Coach Dan - Commissioning Pastors in Cuba

Dan is one of our coaches in Lynchburg, Virginia. Through previous trips, he already had connections with people in Cuba through his grandmother. In January he had the opportunity to go visit some of the pastors he had already formed relationships with. He was able to train them further in the effective use of sports ministry as a way to share the Gospel and he was able to bring equipment so that they can start.

“Back in 2018, I traveled to Havana, Cuba for the first time and was able to start a sport ministry at a local Church called San Francisco Church. Baseball is widely popular throughout the country and the pastor of San Fransisco allowed me to run a baseball camp in partnership with his church throughout the week. We were able to go into their community and use the sport of baseball as a bridge that allowed San Francisco church to connect to their neighborhood in a way they never had been able to before. At the end of my first trip, I left all of the equipment behind because I wanted the church to continue the ministry and feel equipped to use sports as a way to evangelize in their neighborhood. Overtime, the ministry at San Francisco continued to grow and more and more kids in the neighborhood began to get connected to the church.

“This year, 2021, was my third year traveling to Havana, Cuba. Only now, the vision for the ministry was able to be expanded. We were able to bring over three duffle bags full of baseball equipment and leadership training material. The goal of this trip was to gather together four other pastors and lead them through a sports ministry training seminar. At the end of the week, I was able to divide up the baseball equipment that was brought over between the four pastors and equipped them to put into practice everything they had learned during the seminar. These pastors not only received classroom training on how to start and run an effective sports ministry, but they also received the resources needed to put those principles into action.

“I was blessed to be able to travel during such a chaotic time and see the vision of developing christian leaders in the effective practices of sport ministry for the purpose of sharing the gospel and making disciples expanded. Specifically, one of the highlights of the sport ministry seminar for me was on the last day. I shared a brief devotion and spent the remainder of the class calling up the pastors individually to the altar in the church sanctuary. I was able to lay hands on them and pray for them and the start of their sports ministry. It was a powerful moment as each of these leaders were embolden and commissioned by the Spirit to use this new vehicle to claim their communities for the advancement of the gospel and the development of dedicated disciples.”

If you would like more information on the work done in Cuba, you can contact Coach Dan!