Community Hero Stories
Community Hero Stories
What is a Community Hero?
An individual who brings their community together with an innovative approach to sports ministry while serving selflessly and inspiring life long change on and off the court. We want to celebrate these difference makers who labor in the Gospel work of making Jesus known through the power of sports.
Connecting The Whole Family
When Bowling Green State University in Ohio had their bye week this season, some of the football players took a trip across town and found themselves at a different kind of game day experience. Less than 5 miles from their 24,000-seat stadium, around 200 kindergartners through sixth graders were playing Upward flag football. The players joined in on the hype, high-fiving players as they ran through a tunnel before the game and cheering from the sidelines alongside encouraging parents and enthusiastic Upward cheerleaders. It wasn’t their typical Saturday football atmosphere, but it was exciting all the same.
Making Memories
For Emmily and Tony Hunter, League Directors for the Upward flag football and cheerleading league at the Bowling Green Church of the Nazarene, the energy and excitement those college players felt during their visit is something they work to bring to every Saturday of their Upward season. There is an intentional effort to make every game day the best experience possible—with everything from music to fog machines to halftime shows to food trucks to visits from college football players.
“We would tell people how awesome Upward is, but then we realized it wasn’t until people experienced it for themselves that they would realize how awesome it is,” says Emmily. “So that’s when we went all in on the game day experience, and we asked ourselves, ‘What’s the one thing that we can provide for families that will just keep them coming back?’ We say it’s the Disney effect. We have to provide a Disney experience. And that is what drags people out there to spend hours of unpaid time to make memories and provide this experience for their kids.”
Creating core memories for the whole family through Upward is something the Hunters are passionate about. Emmily says, “We tell people, ‘We want this to be the best years of your kid’s life.’ We hope that when they look back on their childhood memories, that Upward is a part of it . . . We know when Upward is a part of their core memories, then the Word of God and truth were present in those memories.”
Next-Level Energy
One of the ways this league has been intentional in getting the whole family involved has been by adding cheerleading. “It’s a unique opportunity for a sports league to involve both the brother and the sister. The whole family can come and watch them at the same time,” Emmily says. “It also builds a stronger relationship between the kids because they have something in common that they can share.”
“It just feeds into the whole game day experience,” says Tony. “These kids just love it.” The league started with six cheerleaders the first year they offered it, and in their most recent season, they had 25. In addition to cheering on the sidelines, the girls do halftime routines during the games and a big halftime show for the championship game. The Hunters have been excited to see how much cheerleading adds to the game day atmosphere. “We like to say that cheerleading brings that next-level energy,” says Emmily.
Connecting Families with Churches
Another significant way the league serves the whole family is by connecting them with churches. While Bowling Green Church of the Nazarene hosts games and practices, the volunteers come from at least five different churches throughout the community, including Dayspring Church, where Tony and Emmily attend. They all work together to produce a high-quality experience for kids and families.
A few years ago, recognizing the needs of the people they were serving, the Hunters and their team switched from seeing Upward as primarily a vehicle for discipleship to seeing Upward as primarily a vehicle for evangelism. Over half of their participants indicate that they don’t attend church anywhere when they sign up to play. For this league, the goal is not to get people to attend one specific church but to connect families to a church in general. Through Upward, families are introduced to Jesus, but they are also introduced to Christians in their community who are plugged into local churches—any one of which might be a good fit for them.
Tony says, “We’ve heard a couple of stories where a family just decided to go try out a church. They didn’t have a church home, and when they got there, their kids recognized other Upward players, and then the family recognized some of the coaches. And so they instantly were familiar and felt that kind of awkwardness or weight lifted. So, that’s what we want. That right there is mission accomplished.”
A New Perspective
It was the connection with kids and families that brought Tony and Emmily to Upward around 12 years ago. Tony was playing football at BGSU when his team chaplain, a pastor, invited him to coach in the Upward league at Bowling Green Church of the Nazarene. Tony noticed that the kids on his team were very engaged when he shared the devotions and taught them truth from God’s word. “I realized, ‘These kids pay attention because I’m their coach, and I’m building this relationship with them over the 11-week season.’ Right away, that pulled me in.”
Emmily, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure about Upward at first. The Hunters had a 2-year-old son at the time and were still in college. Coaching was an added responsibility for their young family. But then Emmily attended an Upward game and immediately saw what Tony loved about coaching in the league. She recognized the positive impact it had on the kids.
The league director at the time invited the Hunters to shadow him for a year, and then they took the reins. The first few years were far from perfect, and they learned plenty of lessons along the way. Meanwhile, they added three more kids to their family. Emmily recalls that she often thought about quitting Upward in those early years.
“But then,” Emmily says. “The Lord just changed our hearts, and it was really the people who made the difference. The Lord has been so gracious and always finding people to say the right things at the right time and that has encouraged us to stick with it.” The Hunters found encouragement and motivation through the people they served with and the people they were serving.
Now, the Hunters love leading their league and the opportunity it gives them to connect people to God, to churches, and to each other. Both Emmily and Tony have a competitive drive to make the league the best it can be. The ministry they began investing in when their kids were young is something their kids (now ages 7-14) talk about taking over when they grow up. Even at a young age, they see what a great thing Upward is for their whole family and their community.
Meanwhile, their parents are still always looking for new ways to connect with the families in their ministry and help them create eternally valuable memories together.
“We want to plant seeds,” Emmily says. “We want to create an experience that allows people to experience God and connect them with others.”
Written by Laura Coulter, Content Writer at Upward Sports.
Start an Upward Sports Ministry at Your Church Today!
Past Stories
“It took a long time for me to marry the idea of my faith with sport. Once I made that connection, it just made sense, and it was a part of who I am, as it should have been all along. I get to bring that into the world of Upward as we do soccer here at Cornerstone.”
Ben Radant, Cornerstone Christian Church, Brownsburg, IN
“With a sports ministry, we’ve got people who are on our campus at least twice a week,” Andy says. “You’ve got kids, you’ve got families, you’ve got parents, you’ve got friends, aunts and uncles, grandparents, you’ve got all these people who are coming. It’s just a great way for our church to get to know people and for people to see our church and for our church to just let our community know, ‘Hey, we see you. We’re right here. We’re right here with you.’”
Andy Barnette, Greenville First Church of the Nazarene, Greenville SC
“It’s an outreach; it’s an opportunity to not only share the gospel and make connections with families… If you don’t have a church home, we are very open to reminding them it is two churches working together with the same goal, which is the gospel,”
Joey Lewis & Brett Nance, Bridges Christian Church & First Baptist Church, Russell KY
“Doing three leagues would be impossible if we didn’t have the partnership that we have. It’s really worth it”
Jerry Fourroux, Lycoming Centre Presbyterian Church, Cogan Station, PA
“… a team mentality is evident everywhere you look… leadership working together to an entire church dedicating themselves and making a sports ministry thrive.”
Nicole Rullo & Amy Snyder, Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene (OVCN), Oro Valley, AZ
“… this group of Christians proves that a church doesn’t have to be numerically huge to effectively and positively impact a community.”
Amanda Watson, North Hills Church, Vallejo, CA
“Kyle still believes what he learned as a child: that sports have an incredible power to connect people.”
Kyle Oakley, Lebanon Baptist Church, Greensboro, NC
“When we can do the little things well,” says Brad, “that just shows that we’re here and that we care. It seems to go a long way.”
Brad Habegger, Grace Church, Morton, IL
“The more opportunities we have for people to connect, the greater the chance of being able to share the gospel with them and their family.”
Jimmy Moneypenny, Second Baptist Church, Warner Robins, GA
Memphis Baptist Church has been running Upward leagues for more than 20 years, but in 2018, they stopped offering their flag football and cheerleading league to focus solely on their basketball and cheerleading league.
Jason & Amy Wright, Memphis Baptist Church, Dothan, AL
Concerts, food outreach, and rummage sales all took place there, but the church had never used the space for sports. Nate, an athlete at heart, knew there was an opportunity for something more.
Nate Blanchard, Chapel Hill Church, Brighton, CO
Ray never considered making an impact beyond the crops he sold each harvest to provide for his wife and little girl. Until one evening working in those very fields, he heard a voice whisper to him a simple phrase. “If you build it, he will come.”
Bill Gallahair + Dave & Kim Hicks, Harvest Fields Community Church, Deatsville, AL
Achieving the goal of becoming debt-free is worth celebrating for any church. But if you were to ask senior pastor Travis Osborne, he’d quickly tell you Valley Christian’s ministry extends well beyond the walls of the sanctuary.
Matt & Candice Carter and Travis Osborne, Valley Christian Fellowship Church, Redding, CA
Summerville Baptist’s basketball league has been thriving, celebrating its 25th season in 2022. John admits it hasn’t always been easy … but the reward of families coming to the gym to hear about Jesus, outweighs all obstacles.
John Lybrand, Summerville Baptist Church, Summerville, SC
Children with ADHD. Children with dyslexia. Children with autism. Children with Down Syndrome. Jesus welcomed them all.
Vinh Nguyen, Cornerstone Church, Grand Island, NY
“I had some awesome chaplains in pro-ball who would say ‘Don’t be surprised if God calls you into ministry one day.”
Brent Leach, First Baptist Church, Brandon, MS
“To say 2020 was a trying year for many churches would be a massive understatement.”
Darrin Worthington & Mary Jordan, Trinity Baptist Church, Lake Charles, LA
“Reaching a Community for Christ with Excellence!”
Alan Royalty, First Baptist Church, Alpharetta, GA
“Making Bigger the Family of God.”
Joel & Katie Stevens, Sherwood Oaks Christian Church, Indiana
“Utilizing Sports to Support P.E. in Christian Schools”
Brent Jenson, Angleton Christian School, Texas
Hear directly from experts in the fields of disease control, hygiene, communications, mental health and more to gain invaluable information about safely and thoughtfully reconvening in your community as shelter-in-place requirements are lifting.
2021 Webinar Series
Building Strong Foundations during Leadership Transitions
with Sam Sievers, Children’s Pastor at Lenexa Baptist Church, Kansas
Beyond the Building: Restarting with Intentionality
with Kip Gingrich, Pastor of Student Ministry at Northside Church, New York
A Customized Solution for Your Sports Ministry – Introducing Project Select
with Ryan Shaughnessy, League Director at Christ Community Church, Nebraska
Upward Sports Launches a New Sport – VOLLEYBALL!
with Danny Downing, Sports & Fitness Minister at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, Georgia
Co-Laboring for the Gospel: Engaging Your Community
with Tyson Willis, Associate Pastor at New Fellowship Baptist Church, Texas and John Gillespie, Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church, Texas
