The major stadium events like those once held by Billy Graham are becoming rare. Pastor Greg Laurie still sees people meeting Christ through Harvest Crusades, but faith in Jesus often comes small scale as the result of one-on-one friendships and honest conversation about eternity.
That’s what Pastor Andrew Dyer is doing, and it’s through a sport that’s really catching on nationwide: Pickleball.
The pluses of Pickleball
“Pickleball is a great way for people who want to get good exercise and enjoy sports and athletics – but, I think the draw of Pickleball is, Pickleball is a social game,” shares Pastor Andrew. The game connects people.
How did Pickleball find a place at Corinth Baptist Church in London, Kentucky?
“In the fall of 2021, one of our senior adults, a lady, came to me and said, ‘Would it be possible for us to put down some tape for a Pickleball line?’ in our activities building. And I said, ‘Sure, I don’t think that would be a problem…but what’s Pickleball?’ I had never heard of it.”
So, Pastor Andrew okayed some tape on the floor for the game to be tried out. It took off!
The town hears about the Pickleball church
“We have dedicated Pickleball time a couple of nights per week,” and the free public schedule is made available on Facebook. “Especially brand new beginners, I don’t know how many people have begun playing their first game of Pickleball in our church’s gymnasium.”
Andrew and his wife, Corri, are just folks playing Pickleball. But when the opportunity comes up, sharing Jesus can happen. “We talk about everything under the sun – all the things that are important to you… and one of the things that’s important to me is my faith in Christ. And so, it’s a natural extension to have conversations about things going on in their lives, what’s important to them,” and that can lead to honest chats about church, and prayer requests, “spiritual discussions in a non-threatening way.”
Use what God has given you
For now, Pastor Andrew has found Pickleball as a great way to establish friendships and trust, but he says each Christian can use a personal interest to do the same. “Every one of us is created by God, individually, with interests and talents and abilities and circumstances – all of these things – and I think as a follower of Christ, if we live for Christ – the Bible says ‘whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all of your might’ and to the glory of God. And so, if for me, at this stage in my life, Pickleball has been an avenue to be able to do that, but maybe somebody’s thing that they’re into is shopping for antiques or maybe it’s quilting, growing a garden – whatever it is – that we enjoy doing, I think we have opportunities to connect that with our faith in Christ.”
In our complete interview podcast just below, Pastor Andrew shares his understanding of how the game of Pickleball first began.
