And the Last Whistle Blows

Quinnton, who won the Best Shooter Award tonight, focuses as he prepares to shoot a 3-pointer.

Eight kids came to the basketball camp tonight- one of whom left because he was the oldest and felt a little out of place.  The other seven were on their best behavior all night and listened well to both of the Bible/character lessons and at least attempted all of the basketball drills.  Quinnton, pictured above, proved himself to be a leader during the 3-man-weave as he helped some younger ones learn the rhythm.  

During the award ceremony, three parents or grandparents came and watched their kids or grandkids get awards and joined us eating the snacks.  Coach Peter got to help one of the kids read Scripture in front of his grandma and Coach Caitlin got to talk to another kid's mom about some of the programs that IMPACT offers and church.  DeAndre proudly introduced Coach Jacob as his "best coach."  Alexa, age four, had never received an award certificate before tonight and beamed proudly as Coach Kayla called her forward.

The kids lamented the fact that the camp was already over, and were already asking when the next Blacktop Basketball Camp would be held!

Here are some comments from the coaches: 

Kayla: You could just feel the presence of God on that court. It was such a blessing to get to work with the kids and spend timing showing them the love of Christ.

Jacob: The camp was really cool because we had the opportunity to teach kids about the game of basketball and God. 

Peter: I confess, I am not a basketball player, and I would not be nearly as much of a fan without this crazy basketball lady (Caitlin) pushing me along; but I have had a blast with this basketball camp, especially as the camp went on, and I got over making a fool of myself on the court.  The camp definitely got better as it progressed—in every way!  The kids had fun, and they experienced people caring for them for no other reason than that we are all children of God, and in response to Jesus’ love for us.  Coach Caitlin said it really well—that she loves serving a God Who can be worshipped through playing basketball, and I have to say that I wholeheartedly agree!  I can’t think of a better reason to play the game.  Thank you Caitlin, for your faithfulness in this, and thank You God, for Yours.

Caitlin: It was a huge blessing to be able to serve some awesome kids with some awesome people.  Maybe even more wonderful was to see the ways that God moved before and during the camp.  He definitely provided in unbelievable ways.  To Him be the glory!  

Thank you all so much for your prayers.  God heard and answered!  

Jacob eyes the basket as he prepares to shoot.

Half Time

Coach Jacob, Elijah, Marcus, and DeAndre playing two on two during an open gym.

Praise the Lord!  We had five kids come tonight: three boys and two girls.  The girls weren't there to play, really, but we let them play in the trunk of the car and had them sit in on the Bible lessons.  Staying on schedule was difficult, because the kids did not want to practice the drills or listen to the lessons; they just wanted to have an open gym.  But a lot of seeds were planted tonight, so it was exciting.    

One of the boys has never been to IMPACT Ministries before.  When we started the first lesson, he exclaimed, "I thought we were going to talk about basketball; what are we doing talking about Jesus?"  But he managed to sit through one of the coaches sharing their testimony.  We talked about God as our coach and the importance of discipline today.  

Please be praying that the kids come back for the final day tomorrow, but also that the words we spoke tonight have a huge impact on them.  Pray that the Spirit moves and nurtures seeds that we plant.  Tomorrow is also our awards ceremony, so please pray that families come to see their kids get awards and to enjoy the snacks.  

Alexa wanted to help Coach Kayla hang up the Rules poster that had fallen down.

The Starting Lineup

DeAndre, the kid who stayed the entire time, driving around Coach Peter.

Hey, Kayla here...  Tonight the Blacktop-Basketball Camp started our weekend long camp. The weather was perfect (it looked like a chance of rain around 6, but God came through and kept that rain away). God also blessed us with five amazing kids; one boy was there the entire time, two came by to pick up papers and said they’d be back tomorrow, and two came later. We had a great time building relationships with them tonight, and man, is the game of basketball a great way to do that. We played two-on-two, 3-point knock out, and some great time just shooting around. It was amazing to see how God was present there, how he brought of those kids, and the joy they had for playing basketball.

On a side note: How cool is it that we serve a God who can be worshipped through basketball! I mean just that we’re able to use tools like sports to build relationships with these people and show and tell people about the love of God. How good is God!

Please be praying that we get all five of those boys back tomorrow and that God would bring us more kids that we could have the opportunity to share the word of God with through a sport that 

we all love!

Coach Peter watching as DeAndre and Coach Kayla go after a rebound.

T-minus One Day! ...and counting

Man oh man are things getting exciting!  We're in the final 24 hours before the kick-off of Blacktop Basketball Camp.  The t-shirts are in our possession, extra liability waivers are printed, and the lessons are being finalized.  The table and 3-gallon jug are just waiting to be loaded into the car.  Is there anything else we're missing?  


Also, we are official.  That's right, we're on the IMPACT website.  I think we are also on the website for EVSC, or at least being advertised through them, but I can't find the link for them right now.  


Everything is coming together very well.  Thank you all so much for your prayers in that area.  Please just keep praying for kids to come!  Greg, the director of IMPACT Ministries, is hoping for 15 so pray that we meet that number.  We want as many kids as possible to hear about Jesus Christ and learn little life lessons through a game we all love!  

PRAY!

I (Caitlin) am feeling extremely overwhelmed and confused.  I just got an E-mail from a lady at IMPACT saying that they still had not gotten fliers out to the kids yet, and that no one from IMPACT would be able to be there to let us into the building Saturday and Sunday.  Since there are courts outside, this could be alright if it does not rain and we are able to make Gatorade before we go.  It's the first point that really worries me.  

I know Jesus says to trust Him and to just obey.  I know this.  But I and the other coaches have poured a lot of time and prayers into this camp.  We firmly believed it was the Will of God and so we jumped in and have spent our own money and donated a lot of time for this.  Some of us have shed tears.  And it's looking more and more likely that kids won't even know about this.  

Please pray that God will give us coaches peace, and that kids will come.  Our hearts are to serve the living God, but I'm getting to where I don't know what else to do.  May His will be done.

On a crazy side note, right after I got the lady's E-mail and wanted to sit down and cry, I got a Facebook message from a previous employer of mine, asking for a flier of the basketball camp; someone she knows might be able to bring some kids who need it.  God is already hearing your prayers!  Please do NOT let Satan win this!!!

Update Collage

So there's tons of stuff to tell y'all about!


1.  Coach Kathryn is safely back in the states!  I don't think she's made it hope, yet, but her Facebook said she was stateside again.  So praise the Lord, all of our coaches are least on the same continent safely!  We're all looking forward to seeing each other again, and serving God's people side-by-side. 


2.  The t-shirts are officially ordered and will cost a total of $145.80, minus the $60 the coaches will pay me back (hopefully) for their shirts.  This is a little more than I was expecting, but I think whole-heartedly that it's worth it, so we're going ahead with it. 


3.  The welcome sign is painted and the Rules sign is written.  I was going to take pictures and post, but it seemed a rather strange thing to post so I didn't.  Don't worry; I will post pictures from the camp.  


4.  All of the Bible/life lessons for Friday and Saturday are written- they just need to be edited and the handouts printed.  Hopefully we'll be able to start on the basketball lessons and handouts tonight and finish up the Bible/life lessons.  


5.  Still not sure how publicity is going.  This is one thing the coaches do not have direct control over, so I admit that it's stressing me out a little.  I keep telling myself that the Lord's Will will be done and that He will bring the kids He wants there somehow or another, but as a human, I still like to have control over things or know where things are in the process.  Please be praying for the kids that are coming, for publicity, and for peace for the coaches who are stressing out.  Please also be praying for the lessons- that they are easy to understand and very relevant for the kids no matter what walk of life they're in.


Thank you all so much!  We appreciate you so much!  

Welcome Back!

Coach Kayla has safely returned from Chicago- praise the Lord!  If you want to read a brief summary of her trip there you can click here to follow the link to her CUP blog.


Also, her brother will most likely be joining the coaching staff starting on Saturday.  Since we lost a male coach due to job requirements (someone really needs to find the money tree) this is a huge blessing!  Thank You, Jesus.


Please continue to pray for Kathryn who will not get back from Africa until August 4th.  Please also pray for publicity and that kids COME!  This is still our biggest worry right now.  The lesson plans are coming together smashingly, and we should be purchasing the rest of our supplies (minus the t-shirts and ice) tomorrow.


Four days.  Wow.

Networking in Christ

We added a new partner to the team today.  At church today I (Caitlin) went up to have the prayer counselors pray for the basketball camp, especially in the areas of publicity.  Strangely enough, one of them works at the Evansville Christian Life Center- another inner-city ministry here in Evansville.  After we finished praying, I told her more about what we are going to be doing and she offered to help us publicize the camp there.  So today I E-mailed her the flier and liability form.  Hold on to your hats, boys- it's gonna be a wild ride!


It's funny how networking in Christ works.  In the 'secular' (I hate that word) world, people have to almost force relationships to meet people who can help them advance.  In Christ's kingdom, He puts relationships in place so that we almost stumble over them and His will is done to the surprise of us meager humans.  Praise the Lord for His mighty ways!  


The lesson writing is going well- though the Scripture for the first lesson has changed.  Instead of using 1 Samuel 15:1-23 as a lesson in obedience, Peter suggested that we talk about Sampson and how he wasn't supposed to cut his hair and the consequences of that, instead of talking about violence to a bunch of inner-city kids.  It sounded wise to me.  


Lastly, the t-shirts were sent in last night for a price estimate.  Since we still don't know how many kids are coming, Peter N. and I decided that we would order 10 t-shirts, first come, first serve.  The shirts will be orange with "Blacktop Basketball Camp" in large, black letters across the chest.  To the bottom left (looking at the shirt) are the words, "Sharing the love of Christ through the love of a game," and to the bottom right is an outline of a basketball. 


Please keep praying for publicity.  This is probably our biggest hurdle right now.  Please also pray for safe travels for Kayla and Kathryn as they return from their mission trips.  Safety for the kids (and coaches) who come.  Open hearts for the kids and humility for the coaches.  


Thank you all so much for your prayers and partnership!  

Got Milk?

OK, the title is somewhat deceptive, because we don't have milk, either, at least, not for the camp.  Rather, the title should read Got Basketballs? because WE DO!  Wal-Mart on the west side donated $50 for us to purchase supplies for our camp- that was enough for 11 basketballs and 22 folders (20 for the playbooks for the kids; two for the coaches to share and two because there are two courts at IMPACT).  Thank you so much for the prayers- God is listening and answering!  


Also, please keep praying for publicity.  We're still having a hard time getting the word out.  Thanks so much! 

Coach Peter N. is quite excited about the basketballs.  :-) 

Killing Giants

Hello, friends, family, and prayer partners!


It looks like the t-shirts are going to be a little more expensive than I thought they were going to be, so please be praying that the money we're hoping to get comes through.  We really want the kids to be able to walk away from the camp with a basketball and a t-shirt; we want to make this experience just like any other (but more expensive and secular) basketball camp because we feel like ALL kids deserve a chance to go to a basketball camp AND hear the Word of God.  We want to show the children that we love them using as many love languages we know how to.  So please be praying that all of this works out.


The letter to Wal-Mart asking for basketballs is in, but I was unable to get any answers when I followed up with them today.  At the moment, my contact (I feel like a secret agent) has not checked her mailbox in a few days, so she's not even sure if she has received the letter.  Please be praying that (God's will be done first and foremost, but from a human stand-point...) we get the basketballs from Wal-Mart.


Lastly, God has been speaking in huge ways.  First, the sermon at church yesterday was about waiting on God's timing.  During communion, God told me (Caitlin) that I hadn't been waiting on His timing, but that He was going to do something big, anyway.  I'm not sure if He means for the camp (that's sure my hope!) or to us the coaches, but praise the Lord!  This camp is all for His glory, so let His will be done!  And I will try harder to wait on His timing...


Second, I read 1 Chronicles 20 during my quiet time.  We always hear about how David killed Goliath, but we never hear about this passage, about how his actions and leadership inspired people to go out and kill their own giants.  We're going to see this camp through until the end.  Maybe we won't even kill our own 'giant-' the obstacles and the running of the basketball camp- but maybe we'll inspire others to see the importance of social justice.  Maybe others will see our passion for searching for people who are 'lost' and realize they only have one life to live for Jesus.  Maybe people will see our passion for Jesus and ask questions.  Whatever it is, God is going to use this basketball camp for something, so we're going to fight all the obstacles in our way, and God-willing, kill them.


Come on, y'all- let's go kill a giant!  You can help through your prayerful support!  Thank you all so much!

First Lesson Written

Wooo!  We've reached a pretty exciting time- the first Bible lesson ("Obeying Coach") has been written!  It's going to sit for a few days and then will be edited.  It's pretty exciting, Coach Caitlin will share her testimony and the kids will be asked if they have any questions about making Jesus their 'coach.'  Please pray that this lesson- and all the others- are full of the Spirit and that the kids feel His presence and are impacted in huge ways.


Also, the letter for Wal-Mart is printed and will be picked up this afternoon.  Hopefully it will be delivered to Wal-Mart tomorrow.  PLEASE PRAY that we get these basketballs- we're getting very close to the basketball camp and it would be great to have basketballs at a basketball camp.  Funny how that works.


Another step: The fliers are in their final editing stage and preparations are being made to get them out to children.  This is much later than we had intended, but God works on His own time-table, not ours.  Please pray that the fliers make it into the hands of children hungry for a Savior (or in need of encouragement in their spiritual walk) and that the kids who need to be there come.  Please also pray for peace for us as coaches, because some of us are starting to feel like we're being pressed for time.

How to Pray for Us Where We Are

I (Caitlin) apologize for any misunderstanding there might have been.  The list of things we still need off to the side are not things we are asking you (readers of the blog) to donate.  Instead, we are asking for you to pray that we get those things through other means.  The T-shirts we are hoping to cover with money the kids pay to come to the camp.  The basketballs we are hoping will be donated by a corporation like Wal-Mart or Dick's.  The rest will hopefully be through donations of other kinds.


That being said, I'm sorry for not making a specific post about things we need prayer for now, so here it is...


*Pray for the word to get out to the kids.  Pray for the staff of IMPACT Ministries to know who to give the fliers to.  Then pray that kids COME.


*Specifically, pray that kids come with open hearts.  Pray they come in peace... 7 1/2 hours (total) with children from an inner-city- please pray there are no fights.  Also pray that they would trust us, despite differences in skin color or Social Economic Status (SES), and that we would mutually respect each other.


*Pray that the items we still need ARE donated and that we do not have to ask you for money or give our own money (though we do believe it would be worth it.)  Especially, pray that Wal-Mart is receptive to our letter requesting basketballs.


*Pray that the basketball drills add to and do not distract from the Bible lessons; that the basketball makes the lessons more real to the kids and helps them trust us.


*Lastly (for now), I echo the prayer of Paul in Ephesians 6:19- "Pray also for me [us], that whenever [we] open [our] mouth[s], words may be given [us] so that [we] will fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel."  THIS is why we are here. Pray that the Spirit speaks through us, that we remain humble, and that the lessons we write are not 'ours,' but the Lord's.


Thank you so much for partnering with us in prayer!  

Dirty Details

To help you know how to best pray for Blacktop Basketball Camp, here are some of the concrete details: 

The camp is going to run August 5-7, 2011 from 6:00-8:30pm on the outside (weather permitting) courts at IMPACT Ministries.  The first twenty minutes will be time for the kids to check in and have an open gym.  The next ten minutes will be a time to go over the rules and review what we learned the day before.  The first night will be when we introduce the coaches.  After that, we jump right in.


We will start by having 30 minutes of instruction and practice in basketball drills, followed by 15 minutes of Bible or life coaching.  We are trying to coordinate the lessons to what we just learned about on the court.  Then we will have another 30 minutes of basketball drills, and another 15 minutes of Bible and life coaching.  The final 30 minutes will be an open gym, except on the last night when we will have a dessert reception and awards ceremony, in which the kids' families can come.


On the first night, our first basketball drills will involve shooting- specifically, lay-ups and bank shots.  Then we're going to use 1 Samuel 15:1-23 to talk about the importance of obeying 'coach,' or any authority in our lives.  Then we're going to do a little more shooting (free throws) and also dribbling.  We will then talk about how the discipline it takes to become good at basketball is similar to the discipline it takes to succeed at anything.


The next night we will work on passing: chest pass, bounce pass, and the 3-man weave.  We'll use Colossians 3:12-14 to talk about the importance of teamwork.  We'll work on defensive moves next, such as blocking out, rebounding, and 2-3 and 3-2 defense.  We'll then talk about the Good Samaritan and sportsmanship.


The last night, we will work on offensive plays.  Then using the Bible as an example, we will talk about the importance of good communication.  We might also talk about anger management a little.  Instead of having another basketball drill session, we're going to let the kids have an open gym, so they can put everything they've learned into practice.  Then, before the awards ceremony, we'll talk about integrity.  


During the award ceremony, we want every kid to receive an award.  Of course we will have the MVP and Most Improved awards, but we're also going to have awards like Most Godly Example, and Best Follows the Rules.  We want to reward the kids for not just learning basketball, but learning how to apply the Bible in their lives.  It will be during the award ceremony that we give each kid a basketball, a T-shirt, which will be orange and has "Blacktop Basketball Camp" in large letter across the chest, and something like, "Using the love of a game to share the love of Christ," with a picture of a basketball on it.  The kids will also receive a playbook, which will be a simple folder with all the basketball drills we've covered as well as the Bible or life lesson that went with that basketball lesson, complete with the Scripture.  


We're not sure how the lessons will be taught, yet.  Right now, Kathryn and Kayla are both on mission trips, so it has been hard to communicate and plan the real dirty details.  Please be praying that we get the responsibilities divided up in a fair way that plays on all of our strengths (and also for Kathryn who is in Africa, and Kayla who is in the inner-city of Chicago)  


We are charging each kid $10 to participate in this camp, but that is mostly to show the kids the seriousness of the camp, not to raise money.  We are hoping that the money will help cover the costs of the basketballs and T-shirts, but that was not way we wanted to charge them money.  We do not want money to be an issue, so we are willing to give the kids scholarships (free passes) so there's a chance the kids won't pay at all.  We're currently writing letters to places like Dick's and Wal-Mart, looking for donations of basketballs.


To see a complete list of items will still need donated, please look on the left side of your screen.  You will see a complete list there.


All of the coaches thank you for your prayers.  It is only through the power of God will this camp be a success!  

Birth of a Dream

We all love basketball.  I (Caitlin) had been volunteering at IMPACT Ministries in the inner-city of Evansville for over a year and getting to know the children there.  I'd begun to feel God calling me to live and serve in an inner-city since my freshman year after a mission trip to the inner-city of St. Louis, but had ignored it until my junior year of college.  I began to volunteer at IMPACT, had a few internships there, and began to see God directing me.


Slowly, the rest of the 'coaches' began coming to IMPACT with me.  We all learned to love the children in different ways.  We began to learn about stereotypes that we had that we didn't even know we had.  We began to truly see the beauty of diversity.  We will all admit: We have a long way to go.

Every Saturday, IMPACT has a 2-hour window in which the kids in the inner-city can come hang out in a safe place and get a 30-minute Bible/life lesson.  It is taking a long time, but the children are beginning to respond.  We wanted to try a new way to get the kids' attention.  What a better way than to design a Bible teaching session based around a game they love?  


We posed the idea to both the director of IMPACT (Greg) and the new volunteer coordinator (Lindsay) and they both loved the idea and have been very supportive since.  For every 30 minutes of basketball training the children receive, they will also receive 15 minutes of a Bible-based life 'coaching' session.  We have done all we can do for now- it is time to ask you all to pray.  


Hence, this blog.  This is our way to update you all on ways that you can pray for Blacktop Basketball Camp, us as coaches, and the kiddos.  (And if you want to donate money, that's cool, too, but that's NOT the purpose of this blog!)  Thank you in advance for your support of this ministry.