Dale Crowe knows almost instinctively what to do with a basketball.
Crowe was a stand-out basketball player for Furman University in the early 1980s. So, perhaps it’s only natural that the long-time member and new deacon at First Baptist Church, Easley, arrived at an idea of leading his church to start a basketball camp to reach children.
Basketball camps offered by colleges are seemingly a dime a dozen in the summer months, but Crowe understands firsthand that for some children that dime may pose a problem.
Growing up in a “less-fortunate home,” Crowe wasn’t able to attend as many camps as he would have liked. “I always said that if I ever had a camp, I would try to have one that would be free to all and I wanted to bring a ministry aspect to it,” Crowe explained. “I felt like it would be a great opportunity to bring Christ to some children.”
“SWISH!” His idea is a huge success.
Now in its third year, the four-day camp at First Baptist has more than tripled in size, from 100 to more than 300 children in the third through eighth grades, necessitating the use of three gyms – the church’s, the high school’s and the local YMCA’s. Co-sponsored by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the camp featured 20 college players – representing Clemson, Furman, Anderson, Spartanburg Methodist and other schools – who served as counselors. And, led by 81-year-old Dub Fortner, at least 30 of the church’s senior adults were involved in preparing and serving lunches.
“This camp was truly a family of God effort,” said Easley pastor John Adams. “It wasn’t, ‘Let’s just let the young people do their thing.’ You should have seen those senior adults feeding the young people: Powerful!”
“The church family has been ‘unreal’ as far as helping with the meals and the camp,” Crowe marveled. “Everybody has been awesome.”
The community has also gotten behind the camp, he stressed. “This isn’t just the church’s camp, but it’s also supported by the town’s businesses, schools and other churches,” he said.
The Pickens County School System allowed the use of four buses to transport children to the other gyms. And, after learning that the camp would be free to all, 21 corporate sponsors, including Clemson’s IPTAY organization, provided gifts and prizes for the kids.
“This camp is much bigger than First Baptist. We sent out a letter that said it would be free to all who came, and it would be intentionally and decisively Christian. I know of no other camp in the country quite like it that has such community involvement,” said Adams. “It was truly a kingdom of God enterprise.”
“Every kid received a Bible and a t-shirt,” he said, noting that the FCA helped underwrite the cost of the shirts and LifeWay Christian Resources assisted with the New Testaments that included devotions.
Adams wanted to give each camper a “Lance Armstrong-style wristband” with a Christian message that would remind them to ask, “Would Jesus be proud of this decision?” So he pitched the idea to church members during a Wednesday prayer service. “Wouldn’t it be great if every kid could have one of these wristbands? We need $350,” he told the group. “I kid you not, I left that night with $1,000!” he exclaimed.
Heather Crowe, Dale’s niece, who played basketball at Clemson and now is an FCA regional representative, assisted in directing the girl’s program, while Easley High coach Steve Beasley led the boys program. During lunch each day, the college players gave testimonies about their walk with Christ, Crowe added. Although there wasn’t a decision time, participants were encouraged to talk to the players to hear more about becoming a Christian. And some did.
“He just loves seeing lives transformed,” Adams said of Crowe. “When he gets to heaven one day, Dale will have people come up to him and say, ‘Thank You’ for holding this basketball camp to share Christ with others” … along the Way.