It’s not your ordinary summer sports camp. It’s not just about teaching the fundamentals of basketball, soccer, tennis or even volleyball. It’s a spiritual experience. It’s sports, faith and fellowship mixed all into one.
It’s Crosspoint, a summer Christian sports camp, hosted by Bluefield College, and according to the participants it’s an experience of a lifetime.
Nearly 200 youth were on the Bluefield College campus July 8-14 to
participate in the unique summer Christian sports camp called Crosspoint.
Boys and girls from across the southeastern portion of the United States
took part in the annual event that campers say teaches them the fundamentals
and the fun of sports, but more importantly the joy of a relationship with
God.
“It1s all fun – the sports and everything,” said Heather Flick, a
second-year Crosspoint camper from Thomasville, North Carolina. “It1s great
to see a whole bunch of young people get together to learn more about God.”
For the 16th year in a row, Lifeway Ministries of the Southern Baptist
Convention has sponsored the summer sports camp that reaches thousands of
young people from all denominations at various host colleges across the
country. This year’s visit to Bluefield marked the eighth year campers
stayed on the BC campus.
“It1s been fun, but I1m sore all over,” said Lisa Campbell, a
10-year-old camper from Princeton, West Virginia. “I1ve played tennis and
soccer all week. I1ve run all week, but I1ve enjoyed everything.”
The youth, in grades five through seven, took part in a host of
sports-related activities, including basketball, baseball, softball,
cheerleading, flag football, gymnastics, soccer, team handball, tennis,
track and field, and volleyball. They also participated in group devotions,
Bible studies, worship sessions and other church-related activities to see
how well they could relate their studies to sports.
“I1ve really enjoyed the worship time,” said B.J. Wilder, a 10-year-old
camper from Thomasville, North Carolina. “It1s been great to sing and get up
and worship Jesus.”
Counselors for Crosspoint are college students from across the country
who have sports backgrounds and an interest in sharing their faith in God.
They say the camp is designed to show kids how it1s possible to combine two
totally different worlds.
“I1ve always loved sports and kids, so this is the best of both worlds
for me,” said counselor Jonathan Potter, a rising junior from Baylor
University in Waco, Texas. “What1s unique about this camp is that the
message of Jesus Christ and sports come together. That1s why we call it
Crosspoint. Kids can combine both worlds. We can show them how sports can
fit into a relationship with God.”
Campers Christina Smith from Charlotte, North Carolina, Lauren Gladish
from Leesburg, Virginia, and Kourtney Hughes from Princeton, West Virginia,
agreed.
“It’s a great place to learn more about God,” they said, “and you get to
play all kinds of sports at the same time.”
Bluefield College will host its ninth year of Crosspoint next summer. To
find out how to become a part of Crosspoint 2002, call BC at 540-326-4285.
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