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On any given weekday during the heat of summer, visitors to the
Prestonwood campus may witness hundreds of children involved in camps
through Prestonwood Sports Organization. Whether basketball, football,
cheerleading, volleyball or a number of other sports, participants receive
training not only for the game, but for life.
More than 8,000 kids participate in PSO
sports leagues, and more than 2,500 take part in
PSO camps annually. But it has taken years and
the fulfillment of a vision for that to happen.
Joe Perry, Minister of Sports Outreach, had
dreamed of building a program that would
bring people together for a common purpose
– as sports always do. When he came to
Prestonwood in 1999, he found that Pastor
Jack Graham had a similar vision.
“I came here with a dream from some years
ago in ministry that I thought I would never
get to see,” Joe said. “I have been thrilled to
see the [Prestonwood Sports Organization] turn
into the greatest evangelistic sports program of
its nature in the world.”
PSO has brought countless souls to Christ
over the past seven years, and God has had
His hand on this ministry since the beginning,
Joe said.
“We have seen so many come to faith in
Christ through PSO – parents, league officials,
and many others,” he added.
He can share story after story of lives that
have been changed. Take, for instance, Kevin
Loop.
Kevin, already a Prestonwood member,
reluctantly agreed to coach his son in basketball
through a PSO league. Some time later, Kevin
seized the opportunity to go with several other
Prestonwood members on a sports mission trip
to Africa. His life was never the same.
“Kevin came home and wanted to talk with
me about the trip,” Joe said. “He told me
that God was calling him to be a missionary
to Africa. I thought he might be a little nuts
because he was over 40 and had no formal
training for missions. But we prayed that God
would open a door.”
Joe called Caz McCazen of Upward
International Basketball League and asked
if there were any plans to implement their
programs internationally. Upward, indeed,
wanted to start a league in Africa.
Within months, Kevin had gone through
the necessary training, sold his business, and
moved his family to Africa.
His story and others are proof that the PSO
vision has traveled far beyond the fields of
Prestonwood.
“Never a week goes by that I do not spend
time on the phone with another great church
with a vision for using sports to reach their
community and beyond,” Joe said. “We have
come from the vision of Jack Graham for this
great church and we now are able to influence
Christian sports programs all across the
world.”
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Football team opened the door to Christ and a better life
By Berta Delgado-Young
Ask Estela Gonzalez what the Prestonwood Sports Organization has done for her family, and her answer is simply, “Everything.”
“We truly feel like we’ve been born again,” she said. “I never had this type of relationship with Christ. I never felt so stable. I feel safe now.”
To know where she is coming from when she answers the question, you must know where she’s been. Mother to 14-year-old David and 8-year-old Jason, Estela is also the primary caretaker of granddaughters Janet, 11, and Daisy, 9. (Estela’s daughter has battled various addictions so Estela ended up with the girls.)
Estela and the children have struggled to make ends meet. They’ve been homeless, once living at a campsite for three months.
The children have had to grow up quickly, she knows. David, especially, has had to become a man too early in life, helping out with the younger kids when she’s at work and handling other responsibilities. Estela has wanted all of them to have some semblance of a normal childhood, so they became involved in a city league sports program. Jason’s football team was playing against a PSO team when Estela noticed that the PSO coaches were different.
“I liked their manner of dealing with the children,” she said. “I liked the attention the coaches gave them and the way they spoke to them.”
The next year, she registered Jason at PSO. With the help of a Prestonwood parent, she was able to register the other children in leagues also. She learned about Prestonwood, and the whole family began attending.
“I met Joe Perry, and I just loved his style,” she said. “He listened when I spoke about my problems, and I found spiritual help with him that I’d never known. He led me to Christ and gave me peace.”
Estela and the children have since become members of Prestonwood and were baptized together. “We feel like we have a family here,” she said.
God brought them to Prestonwood through PSO at the best time – the worst time, she said.
“Everything was negative and dark, we had no money and were on the streets,” she said. “Though I still have problems, having lost my eyesight temporarily because of a burst retina, and still struggling financially, I don’t worry like I did. I don’t fall into a negative hole. I know, somehow, the Lord will provide.”
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Mike Boate’s faith journey took a big turn on the basketball court
By Kaylan Christopher
The Prestonwood Sports Organization changed Mike Boate’s life.
Though he grew up Catholic, Mike said he didn’t attend church very often. His marriage was rocky, and he needed something different in his life. After accepting Christ at Prestonwood in July 1999, he attended church periodically, still trying to figure out what to do with his faith.
“The fall of that year was the first year that Prestonwood had an adult basketball league,” Mike said. He joined the league, prayed with his teammates, and received a devotional each game day.
“The basketball league essentially became my Bible Fellowship class,” he said. “It continued to help me understand what it meant to accept Christ. Midpoint into the season, I was looking more toward fellowship with the guys and prayer than playing the game.”
Mike made a commitment to live out his faith in front of his family and others as a silent witness. “I’d go to Prestonwood and would invite them to go,” he said. “I would say, ‘If you want to come, great. If you don’t want to come, fine.’”
His family began to see the dramatic difference in his life. His faith was contagious.
“With my wife and me, you could sense things changing in our relationship,” he said. “Even at the beginning of the basketball season she didn’t come to the games. But by midpoint she knew how excited I was and why. Now, she’s considered the ‘league mom.’”
For the past four years, Mike has been the director of the children’s basketball program. He recently was named spiritual commissioner for the league.
He is involved in the Prestonwood prison ministry, and his family is active in the church.
“I tell our coaches I’m a direct example of what PSO can do in someone’s life,” Mike said. “You just don’t know who you’re talking to on your team and what position they’re in. You don’t know where they are in their walk. That’s why you must be diligent in your devotions, diligent in your walk, and diligent in your faith.”
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