STS Charlotte!

Hey Everybody,

I just wanted to send out a quick message to share with you guys about our baseball camp this past weekend in Charlotte.

As we shared last week, this month is a pretty crazy one as we host 3 camps within a 30 day span, so needless to say the days leading up to our Charlotte camp were jam-packed.

On Friday afternoon the STS staff headed down to Reid’s house in Charlotte to prepare for the camp on Saturday. After a delicious meal by the wonderful Mrs. Fronk, we met together as a staff and read the verse from “My Utmost For His Highest” devotional for that day in Isaiah chapter 60:1-3

"Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.

See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.

Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn."

These verses encapsulated exactly what we wanted to do through our camp. We wanted the Nations to be drawn to the light that was present on Saturday, and it was really cool to be reminded that it would be God’s light that would appear over us and attract people to the Gospel, not our own. All we had to do was reflect His glory to the campers that He brought there.

With this perspective, Saturday was such an amazing answer to prayer in so many ways. First off, the weather was awesome…60 degrees and sunny all day. For a town that had just had 4 inches of snow the weekend before, this was a small miracle in and of itself. Secondly, we had double the kids show up than were registered online, which was so encouraging.

But the highlight of the day definitely came at lunch time, when the whole camp got to hear a testimony from our good friend Michael Mckee, former UNC baseball player and current seminary student. Michael used his platform as a former athlete on one of the best baseball teams in the country to share with the kids that the most important thing in his life wasn’t his baseball career, but his relationship with Jesus. To hear this from a player who had been to the College World Series 4 straight times was really powerful. Michael presented the gospel message to the kids, and offered an invitation at the end. Even if we had not raised a single dollar on Saturday, this would have made it all worth it!

With Reid running the show, the camp ran so smoothly. Reid had done such a good job recruiting the best players around to come help out that the rest of the STS staff was free to just focus on the logistical side of things.

All in all, the Lord answered so many prayers this weekend, and we all left knowing that His glory had shone brightly on Saturday.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support. They were so clearly answered. We look forward to sharing more with you in the coming days (including some amazing pictures), but for now, join us in thanking the Lord for everything He did in making this camp a tremendous success!

3 Camps in 30 Days!

Hey Everyone,

We are excited to announce that we have officially set a new date for our Kinston camp. On Saturday, March 6, we will be heading down to Kinston to continue the work that the Lord has started down there and that the snowstorm temporarily postponed.

With this new camp date firmly set in place, believe it or not, we will be running 3 camps in 3 cities in 30 days! (No…that was not a typo.)

This coming Saturday, February 20^th we head to Charlotte Christian Academy to run our first camp of 2010 alongside our Director of Baseball Operations, current Tampa Bay Rays minor league baseball player Reid Fronk. This is also Sports That Serve’s first official baseball camp! On March 6^th we return to our roots and head to Kinston, NC for another fun filled basketball camp at Kinston High School, where we held our first camp last May. Coach Gulledge has been so graciously supportive of our ministry, and it has really been encouraging for us to have the support of a godly Coach at the host school. Finally, to round out the spring season, we head home to host a basketball camp at St. David’s School here in Raleigh on March 20^th.

With a schedule as action-packed as this one, there will be NO WAY for any of us to take credit for pulling this off…it can only be accomplished through the Lord’s sovereign provision. But seriously, what better way to do it?

Please be lifting up these camps with us in prayer.

Pray that the Lord brings the kids He wants to be there.

Pray that we use these camps to clearly communicate the love of Jesus Christ to these kids, and that the volunteers and athletes would reflect that love to each individual camper.

Pray that the Lord would provide the funds through these camps for us to use to bring lasting hope and provision to the lives of children living in poverty in the country of Ethiopia.

Pray that the Sports That Serve staff would draw near to God in their individual walks in the coming months, so that He will draw near to us as He promises in His word, and grant us the wisdom, confidence, direction, humility and supernatural strength to carry out His purposes.

Pray with us just ONE of those prayers between now and March 21^st, and you will play a crucial part in this ministry that God is using to change lives: one child at a time!

Meet the Interns--Kendall Boyette

My name is Kendall Boyette and I am from Raleigh, North Carolina. I am a senior at Meredith College and will be graduating in May with an Interpersonal Communication degree. I had always planned on working in advertising when I got out of school, but I started working at a children’s sports camp this summer and fell completely in love with it. Now I can not imagine doing anything else!

I wanted to become a part of the STS team because I love what they are doing not only for the children in our community but also for the children in Africa. I strongly believe in spreading the word of God to as many people as I can, and having the opportunity to spread it to children through sports is an exciting ministry opportunity for me. I hope to impact each child I meet in some way by sharing with them how much the Lord loves them. I am excited about being a part of this team and seeing how God will use me in his plan.

**We are so excited about adding Kendall to our team this Spring!!**