A Ministry That Coaches Coaches!

This is Robert Gilmore from the Christian car guy and kingdom pursuit where we hear how God takes your passion and uses it to build the kingdom your chosen Truth Network podcast is starting in just a few seconds.

Enjoy it and share it but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the truth network. This is the Truth Network college basketball. The sites in this sounds coach K Dean Smith, Roy Williams, the big time coaches coach wooden the legendary Wizard of Westwood, but who is encouraging these coaches whose billing an event whose caring for their solar family. These guys are working hours, they gotta chase these 15 young people around and try to keep them straight and keep them right and train them to win championships. There's a man to God with right now and this is in a coffee shop friends you could hear some grinding you could hear some pounding his ears and eating of some delicious they just brought us this five flavor poundcake Bundt cake. John Atlanta is tough when you're talking about sports and stand for looking at some like that in a brother house is getting ready to say if I keep nibbling on this. I think I'll finish it in about an we got up and five pieces. They read all five pieces you read the whole reason cake in it what you tried to do with healthy smoothie router by good coffee.

Given a shout out to one of our great Truth Network sponsors here in Winston-Salem North Carolina you're here to talk with Stu Epperson all over the country and I get to sit down one my favorite people despise a great man. I got a great story playing tennis. Tennis pro at the highest level. Now your ministry.

Coaches who is John Atlanta will know that is a question 12 Stu great to be with him. John Mike Lamb. When we start a local guy from the Winston-Salem area grew up in this area and moved away for 13 years to Dallas, Orlando, Atlanta been in the sports industry sports marketing been on that the school side athletic administration, fundraising, and now today I work for nation. The coaches nation. The coaches was the vision of Mr. Jim Haney is a longtime executive director of the national Association of basketball coaches.

Mr. Haney had a very convicted and clear vision that basketball coaches who have just an unbelievable platform to influence and impact young people needed to be poured into themselves is that who who is pouring into coaches so since 2008 Tommy Kyle is been executive director of nation as a coaches we've added regional directors. We currently have 130 character coaches serving in men's college basketball across the country so these young people to shop there their town to get recruited, they signed a deal to get a scholarship you're going to play ball.

A lot of cases these young men don't have a lot of broken homes out of brokenness and that coach to be the only father, mentor, pastor, Beverly, so there's this is an investment nation of coaches, so you may never heard of this ministry, but but you guys get God's work and talk about how that dynamic happens and how God is using your ministry or the lives of these coaches and some pretty big names you been tossing your largest name dropper. These are guys your life with these guys are on the phone worked worked you're on the phone we came in your praying with a coach talk about how that works absolutely the very heart of our ministry is our character coaches character coaches who are living life with the coaches men's college basketball coaches, their wives, the lives ministry. Not only are the character coaches into the men's college basketball coaching staffs in the years our ministry. I we have lives of coaches that lead coaches, wives, Bible studies, which during Cove Ed when those went the virtual we had as many as 130 coaches wives across the country engaged in virtual Bible study, but to get back your point. 77% of men's college basketball players come from single or no parent homes 200 nights a year basketball coaches on the road away from their home coaches are 24% more likely to get divorced because of their time commitments so so our mission is to reach these individuals.

These coaches who have an influence and impact, and to reach them and those that they impact for the glory of God the mistress called nations of coaches with me. John Mike Lamb wanted directors is gone. I tell you people don't realize epic to take from another phrase. Coaches lives matter guys have kids they have, besides the grown-up kids that are running up and down the court that there they're trying to wrangle and keep you know keep you safe and get them. Make sure the curfew make sure there get to the bus.

Make sure they're getting the hotel make sure to read and write neat and clean and make sure they're in the weight room is 6 AM. Make sure they're doing the duties and all that.

Besides the grown-up using a little kids and I got relatives and it got a mom is having some health problems and in the got a wife.

See you guys are really trying to build into them because they're building in the next generation guys that might be on the cover Sports Illustrated and you want those guys. The point of saying, glory to God in his name we play and you know, as opposed to going the other way so it did a lot of it starts with pouring it. I coach is absolutely and basketball is the one sport that was created was Christian platform as we know, Dr. James Naismith look for an opportunity at a YMCA for what his kids his students could do. It was started with a peach basket and people don't realize that it goes back to its Christian roots sourcing would nation the coaches as we want to bring the game back bring it back to what it's meant to be. I we gotten away from that. A lot of ways on the corporate level with the ever all the money and we get we understand as part of it is part of big-time sports but within that framework, we want to come in and that's what were doing the coming we serve, connect and equip these coaches and do so in a way that equips them so that they can be even that much more powerful and influential circular letter reference to basketball an Israeli vessel coaches you're working with. But you got connections all kinds of coaches in your ministry and facilitating that and we do know that God's favor sport because that the only see no real game shaped like earth God created I'm just saying is the round ball but were not in a note or I can fit all posted in the football season and in baseball and there's another note, there's another source after proxy what nothing like dropping buckets right on those young guns such public Lamb that we digress. But let's get back to this my body any Bowersox is a great ministry called energized ministries is part of our lives and were given, nor was any word time the great gray grooming together the word, but he's cussing on about how pastors need to be encouraged through they talk to their families need to be loved. Let's take classes where treatment sleep really support that we had him on the show many times, but there's a the head coach is very sore a lot of ways and in the end, assistant coach there literally on the road their way from their family there, looking at temptation as they go to talk to their supposed be a strong one.

The team looks of them and when they fall apart when they break down is real bad news. So you guys are trying to preemptively and intentionally love on these coaches and meet their needs.

Conduct of the parallels are absolutely so so much similarity in likeness between pastors and and and coaches from the standpoint of they are constantly pouring into other people there. Given what they have. They committed their lives to it.

They got time demands that are placed on the wall P they got people coaches have these commitments and people pulling in different directions. Pastors do and are constantly pouring their lives and other people to make a difference for other people spiritually and personally born into their families so often they don't get poured into's in themselves and served and equipped. And that's what we want to make sure doing this and that's our mission.

Our focus our vision for the future grow in this throughout the rest of the country were based in Alabama. I'm here North Carolina regional Dir. Steve Roberts is in South Carolina is a real high level of focus on South Carolina and the Carolinas now follow talk and use just as I can ask about always coaches everyone sees on the TV, but daily struggle using about a great coaches went to heaven. Recently, Bobby Boutin. They're doing a big celebration here for his life. Amanda Gotti loved Jesus a man got he would call a bunch of these codes. He thought he would hate because there are the other team in their fight in battle and and yet he was mentoring a discipling and loving and praying for people the impact that he's had a little got saved under his prayer in his ministry who've gone on to do great things for Christ. So the impact a coach can have leave us with a closing thought of how we can pray for our coaches and then I want you to give the nations of coaches website to before get out here absolutely in place is a coaches website simply nations of coaches.com and hope you'll check that out today. The is the what we say and and we we we reference this quite so quite often because it's so true Rev. Billy Graham is well known for saying that I coach can impact more people in one year than the average person can a lifetime. So if we believe that and we do close coach in the coaches whose pouring into those coaches on a daily basis and that is our mission and Esther are missing the point of them supporting their wives through our coaches wives ministry and to make them just the absolute very best people, mothers, fathers, husband's wives that they could be loaded now would be also prayer challenges you through a prayer challenger was not there. They all see these guys. Maybe they're mad at a video he's on the other sideline reason know he's on the opposite end of the cord and they can't stand that guy. But how can they pray for the coaches right now yeah absolutely pray for your coach in that give give give give you your pray for your coach. The character coaches if you if you're there if you if you have a basketball program in this first time you hear about us and you say, man, I'd love to do that cannot contact us nations a coaches.com contact our national director Pete weary the information's on their contact myself but pray for your coaches that they will be protected and guarded all of the temptations that there surrounded by every single day. We all are, in part, that overt their hearts will be protected their minds, we protected and that they'll grow and no grow and the truth and that their family will grow and the truth is the coaches are growing and surrounded by Christlike mentors, men and women in their lives were pouring into them. That's going to filter down and that's that's our prayer everywhere and pray for John hereto with nations of coaches you guys your old teams amazing grateful for what y'all are doing nations of coaches.com nations a coaches.com victory was devilish and want to take a picture posted of this delicious five flavor punk a grid by good coffee which is delicious coffee to and this is my favorite place to do through thought were just hanging out in what a blessing.

Thanks for what you doing my friend this is the Truth Network