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Basketball becomes a part of church’s ministry

By Harold Campbell

HALIFAX, NS—Basketball isn’t just a game for Ian MacFarlane, pastor of Living Hope Community Church in Halifax. It has become an integral part of his church’s ministry.

“I’ve always wanted to see how God could use sports,” MacFarlane said in a recent interview. “Statistics show that 90 percent of our culture is involved in some kind of recreational activity.”

MacFarlane, a Halifax native, played basketball during high school in his hometown. He continued his basketball career while attending Trinity Bible College in Florida before later going to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

At Living Hope, the church has organized an Upward basketball league to help reach Halifax-area youngsters and their families. Upward emphasizes healthy competition, sportsmanship, skills building and fun versus the “win-at-all-costs” mentality found in many children’s sports leagues. More than 500,000 children from kindergarten through grade five, around the world, participate in Upward sports leagues.

As part of the church’s basketball outreach, Living Hope conducted a youth basketball camp last summer. A mission team from Market Street Baptist Church in Amesbury, Massachusetts, about 70 kilometers from Boston, came to help.

“We called them the ‘mini-mission team’ because only three came,” MacFarlane said.

However, what they lacked in numbers, the team made up in enthusiasm. They and about 25 to 30 Living Hope members helped with officiating, coaching, conducting a camp and using the opportunity to share the Gospel with many children and their parents who had never heard it before.

Late last year or early this year, Michael John, Market Street pastor, called MacFarlane to see if his church would be interested in a partnership and if Living Hope would like to send a team of its own to Amesbury for a basketball clinic Market Street was planning for August.

After the church prayed about it, a number of people responded. As a result, Living Hope conducted another basketball camp this summer with 43 children involved, again helped by a team from Market Street. Then, a few weeks later, a group of seven Living Hope members traveled to Amesbury to help with their new partner church.

MacFarlane said it was only the second mission trip his church had ever taken. The first was five years ago when a team traveled to Gulfport, Mississippi, to help with relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina.

In addition to teaching kids basketball skills, Living Hope and Market Street members worked together to share Christ with both the children and their families during the camp.

“The witness of two churches working together was amazing,” he said. “We have three to six mission teams come to help us every year, so it was nice to reciprocate and give back.”

In addition to its basketball ministry, Living Word has also begun reaching out internationally. It has helped sponsor a family moving from Nigeria to Canada. Despite only having 40 to 50 who attend regularly, MacFarlane said the church felt called to pay $5,000 for the move. In addition, the church has helped with efforts to dig water wells in Nigeria.

“God has replenished that money,” MacFarlane said. “It’s been incredible to see how God has worked.”