Related Topics
Churches Say Upward Among Their Best Things
10/25/2010
Caz McCaslin, founder of Upward Sports.
KEVIL - Every Saturday in the winter, Spring Bayou Baptist Church in Kevil turns its small gym into a first-class venue for Upward Basketball.
The church dims the lights as players and cheerleaders run through a tunnel to the strains of pulsating music, clouds from a fog machine, and Pastor Terry Tipton's NBA-style introductions.
"We've had kids too sick to play who have called and asked if they could still be announced to the crowd," Tipton said. "This is one of the best things we've ever done."
About 250 miles away, David Garrard, minister to children at St. Matthews Baptist Church in Louisville, shares a similar story of ministry success. "God gave us a chance to get out in our community," he said. After 13 years providing the Christ-centered sports league, "people just beat down your door" to participate, he said.
Founded in 1995 by a Southern Baptist recreation pastor, Caz McCaslin, Upward Sports has 3,200 church partners in 46 states offering basketball, flag football, soccer and cheerleading. Upward teaches boys and girls skills and good sportsmanship but the most important aspect of the program is that it introduces them to Jesus.
Upward is so intentional about sharing the gospel, there is no way people can come through the league without hearing about Christ, Garrard said.
An average of 22 people, mostly children, accept Christ as Savior at each Upward Sports venue annually. That's approximately 77,000 new Christians each year.
Some of the 204 Kentucky Baptist churches using Upward as a way to minister to their communities will be represented Nov. 16 at the Kentucky Baptist Convention Annual Meeting at Immanuel Baptist Church in Lexington. Children, coaches and parents are invited to Upward Family Fun Night prior to the evening session when they will join messengers and guests in welcoming McCaslin as the speaker.
"It's not about what I've done, but what God has done," McCaslin said. "He planned it a long time ago."
Spring Bayou Baptist leaders say God has been implementing big plans at their church through Upward.
Preparing for its sixth season in January, Upward has been such a hit that the McCracken County congregation has embarked on a $400,000 building program to construct a regulation-size gym and two classrooms.
From an initial league of 76 players, Spring Bayou welcomed 135 players and cheerleaders last winter. In the current facility, game days can last up to 10 hours, Tipton said. A new gym would permit two games to run simultaneously.
"Upward has become such a big part of our church, it's a big head of steam behind the building program," the pastor said. "We've got a lot of other ideas about how we're going to use the gym. The Lord's been blessing our church."
The long Saturdays have not diminished church members' enthusiasm, Tipton said. "We sell concessions at our games and do so well (that) the ministry is self-sufficient. God blessed us so much when our last season was over, we had about $2,500 left over."
The surplus allowed the church to decrease by $10 per person the fee for joining the league. The congregation also provides scholarships for boys and girls whose families cannot afford the charge.
Mickey Childers coaches Upward Basketball at Spring Bayou. A new deacon when the church began the league, Childers said when he, Tipton and another member first attended a training session on the ministry "it felt like the right fit" for him.
"It's a very rewarding time to help kids and see them having so much fun," Childers said. "It's all about the kids, making sure they have a good time and making sure they hear something about Jesus."
Similarly, Garrard said he has seen church members at St. Matthews find their ministry niche through Upward Sports.
"I have people tell me they know they should share their faith and Upward is a way they can do it," he said. "One coach told me, 'I'm not comfortable knocking on doors, but I can (share the gospel) with the kids on my team."
Such stories thrill McCaslin, who said God has placed on the hearts of everyone in the Upward Sports organization a desire to reach masses of unchurched children.
"I believe that's the good soil that Jesus talked about in (the Gospel of) Mark," McCaslin said. "Sports are such an equalizer, as far as knocking down walls and being able to share with people regardless of race, color or natural origin. It's a wonderful way to share Christ."
Newcomers to church often are more comfortable in a setting away from the sanctuary, choir loft and pulpit, McCaslin said.
"I think the toughest thing in today's time in reaching people is getting them to come through the door for the first time," he said. Upward provides a "non-threatening" environment for people unfamiliar with church or those who perhaps went to church earlier in life but stopped going.
"It's done in the context of a basketball league that is second to none, Garrard said. "You earn the right to be heard."
In addition to the gospel presentations and devotions, Upward provides children the opportunity to experience competition without the "win at all costs" mentality prevalent in many youth sports leagues.
"Conflict has a way of bringing out the real person," McCaslin explained. "When others see church members dealing differently with conflict, in a Christ-like fashion, it opens doors."
The evening session featuring McCaslin's address to the KBC begins at 7 p.m., Nov. 16. Upward Family Fun Night will be held prior to the evening session, during the annual meeting dinner break, at The ROC on the Immanuel Baptist Church campus. The free event features music, inflatable games, carnival games and pizza. Groups are asked to RSVP so enough pizza will be on hand. Contact Sharlena Ralph by e-mail at sharlenar@ibc-lex.org or phone at (859) 685-3305 by Nov. 12 to register.
For additional information about the 173rd Annual Meeting of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, visit www.kybaptist.org/annualmeeting .
The Kentucky Baptist Convention is a cooperative missions and ministry organization made up of nearly 2.400 autonomous Baptist churches in Kentucky. A variety of state and worldwide ministries are coordinated through its administrative offices in Louisville, including: missions work, disaster relief, ministry training and support, church development, evangelism and more. For more, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
by Ken Walker and Dannah Prather
