Church-based youth basketball and cheer program keeps growing
Posted On: Monday, Feb. 22 2010 01:18 AM
By Don Bolding
Killeen Daily HeraldSkyline Baptist Church in Killeen is hosting a children's basketball tournament during which every player gets an award after eight weeks of playing and learning about the game. But their real prize is supposed to be how to think and live more like a Christian.
This is the church's third year to host Upward Basketball, open to anyone in the city regardless of religion. Upward commissioner David McGinnis, the local program's volunteer director, said participation has grown from about 60 the first year to 70 the second to more than 90 this year.
"We have a lot of Skyline kids, but most of the players and their parents are from elsewhere in the community," he said.
The players, from kindergarten to sixth grade, also have three cheerleading squads made up of children the same ages. Cheerleading director Kimberley Bridenstine and her family, members of First Baptist Church, have one boy playing basketball and a girl cheerleading.
"This is our first year to participate," Bridenstine said, "and I'm glad we started. This is a great way to bring churches together."
The Upward program is a nationwide effort to assist local churches in outreach ministry through basketball, flag football, soccer and other sports. The program's Web site claims more than 1 million participants.
Guidelines and computer models formed by the organization assure that children are playing with others of their own skill level, and they furnish uniforms and other materials.
"A lot of churches have gyms," McGinnis said, "and this is a good way to help them use them to reach the community. The kids learn a little about basketball and hopefully a lot about God. They learn verses of Scripture and get stars for reciting them and get awards for sportsmanship, for Christlike behavior and other things relating to character. Everybody gets an award of some sort."
Jon Dunkel and some friends – three other boys and two girls – had just finished a round of games for third- and fourth-graders.
They said they were learning a lot about basketball and about Jesus. Then they started counting the stars they had won.
"Hopefully, they'll remember the lessons, and their parents will, too," McGinnis said.
Saturday was the sixth of eight consecutive Saturday morning tournaments, starting each time with the youngest players in half-court games and ending with sixth-graders playing on the full court.
A March 12 celebration will feature Oklahoma entertainer Keith Coast, who has a wide repertoire of magic and dramatic tricks including setting his tongue on fire to depict the fires of Pentecost.
After one round of games, Skyline member Cassandra Matos delivered a mini-sermon, saying, "We aren't always happy in life. There will be things that hurt our hearts, but we remember we're never alone. We always get through the times our hearts are hurt because God gives us hope and peace."
Skyline's pastor of seven months, Kenny Rawls, said, "Everybody else knows what they're doing. I inherited it. I'm just helping and learning, but I'm happy they started this."
Contact Don Bolding at
dbolding@kdhnews.com or call (254) 501-7557. Follow him on Twitter at KDHbusiness.