Baseball and Jesus

Peanut butter and jelly…socks and shoes…little boys and frogs…some things just naturally go together. We found out this weekend that baseball and Jesus go together! We met with men who have spent years using baseball to bring people to Jesus! What a concept!

We met in Atlanta to discuss and plan how to use baseball clinics and professional baseball players to our advantage at the crusade in Caracas. These are the men who sat at the table:
Dr. Bill Cashion…the first sports evangelist for the International Mission Board who spent nearly 12 years building churches in Caracas through baseball clinics. He currently pastors in Georgia and is our man-in-charge for lining up baseball players to share their testimonies at the crusade and to lead baseball clinics for kids.
Dave Altopp…Executive Director of the Baseball Ministry of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He coached baseball and led students to the Lord for 35 years, retiring at Lee University in Georgia. He was inducted into the Coaches Hall of Fame that night following our meeting!
Don Gordon…played professional baseball for 10 years (Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians) including 4 off-seasons in Venezuela. Now Don is the International Baseball Director for SCORE International organizing Christian baseball clinics around the world.
Carlos Subero…manager of the Caracas Leones when they won their national championship two years ago and stood before the cameras on national television giving the glory to God. Carlos has just been hired by the Chicago White Sox to manage their AA team in Birmingham. He is also involved in a foundation in Caracas that ministers to young people through baseball.
Hector Rodriguez…pitched for the Caracas Leones and managed teams throughout Europe. Hector is the president and founder of an international motivational organization in Venezuela called 100% Actitud de Vencedor (Winning Attitude) and works with local churches in starting sports ministries. He will soon come to the U.S. to pastor a small Hispanic church in Clinton, Iowa.

WOW! What a group of guys who use their love of baseball to share the love of Christ to others! And they all share our vision of bringing all of that to Caracas in 2008! We truly believe that the meeting was a success, that God has brought all of these guys together for a purpose. We came home with a list of nearly 20 professional baseball players who will be contacted over the next month about going to Caracas to share their faith at the crusade. Many other minor leaguers, umpires, and coaches will be contacted about going to lead baseball clinics for the kids. The plan is to have at least 10 clinics a day throughout Greater Caracas (which includes 5 “zones”) for 5 days.

Of course, we also came home with more prayer requests. In addition to praying that God will prepare these players, umpires, and coaches to go (and have the funds to do so), pray for these:
1. Accept the challenge to pray that God will pour out His Spirit on His people. Caracas 2008 will be the beginning point for His Spirit to spread throughout the country.
2. Pray that new believers will be cared for adequately by the local churches.
3. Everything is in the hands of the President…he says yes or no…about the stadium, about the hotel, about everything. Pray that God will allow us to have the use of the stadium and the hotel and every area that is needed to carry out His plan.
4. The month of November is very critical and dangerous in Venezuela. Riots have already begun on both sides of the political issue. Pray for the small groups already being formed that they will grow and be cared for so they might grow and multiply. This will begin a network of groups all across Caracas.

Baseball and Jesus…they go together quite nicely!