NEWS & PRESS RELEASES

Local Yankee players to participate in BBC&S chapels, visit campus

The benefits of ministering to professional athletes will be the focus of unique chapel services at Baptist Bible College & Seminary later this month.

Members of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees are expected to participate in chapels on Thursday, August 27. The players will speak briefly about the importance of ministering to athletes and regular baseball chapels. The Seminary chapel will be at 9 a.m. The College chapel will be at 10 a.m. Players will also visit with students afterwards and stay for lunch.

Professional athletes face unique challenges in growing their faith in the midst of public attention and athletic competition, said Galen Shoff, of One Financial Resource in Clarks Summit, PA, and team chaplain for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.

"If we can reach and ground these young ballplayers for Christ, they become the heroes to many young people," Shoff said. "We need other professionals to step in to minister to these guys."

Both the players and College and Seminary students can have an impact on each other, he said. Players can see there are young men and women preparing for ministry; students can better see sports ministries as an option for them.

Chapel messages are available online at www.bbc.edu/chapel.

Ministering to professional athletes
Through his volunteer position, Shoff attends spring training with the team for 10 days each year and during the season assists players with personal concerns, spiritual growth, and other matters. He leads chapel services for Yankee players and the visiting team each Sunday when the team is home. He also spends a few hours at PNC Field in Moosic, PA, a couple days each week when the team is in town.

To learn more, contact Shoff at 1frgms@epix.net. The team is in need of a Spanish-speaking chaplain, he said.

The special chapel follows the visit in May by former Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and New York Yankee Andy Phillips, who spoke in a special Baptist Bible Seminary summer chapel about the importance of finding hope in Christ and not in circumstances.

Phillips was set to attend spring training for the New York Yankees in 2006 when his wife, Bethany, who was pregnant at the time, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Bethany was not able to carry the baby to full term and later had to undergo chemotherapy treatments. She was also told she may not be able to have another child.

Phillips, now in the Chicago White Sox organization, shared how he and his wife found their hope in Christ during this difficult time in their lives.

Baptist Bible College & Seminary offers 38 academic programs, from a one-year Bible Certificate to PhDs. Programs are available through the Clarks Summit campus and several distance learning options. To learn more, go to www.bbc.edu or call 570.586.2400.

Posted on: 8/10/2009 3:25:31 PM

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