Just recently, my son and daughter finished a season of basketball and cheerleading through an unbelievable sports program called Upward and was being put together by a local church. Upward’s mission statement is “To introduce children to Jesus Christ by creating opportunities to serve through sports.”. The program is for children in K5 through 6th grade for both boys and girls.
My son played in the basketball program and my daughter was a cheerleader and they really enjoyed themselves and was a great opportunity for them to learn more about Christ and also to learn about teamwork and self-esteem. In this program, winning is achieved in a different way than most sports programs promote. Score is not kept and the children gain iron-on stars through both practices and the games they put on their sleeves. The stars given out in practice are for learning a weekly Bible verse and reciting it together. The game stars are handed out after each game and have different colors that represent “best offense”, “most improved”, “most spirited” and things like that. Every child receives a star. Also, each week during practice, the kids gather around their coaches and have a devotional and prayer time.
All in all I think it was a great program and I know the children enjoyed it as well. I’m not against the normal sports programs that are available in our area as both of my children have participated in Soccer and Tee-ball. However, having the chance for them to play sports and learn about Jesus is just a blessing for us.
If you would like more information about Upward, visit their site by clicking here.
Below are several pictures from this past season…
Tags: basketball, cheerleading, church, Ethan, Karson, sports, Upward
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