What Our Alumni Say

Dani Price, Director of Softball Operations, Baylor University

"The sports ministry program gave me a lens through which I could see sports, zoomed out with a clearer perspective, filtered through scripture and theology. It has impacted the way I build relationships in sports, view competitors/competition, and value the responsibility of coaching. Every day, through word and action, I notice that I have the chance to empower image bearers of God to authentically grow into who they were created to be."

Cameron Friend, Minister, Speaker, and Writer, Working for The King Center in Atlanta

"The sports ministry program is unique because it forces the student to apply the gospel story in ways that are critical to examining not only sports but society, life, and culture. During my time at Baylor there was no better opportunity for me to evaluate the intersectionality of faith, race, and class than through participating in the Sports Ministry Program. I am a better theologian and executioner of the biblical text because of my time in the program."

Arménio Anjos, Sports Chaplain, International Sports Ministries

"The sports ministry program at Truett was challenging but rewarding. I have been involved in sports, particularly in sports chaplaincy, all my adult life, but I felt I needed to experience the academic component. I'm glad I did it. Although I still serve many athletes, my focus now is on creating sports ministry/chaplaincy training materials and teaching in Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries. "

Hanna Hartley

"The sports ministry program at Truett helped shape my current calling of coaching by showing me and reminding me of God's great pleasure in our ability to 'play.' There is nothing that the Lord does not use in our lives to teach us about Him. Since Truett, I continue to see and use the game of soccer to share about who God is and how we can come to know, love, and glorify him in the simplest of ways through sport."

Kaitlin Pleshko, Youth Sports Director at YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties

"This program challenged me to be intentional and critical about the language, rituals, and experience of athletes and spectators in sport. As a coach and athletics administrator, I try to frame sports as a tutor of character, as a meeting place to experience joy and play, and as a facilitator of true community for the athletes in my program. Truett's sports ministry program has absolutely shaped the way I conduct athletics and the way I talk to the athletes I serve."

Ryan Saunders, Minister of Community Life, Bonsack Baptist Church

"I came to Truett Seminary knowing that God was calling me to use my love of sport and care of people to make an impact for the Kingdom. The sports ministry program gave me the theological and experiential knowledge to put that calling into practice. It gave me a better understanding of what it means to worship through play, how to utilize the gift of play for God's glory, and how God through Christ is working to redeem all things and all people. I use this training everyday as I minister with kids and adults at Bonsack Baptist Church where I serve as Community Life Minister and facilitate our sports and rec ministries. I am the only Community Life Minister that Bonsack has ever had and was privileged to be able to build the sports and rec ministry from the ground up. I based most of what we do and how we do it on what I learned in the sports ministry program."

Edwin Clark, Associate Pastor, First Christian Church Denison (Formerly, Chaplain for Texas A&M Commerce Athletics)

"The program reinforces Truett's mission to equip God-called people. It propels us to join God where God can be found regardless of locale. The beauty and complexity of co-vocational ministry is that you understand this calling, and you are willing to serve with deep gladness whether it is several years with student-athletes or leading a church through a pandemic. I must respond faithfully to God’s summons, and I have Truett’s sports ministry program to thank for equipping me to do that."

Jaxon Bounds, High School Teacher and Assistant Football Coach, McGregor ISD

"The Truett sports ministry program has played a pivotal role in preparing me to equip and love students at McGregor High School/Junior High. My education through the program has shaped how I view coaching my athletes as well as how I can best walk alongside them as they shift how they view their performance in the arena of competition."

 

Nathan Keil, High School Teacher and Coach, California Crosspoint Academy

"The sports ministry program at Baylor’s Truett Theological Seminary provided me, first, the theological framework to identify how sport has served as an idol in my life and, secondly, the tools to recalibrate this relationship to one that identifies Christ as Lord over sport. My education has led me to want to share this life-changing knowledge and framework with high school students, both as an English and Bible teacher as well as a volleyball and basketball coach."

Abbie Tolbert, Executive Associate, John Leland Center for Theological Studies

"Since my freshman year of college, it's been my heart's desire to help youth improve their athletic skills while strengthening their faith in God. The sports ministry program at Truett Seminary helped me develop a ministry toolbox in which to identify and address the brokenness we see in the sports world. It has prepared me to take up the mantle to bring about change and restoration in the world of sport."

 

 

Carter Sapp

"God placed in me a heart to serve as a hospital chaplain, caring for patients, families, and staff. I love that I get to sit with people in the midst of life-changing experiences and search with them for signs of God’s redeeming work. The sports chaplaincy program at Truett prepared me for my work as a hospital chaplain by developing skills to apply pastoral care, theological reflection, and Christian ethics to a wide range of cultural settings."

Brandon Holt, Staff Chaplain, Memorial Hermann Health System

"The theological perspectives and frameworks introduced by Dr. [John] White provided for me a new way to think about God and ministry. Learning to observe different power structures present in sports has helped me to see those same structures in many other sectors. Recognizing that my work as a chaplain involves speaking against injustice and advocating for the underprivileged helped form my identity as a minister."

Aaron Everic, Associate Pastor of Student Ministries at Huguenot Road Baptist Church in Richmond VA

"The most important thing I took away from Truett's sports ministry program was a theology of play. Growing up an athlete, everything in life was a competition. Developing a robust idea of play has shown me how integral a posture of play is in sports and everyday life. It has brought balance to what previously had been a hyper-competitiveness. I will always be grateful for the relationships and experiences that happened at Truett that will each last me a lifetime."

Stanton Corley, Recovery Support Coordinator, Beauchamp Addiction Recovery Center at Baylor University, and Chaplain for Baylor Baseball

"My experience in the sports ministry concentration has reminded me how important it is for the chaplain to think theologically and to live a personal life of integrity in order to faithfully witness to the Kingdom of God in and through sports. Sports, if practiced and played rightly, can position the athlete to flourish long after his or her brief period as a competitor."

Elizabeth Bounds, FSI Staff Member

"Truett’s sports ministry program has equipped me with a Christian worldview that has made me a better coach, athlete, friend, and minister. I had daily opportunities to apply what I learned in the classroom to my roles with Baylor Women’s Soccer, the FSI High School Retreat, and my own personal life."