Amy, an AIA staff member, who began personally helping Hailey to grow in her relationship with God through one-to-one and group discipleship meetings. During that process, Amy says, “I saw Christ change Hailey from the inside out. I was pleased to see the internal fruit of personal growth as much as the external fruit of leading other girls to Christ.” By her sophomore year, Hailey told Amy she wanted to learn how to do what Amy had done with her so she could also disciple other girls.

In Hailey’s junior year, a group of freshman students came in who were eager to grow spiritually, and she was excited to put into practice what Amy had taught her by leading her own discipleship group. The next summer, Hailey accepted the opportunity to share her faith cross-culturally by participating in Xtreme Challenge Puerto Rico, a two-week, coed sports training camp hosted by AIA. There, students learn and apply AIA’s five principles, and learn how to play their sports for the glory of God as an act of gratitude and worship.

Brinna and Girls, Oct 2019

When she returned from that life-changing experience, Hailey was so energized by the opportunity to speak words of life to college athletes that she began considering full-time ministry. Her senior year, Hailey poured her energy into discipling Victoria, to whom she passed the baton, and who is now leading the cross country women’s discipleship group that Hailey had led. Hailey plans to continue ministering to athletes by joining the staff of AIA in January.

Please review our prayer page  and support needs and lift up our ministry to the Lord.  Click the following: October 2019 Newsletter to print a hard copy newsletter.

Praise God for new laborers like Hailey who are pouring out their lives to reach this generation for Christ! We appreciate your partnership. We love you!

Plenty Left Over …

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

At our recent national staff conference, a major focus was our goal of unity and oneness. One of our speakers, Latasha Morrison, founder of Be the Bridge, says, “The church is the only place equipped to do racial reconciliation well.” We who know Jesus should lead the way!

Interns Jun 2019

When Cru was founded in 1951, our country was 90% Caucasian. This is no longer the case, and we want our staff to accurately reflect the current ethnic realities of our culture so we can reach EVERY person with the gospel.

A barrier to this goal has been the difficulty faced by ethnic minority staff in finding enough prayer and financial partners so that they can minister without hindrance. Cru and AIA have been working diligently on finding ways to change this. As new staff are trained, we share with them the opportunity to advocate for others. We encourage staff members to raise support so that they and others can serve as front-line laborers in the harvest.

Interns, Karen, June 2019During their initial training, interns participate in an object lesson which drives home the point that some people face challenges that others don’t. We talk about leveraging our resources for the sake of the body of Christ, just like in a church where different members have different gifts, but all the gifts are given by the Holy Spirit for the equipping of the saints.

The last several years I have rejoiced as I coached our newest staff. Some have had a relatively easy time finding the support they needed, and they have joyfully shared so that others will have the resources they need to report to their assignments.

To illustrate, a former intern, Lauren shared some of her support with Bethany who shared some of her support with Lucymar who is now sharing some of her support with Marie. God’s provision for one person caused a ripple effect to impact others down the line.

“And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” 2 Cor 9:8

Please review our prayer page  and support needs and lift up our ministry to the Lord.  Click the following: September 2019 Newsletter to print a hard copy newsletter.

Thank you for your love for us, for Jesus and for those He came to save! We appreciate your partnership. We love you!

This Camp is the Ultimate

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

Over the summer, God was not only using your generosity and prayers to do a mighty work through us, but in hundreds of athletes who attended five Ultimate Training Camps (UTC) in the U.S. and others overseas. Let me tell you about two of these athletes!

UTC Girls Aug 2019

Maranda is a sophomore softball player at DePaul U. who joined a Bible study with Lauren (an AIA intern I coached) early her freshman year. Lauren says: “Since then it has been amazing to watch her grow and start spiritual conversations on her team. Before school ended, I encouraged her to go to UTC to further her growth and leadership potential. She said, ‘Yes,’ and then a few weeks later asked if her boyfriend Michael could also sign up. Michael is a junior on the football team at the U. of Chicago, which is one of the schools where we are trusting God to help us launch a movement — HOW COOL.”

Here’s what they wanted you to know about their time at UTC:

“UTC has changed my entire perspective of sports because now my sport is no longer just a competition for success, but rather a vessel to worship Jesus who has already made me successful through the victory of the cross. I have surrendered my sport and life to Christ which has allowed me to rely on His strength, peace, and freedom.” – Maranda G.
“I can sum up UTC in two words: life changing. UTC reaffirmed God’s love and power. It gave me more tools to make a real godly impact on my fellow athletes at the U. of Chicago. I am excited to bring back the passion I got from UTC and the lessons I learned that will help me worship God in my sport.” – Michael M.

 

Cru19 Staff Conference

 

Cru 19 Moby Walkway

Last month we attended Cru19, our biennial national staff conference. We worshiped God with 5,000 of our closest friends, and we heard speakers who encouraged us to remain close to Jesus and to learn to customize our message for a changing audience. Our focus was evangelism, and we discussed the fact that our culture has shifted so that the average person in the U.S. knows little about God or His Word. There is much more diversity which requires a more tailored way to reach each group, and the key is building relationships.

Cru19, Speakers 1

Cru has been developing new methods and tools that can help the church more effectively share God’s love and good news in a culture which resembles a wild field. One way you might see this is in your relationships with millenials and Gen Z’s. We would love to hear about your experiences.  Please share them with us by replying to this email.

We’ll share more about this in upcoming newsletters.

Please review our prayer page  and support needs and lift up our ministry to the Lord.  Click the following: August 2019 Newsletter to print a hard copy newsletter.

Competition and the Gospel

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

In 2016 Rob, an AIA staffer, took a group of students on a mission trip to Central Asia. At one place they wrestled, the host country coach asked Rob if he could bring a team to wrestle in the U.S. Plans were made to bring 14 wrestlers and coaches to the U.S., but only two could get visas, including K., a skilled wrestler who really wanted to compete here.

Wrestling Newsletter edited

So K. came and lived with Rob’s family for two months. Rob took K. to several schools to attend practices and work with many wrestlers. Because K. was such a good wrestler, he was invited by a major Division I university to stay and compete with their athletes because “iron sharpens iron,” and the coaches knew K. would be able to give their wrestlers serious competition. The head coach, assistant coach and numerous wrestlers on that team are believers who understood the opportunity to influence this young man’s life with Christ’s love.

DSC_2738 edited

His six-month visa expired, so K. went home country, but Rob made a connection at another school where K. is now training with two AIA alumni. K. recently competed at the Dave Schultz Memorial International tournament at the Olympic Training Center. Rob asked BJ, a great wrestler he knew who is a Christian, for the loan of a couple singlets since K. hadn’t brought any. BJ didn’t loan, but gave K. two! Later Rob connected with BJ’s coach, an Olympic champion and a strong believer, to thank him. They hadn’t met before, but this coach had heard about Rob’s trip to Central Asia and wanted to send the guys he coaches on their next trip.

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Through all of these relationships, God is opening doors for the gospel. Staff members like Rob are taking every opportunity to connect with others to widely sow the seeds of the gospel. Competitive trips like the Central Asia one serve several purposes: they give American athletes a chance to compete worldwide while giving them extraordinary opportunities for discipleship, fellowship and evangelism; they enable students to see and participate as God draws people to Himself; they serve as a catalyst to ministry in other countries; and they give American students a vision for reaching their own campuses once they return home.  Each year the Sports T.E.A.M. division of AIA sends out 30 – 40 mission projects like this one.  Rick’s role is to help make these trips more effective. 

We are deeply grateful for your partnership!
Thank you for helping us mobilize labors for the harvest.

Please review our prayer page  and support needs and lift up our ministry to the Lord.  Click the following: March 2019 newsletter to print a hard copy newsletter.