В Северной Каролине баскетбольные тренировки в церкви приводят к массовым обращениям к вере

CARY, N.C. — Every Sunday night, the gym at Cary First Baptist Church (FBC Cary) in North Carolina resounds with the echoes of dribbling basketballs and the howls of grown men as another pro basketball player slam dunks the ball with impressive might. The men pour in every week from near and far to play pickup basketball. They’ve come for some friendly competition, but few expect to hear the gospel clearly explained before tip-off. Even fewer imagine their lives will change forever. For the last two and a half years, hundreds of men have surrendered their lives to Christ in a ministry no one saw coming, especially Mark Page, worship pastor and interim youth pastor at Cary First and chaplain for the Raleigh Firebirds basketball team. But baptisms have now become the norm as men find freedom from sin and hope for trauma they’ve endured. “They think they’re coming to play ball,” Page said, “but they’re really coming to meet Jesus.” An unlikely mission field When Page first arrived in Cary from serving with his family in Vermont as a church-planting resident with Send Network, he could not have expected the ministry God would place before him. Called as an evangelist at age 17 with a heart for urban ministry and a missionary mindset, the pieces all came together when he saw the church’s gym filled with men in need of the gospel. “Matt Courtney, my partner in the ministry and lay leader at the church, had been opening the gym, and I said, ‘Man, why don’t we leverage this for the Lord?’ And so we started sharing the gospel,” Page said. The first night he did, 30 men came to Christ. “Immediately, I started weeping because 10 years before, God had given me a vision for an inner-city ministry that multiplies gospel impact to the nations but stateside,” Page said. “And I start seeing it right in front of me in Cary, North Carolina.” Gospel first Those who show up at the gym aren’t just basketball players. Many of them are deeply wounded, broken from enduring abuse of all kinds and carrying the weight of trauma, addiction and destructive generational cycles. “About 90% of the men who walk through the door have no daddy and have been abused,” Page said. “These are some of the most broken dudes you’ve ever met in your life. I think they’re starving to death for spiritual health and hope.” Before every game, the Cary First team gathers everyone at center court. Page shares a message. Sometimes he talks about leadership. Other times, he talks about purpose. Every time, he talks about Jesus, often using the 3 Circles evangelism tool. “We’re gospel explicit,” he said. “We’re preaching the gospel.” The response has been tremendous. In one two-week period alone, 25 men prayed to receive Christ through the ministry. This is among the hundreds who have come to faith since Page began, not to mention the 86 Cary High School football players who came to faith in 2025. Gospel Hoops Network Soon, Page felt led to begin Gospel Hoops Network (GHN), “a global network of Christian athletes, coaches, organizations, and churches working together to speak Jesus into the hoops space.” Viral clips of pro basketball players at the Cary First gym gain views online from men who then show up the next week to get a chance to compete against these pro ballers. When they arrive, they get not only basketball but the gospel. Reese McDonald, pro basketball player and GHN representative, recently had the opportunity to baptize his friend, DeShawn Patterson, who is also a pro and plays at the church gym. “Gospel Hoops Network is becoming another outlet God is using to win souls for His kingdom, and if I’m one of the vessels to help spearhead that, then to God be the glory,” McDonald said. Page also recently began the “Come to Jesus” podcast, featuring players’ testimonies. “There’s a list of guys I’ll never get through that want to get on there, that came to me,” Page said, “And they say, ‘I want to tell my story.’” The gospel changes more than eternity What makes the ministry remarkable is not simply the number of professions of faith, but the depth of transformation that follows. On the other side of salvation and baptism is discipleship. Through a framework he calls Project Bridge, Page builds bridges from brokenness to purpose. “What the gospel does, what the Bible does,” explained Page, “it gives us the tools that we need to be successful in every way.” Conversations that begin around basketball often lead to discussions about marriage, fatherhood, finances, business ownership and spiritual growth. “I’m walking with these guys through this process, and they’re starting businesses. They’re having life change,” Page said. “Because everybody needs Jesus, and every man needs to become the leader that can lead his family, his community and his church.” A church that embraces the mission Some churches may struggle to know how to support an influx of men from many different backgrounds, but Cary First members see God at work. “Sports are more than games — they are opportunities for God to reveal His love, build meaningful connections and draw people to Christ,” said Myron Burris, Cary First executive pastor. Lead Pastor Pat Kilby has always had a passion for basketball, having played in college. He passed on that love to his four children, including his son Cory, who also played at the college level. “Our purpose at Cary First is to demonstrate the love and share the good news of Jesus — every day, everywhere, with everyone,” Kilby said. “When we recognized that young men in our community had a huge passion for basketball, we connected our purpose statement to the sport of basketball and began providing opportunities for people in our community to play basketball in our gym.” An increasing number of Cary First members are making their way over to the gym to help in the effort. “Our church is ecstatic about this,” said Page. “They’re celebrating, crying about all that God is doing.” The church recently provided a pregame meal for the Raleigh Firebirds semi-professional basketball team. After everyone had eaten, Page shared the gospel. Every player who did not already know Christ responded to the invitation to follow Jesus. “I challenged them to come to Jesus. The entire men’s basketball team was there. Every man who didn’t have Jesus prayed to receive Jesus right there on the spot,” Page said. “Our FBC Cary team was so excited.” Kilby gives God glory for the ministry. “When churches connect their purpose with an opportunity to provide ministry in their communities, God will open doors to advance His kingdom through the local church,” he said. (EDITOR’S NOTE — Courtney Moore writes for the North American Mission Board. A fuller version of this story is available here.)