Well by now I am sure most of you have heard that we are having our first Upward Basketball league this winter.  Upward Basketball is part of Upward Ministries, whose goal is to use sports to make disciples of Christ.  We are so excited about the opportunity God has given us to be used by him through this ministry.  Many people have already volunteered to coach or help in some other way.  Today I wanted to make sure that you knew about all of the different ways that you can be a part of Upward.  You may have zero desire to coach and that is OK.  We still need you.  Below you will find a listing of the various commissioner roles, some of which we still need to fill, and the volunteers that will work with each commissioner to ensure we are fully prepared going into the season!

Halftime Team- This team will be lead by a commissioner who will ensure that there are devotions given at the halftime of every game hour.  THese devotions will always be for the adults in attendance, as the kids will be with their teams.  This is one great opportunity that we have to share the gospel with everyone in attendance each week!

Prayer Team- Prayer is vital to any ministry, and Upward is no exception.  The prayer commissioner will lead a team of people who will pray throughout the entire season for the children and families in our upward sports ministry.  The commissioner will enlist ten prayer captains who each find ten prayer team members so that we will have at least 100 people praying for Upward!  Even if you know nothing of basketball and are scared of little kids, you can still PRAY!

Coaches- Our coaches commissioner (Dale Zollman) will be responsible for the recruiting and training of all of our coaches and assistant coaches.  Our coaches are vital to our ministry as they will lead practice, devotions, and games with their teams.  We have had many express an interest in coaching, but we still have room for more.

Follow-Up- Follow-up is an essential piece of your Upward Sports Ministry.  Without follow-up, the ministry loses much of its effectiveness. People who begin a relationship with Christ need the support of other believers as they seek to grow with Christ. Follow-up provides the opportunity to encourage these people to become intentionally involved in a local church.  This also provides a chance to address the uncertainties people may have with salvation.  As the follow-up commissioner, you will oversee the follow-up process and coordinate with your church's continuing outreach efforts.

Referee Team- Our referee team will be led by a commissioner who will recruit and train our referees.  Our refs will be so important to the success of our league, as they will oversee games and help the younger children learn the rules of the game.

I hope that by reading through this you have seen a way that you can be involved.  We will also have needs for greeters each week, people to work the concession stand, and people to just be present to interact with families who are a part of our league.  If you would like more info on how you can volunteer please call Kris at 992-9615!

God is doing big things at Walnut Street!  This was apparent last night as close to 100 people came to hear about the missions opportunities that our church will be offering in 2011. People from all ages came to hear about what God is already doing in Eastern Kentucky, Haiti, Brazil, Kenya, India, and we can be involved in His work.  The evening far exceeded all of our expectations, but isn't that how God often works?  I walked in and was actually shocked at the crowd that was there.  Praise God that He is capable of so much more than we can imagine!

The night began with all in attendance sampling food from the different countries we would be travelling to.  As we settled in for a more formal presentation, Pastor Rusty began by reminding us of the call to go and make disciples worldwide.  We are confident as your church staff that when you combine our neighborhood transformation ministries with our distance trips this year, that  our church members have every opportunity to live out Christ's call on our lives to GO! After Pastor Rusty's brief overview, those in attendance were able to here the heart and vision behind each trip from the trips' respective leaders.  As I listened I couldn't help but be struck at how God has blessed us with people who are already so committed to the places we are serving.  It was a blessing to hear Charles Juma speak of Kenya, and Luckner Jean-Marie speak of Haiti.  Both men are so passionate about seeing Christ glorified in their home countries.  Rochell spoke of the opportunities in India to make a profound difference in the lives of children who seem to have little hope.  Rusty recounted the numerous blessings of being involved in the work on the Amazon in Brazil.  Jonathan and I were blessed to be able to share the great need in Owlsey and Whitley counties, places that are so close geographically but at times seem to be a world apart from what we know in Louisville.  What opportunities God has given us!

We then moved on to a time where people could go and talk to the leaders of each trip they were interested in.  There was such a buzz of excitement and energy in the room!  We shared details, passions, and opportunities.  We prayed together for the places that we were going, trusting that God was already at work, and just seeking how we can be a part of what He is doing.  Some of my favorite moments were hearing people express a joyful exasperation over the fact that after hearing all the opportunities they now wanted to go on every trip!

Obviously these are exciting times in our church.  Last night was another confirmation of that!  If you were there for Missions Night, group leaders will begin following up with you soon with more details about the trips you expressed interest in.  If you could not be there, it's not too late!  Look on our missions page and learn more about each trip, then contact the group leader and we will get you all the information you need!  If it does not work out for you to go this year, then we would ask you to pray for those that can.  We would also ask those of you who are able to consider sponsoring someone to go on a trip.  There are those who want to go but will struggle to cover the cost.  Maybe giving a scholarship will be your way of being involved this year!  Let us look forward with hope and anticipation at how God will work in us and through us this year as we follow Him!