June 12, 2000
TEXANS AND GERMANS joined together for this group photo at the baseball camp.
Texans hit a home run with sports
evangelism efforts in Germany
___By Reagan Graham
___Regional Correspondent
___DEER PARK--When students from First Baptist Church of Deer Park went to Germany last August to witness through baseball camps, an international family was formed, a church was united globally and lives were changed forever.
___It was clear from the beginning that answering this Baptist General Convention of Texas mission call wasn't going to be easy. When 12 students signed up to go to the town of Steinau, only five were prepared to play. This was the first challenge. The second challenge was the German youth knew nothing about baseball.
___Trip coordinator Timi Rice said Americans take the idea of baseball for granted. Yet for the Germans to understand even the game, the Texans would have to teach the fundamentals of understanding first base, second base and third base.
___That also became a metaphor for explaining the way to heaven. The volunteers used Romans 3:23 as first base, Romans 10:9-10 as second base and John 14:2 as third base, noting God is preparing home plate.
___In the end, 15 people made professions of faith in Christ.
___Then in April, the group was reunited in Texas. Ten of the German students brought their friends and family to stay with First Baptist Church of Deer Park host homes.
___The return of the students brought first-hand excitement for missions to the Deer Park youth. Instead of just hearing the stories, the students could see the real-life effects, said Chris Richey, First Baptist's youth minister.
___Serving as a host home for the Germans became a life-changing experience for Roni Archer and her family, which includes her husband and three teenage sons.
___"To be honest, we went into it sacrificially," she explained. "We did not see ourselves doing this. The Lord was leading us."
___One of the most memorable experiences was crossing cultures and eventually sharing a common Christian witness.
___Archer found the cultural differences to be very interesting. The German teens were more accepting of teenage drinking, smoking and cursing, but not as accepting of violence, she said.
___As part of the Houston site-seeing, a rodeo event was scheduled.
___But the two teens staying with Archer's family refused to go. "In Germany animals are very important," she explained. "Dogs go to stores with them, and dogs go into restaurants with them."
___But after the two and a half weeks were over, Archer could not have imagined a better match. Her sons and her entire family bonded with the students, and they remain in close contact with them on a weekly basis. In fact, they receive calls twice a week from the teens.
___"It's no doubt the Lord put those two in my house," she said. "They connected with my kids. It's a family of God in two countries."
___The family of God will be reunited this month when another team of Texas youth, parents and individuals travel to serve God overseas. Archer's husband and sons will stay with the two German teens who stayed with them.
___This time, 31 will join the baseball ministry in Germany. With two separate teams--beginner and advanced--the group is expecting more students to be involved and many more lives to be touched.
___
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