After I graduated from Cedarville
University I no longer had a team to compete under, so several of us decided to
create our own team… Competing for Christ (CFC). We printed jerseys with different sayings which
we wanted to be used to glorify the Lord.
My personal thinking was that when I go to a big track meet I know that
I’m not going to be able to talk to everyone about Christ. I also know that people are always watching, so
I figured “actions speak louder than words.”
Since that time I have been sharing my faith by wearing t-shirts with “i
Vault For Jesus” on it. In 2012, at Hannibal’s
(HLGU) first meet of the season, I was wearing one of my shirts when a girl
pole vaulter from another team came up and asked me about it. After I finished explaining why I wore it she
said she wished she had one. It was like
a light went off, and the concept for the ministry was born.
Beth and I prayed about it and felt God’s
leading to purchase shirts to give out. We
started out with just two sets of shirts, one that says “i Run for Jesus” and
another that says “i Vault for Jesus.” Now, the ministry has taken off so much we
have shirts saying “i Throw for Jesus,” “i Jump for Jesus,” “i Compete for
Jesus,” and have even had requests for shirts saying “i Coach for Jesus.” Why the lower case “i” you might ask? That is so we remember that we are so small
compared to God and all He does. I don’t
want to be put on the same level as Him.
We now take our shirts to all of our
track meets, and have begun a ministry that is encouraging our student athletes
to share the gospel as they compete in meets across the Midwest. The HLGU
athletes wear shirts that say “i Run for Jesus.” When someone asks about their shirt, it opens
the door for them to share their faith with that person. After they explain, they give a shirt
to the person. Along with the shirt they
receive three tracts… one to keep and 2 to share. In exchange for the shirt we ask that they
promise to tell pass on two of the tracts to two other people and share their own
testimony with them. Our athletes are
now saying, “the best part of the meet now is not pole-vaulting, running or
placing first, it’s seeing athletes from other teams proudly wearing our
shirts.”
This ministry has really opened people’s
minds to how easy it really is to share God’s word and I believe it makes them
more comfortable doing it even when there is no shirt involved. It has been a huge team bonding thing as well
and has really made us a tighter team…other teams have really started noticing
us more.”
After just a year from the start of the
ministry, we have passed out more than 500 shirts at meets and camps across the
Midwest. God has been really good to
this ministry in opening doors and we can’t wait to see where he takes things
this year. Our athletes are truly making
an impact for Christ on and off the playing field “One t-shirt at a time.”
I would love to hear from you, please take a moment to leave a comment!
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