Greetings fans of InBounds Ministries
This newsletter will be packed with an incredible display of God’s provision and also the need to follow His plan. It will hopefully encourage you as well as challenge you. It will call on you to praise Him as well as to sacrifice for Him.
Let’s start with the “praise” portion. God has been busy opening doors for us that are obviously from Him. I have just booked numerous Spring and Summer outreaches for our ministry. Over the next few months I will speak at camps, conduct basketball clinics in Costa Rica, conduct basketball clinics and run a 3on3 tourney at Cornerstone Festival, conduct our Blacktop Bible Clubs in Chicago, and the list goes on and on.
On top of the very exciting “away” schedule we have, the Lord has blessed us with an unbelievable opportunity for our “home” outreach. A church in Lincolnton, NC has agreed to lease their gymnasium to InBounds for $1 per year. The church has not been in a position to use the facility and therefore agreed it shouldn’t sit dormant. We made the offer to go in and conduct our ministry from this site. The gym includes a wood floor with 6 goals, showers/locker rooms, concession area, meeting area, a stage, and a large storage area. There is even the equipment to run some volleyball outreach. Our plans include running our hoops training and camps here. We will also add more men’s outreach, parent-child hoops clinics, parents-night-out, leagues, tourneys, etc. We will also use the facility to reach out to local club teams in need of practice space.
As I looked back through some our ministry planning materials I found a 5-yr plan that was developed a couple of years ago. It stated that we prayed and planned to move into a “home” facility in 2008. God comes through again!!!!!!!
There are many standing invitations for our ministry. I have been asked to consider returning to the Czech Republic and to even oversee the outreach in the community there; I have been asked to bring a team to Malaysia; I am excited about some regular plans we have in the works for Costa Rica; there are numerous opportunities to conduct our Blacktop Bible Clubs in communities. And through all of this our web outreach through sports devotions is now into its 7th year (over 320 devotions.)
As we pray and plan we seek wisdom to go through the right doors. Obviously all of this requires the resources to pull it off. God has those resources deposited into accounts all over the world – YOUR ACCOUNTS! I know times are difficult for most these days. Yet we are talking about outreach that matters for eternity. (I am reminded of a teen at the Czech camps looking at me after the presentation of the Gospel and uttering these words: “Coach, I believe.”)
This is where the “sacrifice” comes in. Will you pray about giving of yourselves to help us? It may be through joining us on a trip or at a camp. It may be through booking us for an event in your area. It may be through your sacrificial giving of finances. It may be all of the above.
Just to get a new facility rolling will require advertising and purchases of needed equipment, concessions, cleaning supplies, new found utility bills, etc. Then add in the rising costs for transportation, insurance needs, and my family eating and we see that there are major needs.
I at least ask of you to pray for us as we move forward in this “fast break” ministry God has given us!
You can see more pictures of our outreach and of the new facility at www.myspace.com/TotalPlayerAcademy
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