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It truly has been an exciting year in the Sports World, as GameChangers seeks to make Jesus Christ known through sports and encourages athletes to take ‘Make a Claim’ and take a stand in the sports world.
When looking back over the past year, I cannot believe what God has done in and through GameChangers. True to our initial calling, GameChangers continues to Disciple young athletes literally all around the world. I want to share some exciting news with you about what has happened in this last year:
WORSHIP NIGHTS: This year we hosted 6 Worship Nights for Athletes. The nights featured guest speakers: such as NCAA Division I Basketball Coach Richie McKay, testimonials from NCAA Div. I student athletes as well as a great time of Worship. Next year the Worship Nights will be lead by former NCAA Division I Wrestler Patrick Walker. Patrick was an Army Ranger before the Lord called him to get equipped for the full time pastoral Ministry.
LEADERSHIP TRAINING: Our leadership training program had people sign up from 5 different countries. The youngest person to go through our program was 13 while our oldest was 29. The leadership training program is taking strides to improve in every area, and is looking forward to a new season of athletes joining the program in the fall.
MEDIA: Cindy Daggett runs the GC Media program and it was the largest area of growth over the past year. The media section saw people from over 30 different countries interact on it, and has shown the demand to upgrade for the fall. Initially just intended as a part of the Leadership Training program, the Media department has quickly become a great success. An interesting point for me this year was when a young man shared with me of his brother death because of a drug overdoes. He had nowhere to turn and his non-Christian friend informed him of our site, where he came and started watching testimonies of what God had done in others lives. Although this young man has not yet made a decision to follow....
SERVANT PROJECTS: Our servant projects are relatively new to or ministry. The Orphan Athlete program was launched to be another component of our leadership training program, but we also wanted to make it available for people to be apart of as well. This year, the Liberty University Sport Marketing Class held a Golf Tournament to raise support for our Orphan Athletes. The campaign was a success and we are on our way to supporting 5 young Orphan Athletes from around the globe until they turn 18. Athletes in our leadership program get to chose one of our orphans and write them a letter, which we send to them in the mail. Our other area of servant projects is our Sports Trailer. Starting in September of ’08 we will be partnering with the North American Mission Board to host sports tournaments and “The Ultimate Athlete Challenge”. The trailer will have equipment for hosting tournaments and different events testing athletes’ skills and abilities. Throughout the day, we will be stopping the events to share the Gospel with all who are at the event! I will be having two interns; Jon Pardine and Ben Shaw assist me in co-coordinating these events.
TRACTS: Our tract distribution program went well. We have handed out near 1,500 tracts with the title “How Many Saves Does it Take to Serve my Penalty”. One encouraging story game, when I was handing tracts out at a Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils game. I later got a message from a 17-year-old boy, who was struggling in his faith and shared that seeing someone handing out a sports tract at a hockey game encouraged him to get back in the Word and begin sharing the Love of Christ with others.
PREACHING: The events of the last twelve months have been life changing. It has not been easy or always fun, but it has been amazing how God allowed me to be transparent with others. I have been able to preach in several different places, but maybe no place more exciting then back in Three Hills, Alberta where I got to share at Prairie Academy. The days and events there were very encouraging, and God was working in many young peoples hearts and minds.
Please be praying for GameChangers and myself as we move forward. I will continue to be working on my Masters at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary as I also help coach the Liberty Men’s ACHA Div. 1 hockey team.
If you would like to learn more about what we are doing or how you can get involved in praying, helping serve, or supporting us, please let me know!
God Bless You and thanks for your continual Support!
Director of GameChangers, Phil. 4:4-6 Dalton Stoltz
(Pic on left: My home church for the Summer in Hampton VA. Pic on Right: Freezing in Alberta at the end of April) |
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www.gamechangers.org |
