Out of My Comfort Zone, I Can Finally See Clearly.

My name is Kristian Engle, and this was my very first year with SportQuest, and also my first ever mission trip! This post is a little bit late, but the time I spent in Baton Rouge has been on my heart all day and I thought I would write about what an eye opening experience SportQuest was for me!

On June 18, my (VERY nervous) parents watched me board my very first flight, out of Kansas City, on my way to a state I have never been, with people I don't know, for 10 days. To say I was out of my comfort zone would be an understatement. I was jumping (well, flying) head first into an adventure and I had no idea what to expect, but I was ready for whatever God had in store for me. I had expected God to move through me that week, but I never expected for him to move through me like he did.


Me on top of the LA state Capitol!

Throughout the whole Mission Trip, God showed this small town Kansas native just how big the world really is once you get out of your comfort zone. He opened my eyes to so many different things!

1. He showed me that the world is bigger than Fort Scott, Kansas. Once I was away from home, it was easy to forget about the life that I left to come to Baton Rouge. When I arrived in Baton Rouge I knew I would be working in an inner city neighborhood, but because I had never lived in Baton Rouge, it was easy to see with clear eyes the neighborhood for what it really was; just a community with kids who want someone to love on them and show them that someone cares. It didn't matter to me that I was in what was usually perceived as a "bad neighborhood," all that mattered to me was to spread God's love to all these AMAZING children and families.

2. God opened my eyes to the kids. Let me be honest here, after the first day of camp I was pretty overwhelmed. Cheerleading had 85 girls that first day with only four  coaches to manage them. They were chatty and running wild and some had a slight attitude - it really threw me off guard when I quickly realized that their first reaction to anything is violence. I didn't know what I had gotten myself into and felt awful after the first couple days because it felt like all I was doing was yelling at the kids to be quiet and to be respectful (at both the SQ Camps and the morning Gardere Initiative) to each other as well as the coaches. After talking with one of the other cheer coaches who felt similar things as me, our eyes were opened to the fact that we were raised totally differently than these kids. We only see a small snap shot of these kids' lives. We don't know how their living situations are, and  even though we thought they were being so disrespectful and wild, we realized that they might be on their best behavior for us; they might not live in a house with parents that demand the respect that we were constantly asking of them to show us. It really humbled me, and opened my eyes to how blessed I am, and how being more patient and soft spoken to these girls would be the best way to show them God's love. After God opened my eyes to this, it was a lot easier the rest of the week to make connections with the girls, and to really try to understand their lives. It was so awesome to just put myself on the "back burner" and give my whole self to serving these kids.






Kelsey and I's class at the Gardere Initiative

3. God showed me just how easy it was to spread the Gospel. SportQuest is just super cool. They take something as simple and common as sports and use it as a bridge for The Gospel. It really opened my eyes to how anyone can use their gifts to glorify God in anything that they want! SportQuest is more than just praying before and after a sports camp. It is integrating Jesus and the Gospel into everything that we do. From a verse of the week, to word of the day, to 3D devotions and positive and encouraging game play, SportQuest takes sport ministry to a whole new level, and it is AWESOME. They even broke it down for the coaches during our "training camp" portion of the trip, They helped us learn how to spread the Gospel in three easy steps! 1.Connect with the person, 2. Find Common Ground, 3. then Integrate your story with HIS story. I'm a very visual and organized person so I appreciate this little organized plan, SportQuest! Anyway, until this trip, I never knew how easy it could be to talk about God and show people Jesus! It always seemed like a daunting task but I now know that just a simple sentence has the capabilities of planting a seed in someone's heart.

SportQuest Baton Rouge was so incredible in so many ways that I could talk about it for hours. But those were just the main things that God called my attention to that I wanted to share. My time in Baton Rouge was definitely the highlight of my summer and gave me a new view of the world and of the people around me. These 10 days challenged me and stretched me more than I could have ever imagined, and I'm so grateful for the growth. You never know what you're capable of until you jump out of your comfort zone and trust wholly in God.



My position in Cheerleading is usually a Back Spot but that week I was blessed with getting to learn how to fly! Something I've always wanted to do!





Learning to Surrender

My name is Jordyn Houston and this was my first year serving on a SportQuest team. Thinking back through my entire journey with SportQuest this year, one word seems to come to mind: surrender.  Last summer when in the process of figuring out where God wanted me to go serve this summer, I had no knowledge of SportQuest and Baton Rouge was as far from my mind as it could be.  My desire was Denver, Colorado, but that just wasn’t happening this summer.  I didn’t know what to think.  How could a place that God had laid so heavily on my heart not be an option?  I didn’t understand, I was upset, I was mad.  I applied for a mission trip to Seattle, just to have to cancel my application because of dates conflicting with church camp.  At this point, I wasn’t just mad, I was furious.  I started questioning whether or not God actually wanted me somewhere the upcoming summer, or even in the mission field at all.  It was early January when one of my mentors showed me SportQuest’s Playing With Purpose scholarship.  I started searching SportQuest’s website and found their summer missions.  I started praying about it, asking God to reveal to me if this was His will, but honestly, at that point, I was desperate enough to go somewhere that I would’ve tried anything.  God confirmed my prayers when I got a phone call from one of the SQ staff members about potentially being a part of one of their missions during the summer.  As months passed on and the project dates grew closer, the more nervous I became.  This wasn’t my first mission trip, so why was I scared?  The more I thought about it, I realized that this was an organization I knew very little about.  All I really knew was what I learned through their website.  I wasn’t backing away though, not this close to the project.  After weeks of dealing with the stress of worrying, I finally surrendered over to God.  I came to the realization that He brought SportQuest into my life and that He had a plan.  I gained a peace that was like no other.  I had no more worries and no longer felt like I was going in blind.  I was excited.  I was ready to take on this new adventure with open arms.  The first few days were hard, not physically, but mentally.  I so longed to be in Denver, and that want was taking my focus off of my purpose at the time.  My purpose.  I couldn’t grasp the fact that Baton Rouge was my purpose.  I didn’t want to grasp it.  Monday night, I talked with another team member who was able to relate to my struggles.  I, once again, came to the conclusion that I had to surrender to God.  I had to surrender my earthly desires to be able to do the work God put in front of me to the best of my ability.  It took a crazy amount of faith, but God definitely rewarded me.


Reading during Story Time at Gardere Community Christian School

I was put with 6 others at the Gardere Community Christian School to assist during the morning with their summer program.  This gave me an opportunity to get to know the kids on a more personal level than just the few hours they were at camp during the evening, and meet new kids that were doing other sports than softball/baseball.  The first thing that happened each morning once all the kids arrived was a Bible story movie.  It was Thursday morning, and a 7 year old boy named Robert came and sat beside me during the movie.  The movie was over Jonah and the whale, so as we watched the movie we shared facial expressions of amazement during the unbelievable parts.  We were watching the movie, when he noticed the bracelet on my wrist.  The bracelet contained five brightly colored beads that all stood for a major part of the Gospel story.  He became curious and asked what the beads meant.  It was at that point that I got to explain to Robert what each bead represented.  From the creation of the world, all the way to the restoration those who believe in Jesus Christ will receive.  I could tell that he was understanding what I was saying, and I was able to give him my bracelet to wear as a reminder of the rescue Christ offers. 

Robert during crafts. Notice the bracelet on his right wrist.

For me, it’s amazing to look back on the week and see how God moved in me, and through me, once I surrendered myself to God’s plan for me in Baton Rouge. 

SQBR 2015: Abiding When Expectations are Shattered by Storms

It’s been a bit over a week since we finished the SQBR 2015 project, and I’m finally ready to put some words to paper…or at least to the blog (is paper even a thing these days?—haha).

The week after a project is always a hard week for a project coordinator. It’s full of loading and packing and storing, giving borrowed things back, writing thank you notes, and generally wrapping up the project. It isn’t pretty sometimes…I would share a picture of my bedroom (with 8 different equipment storage bins plus all of my clothing in the floor), but it’s in pretty embarrassing shape. The other aspect of the week after a project for a coordinator is debriefing and processing—reading evaluations and digging into the nitty gritty of what was really good about the project and what needs improvement. In Christian ministry, this is also a time of heart examination—what were my spiritual strengths and weaknesses? High points? Mistakes? Sins? Who do I need to speak with in the aftermath to follow up with, to confess to, to encourage, to seek advice and feedback from? It is important to physically wrap up a project and to store sports equipment, but it is even more important to seek a spiritual conclusion and to ask the Lord to give me and other leaders insight into the work he did during the week and the work he is continuing to do even though the event of SQBR has finished for the year.

So, when I say I am finally ready to put words to paper, I’m saying I’ve had enough time to begin to reflect on the ministry and to share a few things the Lord is revealing during the debrief process. Early on in the project, the Lord gave me a word: ABIDE. And he continued to impress the word on my heart throughout the trip (and even now). There’s layers to this word. The top layer is simply the call to be still and spend time with the Lord. Not something I am very good at because I am notoriously busy. But if you go to one of the most famous passages of Scripture where this word appears, you see it is a deeper call than simply being still or spending time in prayer and devotion:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:1-11, ESV)

The passage is Jesus speaking to his disciples. It leads into a discussion of loving one another, and is part of Jesus’ conversation with the disciples before he is betrayed and dies on the cross. It’s his encouragement for them to remain in him, to love one another, and ultimately to be unified with him individually and collectively. He also mentions pruning and persecution (later in the passage). The command to abide remains the same. Abide and take heart, for he has conquered the world! Abiding in Jesus/the Father is the foundation of fruit-bearing. He is the rock of ministry. Apart from the vine, no fruit can be produced. Apart from him, no ministry can be accomplished. He is the source.

So, why would the Lord choose this word to give me during SQBR 2015? This year more than the others, abiding was difficult. It was difficult because I had lots of tasks as a leader to complete. But that is a challenge I expected. Abiding this year was difficult because there were a lot of unexpected challenges. I was tempted continuously to respond in the flesh rather than in the fruits of the Spirit and to try to handle the challenges in my own strength rather than going to the source. Jesus promises branches that remain in him will bear fruit, but he also points out that they will be pruned and tested, and some will be thrown into the fire. Abiding does not lead to guaranteed comfort, but it does lead to fruit, to discipline, to growth, and ultimately to obedience and love. Abiding happens in silent times of prayer and devotion, as well as in the midst of chaotic storms and painful pruning.

Our SQBR team walked through some storms—figurative and literal—together. And we came out of the storms for the most part more unified. We were challenged to rely more on God as we were pushed out of our comfort zones and as our expectations were shattered. 

The SQBR team before our first Sunday worshiping together

The Lord is good and faithful, and although there were times when things felt chaotic or broken, and when my vision for the project and the schedule I had designed fell to pieces, the Lord revealed his perfect plans and his larger and clearer vision for the Gardere children and for SportQuest Baton Rouge.

Some of my favorite moments emerged from the storms, and they were more perfect than anything I could have built or designed in my own strength. Relational walls came crashing down when the SQBR cheer coaches had an impromptu worship service with a parks and recreation employee during a gym power outage. That employee, who had previously been an obstacle to our ministry opened the doors to the gym wide later in the week when continued rain caused us to need to move camp indoors. 

Cheer Coaches Baylee, Megan, Kristian, and Christina

The one day when camp was entirely rained out brought with it the opportunity to fellowship with a group of young men who were volunteering with us. Friendships were built and the gospel was proclaimed even though camp was cancelled. 

The SQBR team with the cadets, who they got to do unexpected ministry with because of the storms

Morning service projects were exhausting and frustrating at times, but the SportQuest coaches formed in-depth relationships with the Gardere children, learned their names and their stories better than in previous years, and spent more time over all with them even when the rain took away some camp time. During camp, I was over joyed to see how well the coaches related to the children, how excited the children were to see the coaches, and the ways in which the hard work of the mornings was tilling the ground of the children’s hearts, making it more fertile for the gospel.

Jordyn reading to some of the girls from Gardere during the morning service project at the Christian school

On a personal level, I learned a lot as a coordinator this year. Every single year brings with it new challenges, but this year brought extra challenges. I am learning how to ABIDE, how to trust the Lord and how to be thankful for storms and pruning that make way for his vision and work to be done in Gardere. I want SQBR to be all about him and not about me, all about his glory. Sports are a tool, and so am I. He is the carpenter, the vinedresser…the source.

Danielle (me) with one of the campers from the baseball camp

My name is Danielle & I am the SQBR coordinator and director. I am also a PhD student in Sociology at Louisiana State University and a general sports enthusiast (Geaux Tigers!). I am very thankful for the completion of our 4th summer of SportQuest Baton Rouge and looking forward to what the Lord has in store for this project and our team in the future.