Why Baseball?

It’s hard to believe we are about three months away from leaving for Hungary! We’re excited and nervous and everything in between.

As you might be aware, my (Patrick’s) work will primarily revolve around the baseball ministry currently in place in Érd, Hungary.

Because it is not the most traditional form of mission work that you might think of, we thought we’d take the opportunity to share our thoughts on the simple question of: Why baseball?

OK, we’re cheating a little bit, because it’s actually a two-part question. The first and most important aspect of it is, “How can baseball be considered mission work?” Mission has evolved tremendously over the years, and while we as a people are still learning to live it out in healthy and effective ways, it may look different than what most folks associate with the word.

We do not simply want to see people accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, and then move on to the next person. We in the United States tend to prioritize numbers and statistics, and we have the business mentality of wanting to see a return on investment for the dollars we put into mission work. But the people we will be working alongside and investing our time with are not just numbers, not just another statistic. They are individual human lives and individual souls. We want to see and do what we can to help nurture mature disciples rather than cross off another number on a checklist.

We believe the baseball ministry with OM provides a great opportunity for this as it creates a space for long-term relationships to be built. With the club sports system in Europe, children are coming back to work with the same coaches year in and year out as they advance up the club ladder with age. Being able to invest years alongside these kids, their parents, and other adult players allows us the opportunity to live life with them. Whether it’s during the travel on 10-plus-hour road trips for games, the team Bible studies, or simply creating a welcoming space for Hungarians to come into our home, we hope to demonstrate God’s love through the example of how we live our lives.

The OM team has also found that baseball is a great team-building tool to help teach the Christian concepts of grace, forgiveness, and encouragement. While some of these ideas might seem like basics to American Christians, it is a far different reality for the post-communist society the children of Hungary are growing up in. Communism left a culture of shame, and a child is more likely to be shunned for making a mistake rather than encouraged to try again.

Baseball might be an unconventional ministry in the eyes of some, but we feel it is a great tool to tangibly show some of God’s most important commands to us.

The second part of the question is much simpler: Why am I so interested in baseball?

I grew up playing and watching baseball and thought I’d be coaching it some day. I’m passionate about the game, the ideals it teaches, and the community-building it fosters. OM is big on not trying to categorize missionaries into boxes, but instead finding ways for their talents and passions to be used for Christ’s glory. We both felt like God placed this opportunity in front of us for a reason.

As always, please reach out to us if you’d like to hear more about the ministry, our story, or discuss missiology (my nerd-out moments).

We can definitely feel your prayers, and we’re incredibly grateful. We commented to one another this week about how well we’ve been working together lately, and God keeps opening doors and people continue to amaze us by opening their hearts. Please keep these prayer requests in mind this week:

• Continued motivation and energy for the prep work leading up to our departure
• Jessica’s busy work schedule
• Goodbyes-We are starting to say our first goodbyes to some dear friends, and it is by no means easy. Please pray that God will give us a peace about this process and that we would find more joy than sadness in these interactions.