In an effort to reach each student on every campus with the love of Jesus, we think about different types of students, their interests and how to build communities with them. That is why we build ministries like Athletes in Action, so we could meet students like Tommy, a football player from Canada.
Tommy found us because of a training camp we run in Ohio. He had never been to church before, but he was drawn to the fact that we develop athletes in physical, mental and spiritual aspects. He wanted to grow in any way he could, so he picked our training above all his other options, and came with an open mind. Impressed with how the coaches saw faith as an integral part of the total athlete, and moved by a local pastor who helped him see how the Bible applied to his life, Tommy put his faith in Jesus.
College football is kind of a big deal. With annual revenues over $1 billion, and regular stadiums filled with 100,000 fans (compared to 65k fans in NFL games), it is safe to say that there is an audience here and an opportunity to be a light for Christ to college students as well. Our missionaries are working through coaches and athletes from high school up through professional and Olympic levels to use their influence to shine Jesus’ love to their teammates. We’re also meeting players and fans in gathering opportunities, where people can experience God in powerful and relevant ways.
Some of you who have been following our family’s ministry work also know that we’ve been working to reach students through video games. If physical college football made $1 billion last year, a single video game (Madden ‘24) made more than that in just 3 months! It is safe to say that there is opportunity to meet the 90% of students who play video games right where they are. Now, the same company that makes Madden will be releasing their newest College Football video game after 11 years of waiting. This promises to be even bigger than their NFL games, and will be extremely relevant to the players and fans we are trying to reach. I’ve arranged to partner with that company in big outreach events on campuses this year.
In order to move with this incredible opportunity, Karen and I are waiting on the Lord to provide $10,000 in special gifts. This will equip us with the budget we need to move forward with our goal to set up gospel outreaches on 15 college campuses in the coming school year. Would you prayerfully consider helping to meet this need right now with a financial gift of any amount God puts on your heart?
Whether or not you are able to give at this time, your prayers and encouragement have meant so much to us and have helped us extend God’s love to so many people! Thank you for serving with us to bring the gospel to the whole world through the next generation!
Grant Ministry 