In Chronicles 4:10, Jabez asked God to enlarge his
territory. When Cal McCaslin responded to God's
leading to begin a basketball ministry in 1986, I'm
sure he had no idea that God would expand UPWARD
basketball from Spartanburg, South Carolina to a
global ministry outreach. In 1997, Pastor Mike Slade
attended an UPWARD Conference. He was enthusiastic
about what he had heard. He attended another UPWARD
Conference in Atlanta with a group of men from Second
Baptist Church. Second Baptist has always been a
recreationally minded church using sports as an
outreach tool. After seeking God's guidance, the staff
and other church members knew this was a ministry that
needed to be added.
Since bringing UPWARD basketball to Warner Robins
in 1998, Second Baptist has seen approximately 3, 500
kids play ball. The first year, the staff at Second
Baptist knew they were on to something when 240
children signed up to play. By the third year, the
program had grown so large that Second Baptist
partnered with Friendship Baptist Church. During the
next three seasons, a total of 800 athletes, from
first to sixth grades, played either at Second Baptist
or Friendship Baptist.
In 2005, Friendship Baptist became a separate
league. The two churches still train together and work
together to make UPWARD a program of excellence.
The 2007 UPWARD basketball season is underway with
40 teams, 80 coaches, and 10 players per team.
Beginning on January 6, the gymnasium will be full of
excited parents, terrific coaches, and fantastic
athletes, ready to play ball. At each UPWARD game, the
gospel message is presented. Pastor Moneypenny says
that the gospel and sports mesh very well.
"First of all, everyone has a peaked interest
in sports. We live in a sports driven society. The
sport is the tool. The key is building relationships.
UPWARD accomplishes this while teaching basketball. We
can take a very normal thing in a non-threatening
environment and speak of Christ."
Over the last seven seasons, this ministry at
Second Baptist knows of 180 persons coming to Christ.
There have been decisions from children, parents, and
grandparents.
UPWARD is set up to teach success on the basketball
court. The coaches go through a training program. Each
coach receives a play book. They are taught how to
teach the basics of basketball: dribbling, passing,
and shooting.
Second Baptist has gone one step further and
requires attendance by all the coaches at their annual
Coaches Conference. They have had coaches from the
community teach at these conferences. Tom Mobley, the
girl varsity head coach at Warner Robins High School
has been a part of this conference as well as Vicki
Jones from Northside High School. At this conference
they assess the previous UPWARD season. Second Baptist
is committed to excellence and that is a priority on
and off the court.
The main purpose of UPWARD Unlimited is to teach
sportsmanship and Christlikeness over championships.
This is done during practice, at the games and after
the games when the coaches meet with the team and the
parents to give encouragement and stars. The athletes
will have the opportunity to receive the following
stars during the season: Blue- "Best Effort,
Gold- Best Sportsmanship, Gray- Best Offense, Red-
"Best Defense, and White- "Christlikeness".
Second Baptist is looking forward to expanding the
UPWARD program, spring 2007. Soccer will be added for
grades k-4 – sixth grades. Registration for soccer
will begin in January. Plans to add flag football and
tee-ball are expected later.
UPWARD basketball has been such a great success for
Second Baptist, that instructional basketball for
grades K- 4 – K-5 will be added a long with teams
for middle school age students. There are several
churches in the Middle GA area involved in UPWARD. To
learn more you can visit www.upward.org.
We wish all the athletes and coaches a great year.
As a proud parent of an UPWARD athlete, I say,
"Have a great season, Meighan!"
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