Basketball, soccer goals, baseball bats and balls are not uncommon sights over the summer. Sports camps thrive during the break from school. But this summer, sports camps have an entirely different meaning.
A Judea Project sports camp participant cools off under a mister.The Judea Project, in partnership with Screven Baptist Association and Victory Sports Outreach in Fort Mill, sponsored a week long camp July 29-Aug. 4 in St. George, where instructors and volunteers honed the skills of local children while sharing the love of Jesus with all participants.
Attendees could choose from basketball, cheerleading, baseball or soccer camps. Volunteers from Screven Baptist Church, Victory Sports Outreach, and Shiloh Baptist Church led clinics, taught technique and provided water, snacks and lunch for the students. After a morning of sports instruction and lunch, students participated in Vacation Bible School for the afternoon.
Doug Dixon, pastor of St. Matthews Baptist Church, taught a basketball clinic.
“You may be the best dribbler out here, but you may struggle shooting,” Dixon told a group of teenagers. “We all struggle in different areas, so it is better to encourage each other.”
Victory Sports Outreach, a sports ministry through York Association, was established in 2004 to teach others how to share the gospel through sports. Victory Sports Outreach sponsors numerous sport-specific camps throughout the year. Greg Pendarvis, Victory Sports Outreach director, is from Harleyville and told Judea Project participants he and his wife Mia have prayed for 10 years for an opportunity to return and minister in his hometown.
Pendarvis shared the gospel with all attendees, using a soccer ball with the salvation “colors.” Each day, the group reviewed the meaning of a specific color.
“If we believe, we are a new creation,” Pendarvis assured participants in a large group gathering.
Coaches and volunteers led each sports camp in a time of devotions and were available to speak with children individually about their relationship with Christ. At times, pairs of counselors and students dotted the playing fields.
Nearly 170 students participated in the camp, and 59 accepted Christ during the week. The response to the camp was overwhelmingly positive in the St. George area. Screven Association is working to plug participating students into a local church in their area.
“Several parents and students wanted to know if we could do this every week next summer,” said Brenda Jackson, church and community ministry director for Screven Association.