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Church makes pitches for Jesus with baseball training center

 


Church makes pitches for Jesus with baseball training center

LINK: Click to open full size version of image
A UMNS photo by John Gordon

Ryan Good, 11, uses a batting tee at First United Methodist Church's baseball ministry in Brunswick, Ga.
June 30, 2005       

By John Gordon*

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (UMNS)—The cracks of baseball bats echo through the metal building as the boys of summer practice for the next big game.

But the building would have been nothing more than a pile of rubble if members of First United Methodist Church had not stepped up to the plate.  Instead of razing the building, church members decided to start a ministry that would teach baseball and character—and, they hoped, attract new worshippers.

“I think it was a great idea to build this place for people and children,” says Paxton Shuman, an 11-year-old player and member of the church. “Baseball is a fun sport to me—one of the best ones that I’m good at.”

Using donated funds and materials, members turned an abandoned auto-repair garage next door to the church into an indoor training center for youth baseball. The slogan for the ministry is “Making the Pitch for Christ.”

LINK: Click to open full size version of image
A UMNS photo by John Gordon

Cricket Mobley suggested turning an abandoned garage into a baseball ministry.
“I’ve been loving the game my whole life,” says church member Cricket Mobley, who came up with the idea. 

“It just turned into something that was really a passion, and I’ve raised my kids playing ball,” he says.

Mobley approached the church’s pastor, the Rev. Richard Turner, with the idea. The church had already bought the property and planned to raze the building for a family-life center. But local historians wanted to keep the downtown building intact.

“I was excited about it,” Turner says, “because as a youngster, I played baseball and remember what it meant to me.”

Mobley, a business owner in Brunswick, donated $5,000 to help equip the facility with batting cages and tees. Others donated several thousand dollars worth of clay, paint and other needs as the idea caught on.

Mobley wanted to make sure the downtown facility was open to the entire community.  Hundreds of youngsters have already used it.

“When you and I were kids, we played in the backyard every day,” he explains. “Well, they don’t get that nowadays in a lot of places. Some of them don’t even have backyards.”

LINK: Click to open full size version of image
A UMNS photo by John Gordon

The baseball ministry at First United Methodist Church in Brunswick, GA includes indoor batting cages and tees.
Kids learn about more than baseball, says coach Bob Black.

“I tell these kids, ‘If you’ve got the discipline to hang in there on an 80-mile-an-hour curve ball, then you’ve got the discipline to not steal that candy or not cheat on that test,’ or not do whatever,” he says.

“It’s very fun,” says Ryan Good, an 11-year-old church member. “I’ve got all the coaches here teaching me how to hit the ball better and pitch the ball better. (And) they teach me some stuff that I need to hold on to.”

Bible verses and inspirational messages are painted on the walls of the building. The church’s youth director, James Loggins, stops by and encourages families to visit First Methodist and join in other activities.

“If you’re going to be a successful church, you’ve got to think out of the box,” Loggins says. “A lot of times, we get stuck in tradition.”

Since the facility opened earlier this year, two new families have joined the church as a result. Mobley says coaches use a “soft sell” approach to religion.

LINK: Click to open full size version of image
A UMNS photo by John Gordon

"Making the Pitch for Christ" is the motto of First United Methodist Church's baseball ministry in Brunswick, Ga.
“We don’t hit them over the head with it,” he explains.

The youngsters look up to their coaches as role models.

“You know that you can trust these people and they’ll lead you in the right direction,” says Nathan Harsh, 12.

Church member Melinda Hollington calls the indoor field a “safe place” for youth.  Her 7-year-old son, Jeremy, has taken up the sport.

“It gives them a place to come and be where people can love them and they can learn baseball and have fun, all at the same time,” she says.

The training facility will stay open through October, then close for the winter—when improvements will be made—and reopen next spring.

*Gordon is a freelance producer and writer in Marshall, Texas.

News media contact: Fran Coode Walsh, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5458 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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