When former pastor Rev. Rainer Richter helped open the new Family Life Center at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church in Wellington, he knew he wanted to use the space for a new way to serve families in the western communities. For nearly 20 years, the church has been bringing together children through sports and teaching them lessons outside of the court through Upward Basketball and Cheerleading.
This year, the teams are preparing for their 20th season. St. Peter’s program is part of Upward Sports, a nonprofit religious organization dedicated to creating recreational experiences while teaching church values.
More than 2,000 Upward Sports programs across the nation are all using athletics to engage with their local communities.
“Sports have such a natural ability to bring children, parents and communities together, and Upward offered a way to do that while also sharing the love of Christ,” said Shelly Albright, director of Children and Youth Ministries at St. Peter’s.
The co-ed youth sports program serves children from pre-K through fifth grade. Since starting, the teams have had a recorded 5,749 player registrations over the last 19 seasons. Unlike traditional leagues, St. Peter’s Upward Sports program is designed to focus on developing children as people and showing them that value is not determined by who wins the game. The program’s staff teaches them integrity, serving others and faith, while also improving their skills as athletes.
Albright explained that families need places where their children can belong and be encouraged. Through sports, the church can create a welcoming, community environment that uniquely integrates faith into its activities. The program has become established in the church, and many former players have returned as volunteers to continue on the mission of teaching children these core values.
“Our community has plenty of opportunities for children to play sports, but Upward offers something different,” Albright said. “The goal has never simply been to develop better basketball players or cheerleaders. We want children to have a place where they can compete, learn skills and have fun while also learning that their value isn’t determined by the scoreboard.”
This year, the church is launching its Raise the Rim Campaign to raise funds to replace aging equipment at the Family Life Center. Church officials set a goal of $40,000 and are encouraging people in the community to become sponsors or donate $20 in honor of the program’s 20th season. They hope that with the money raised, they will be able to continue to give children across the community the same opportunity to play and learn faith-based values.
“Although our main goal is to replace our basketball hoops, there is so much more to it,” Albright said. “We’re investing in a place where another generation of children can come to play, grow, belong and experience God’s love.”
Throughout the years, St Peter’s Upward Basketball and Cheerleading teams have been giving children a place they can grow in skills and faith. The nearly two decades of work are part of its history, but those leading the program are set on welcoming more people to their church sports teams for years to come.
“I hope people understand that Upward is much bigger than what happens on a basketball court,” Albright said. “For 20 seasons, people in this community have poured into children through this ministry. There have been thousands of practices, games, devotions, high-fives, friendships and little moments of encouragement that we could never possibly count.”
St. Peter’s United Methodist Church is located at 12200 W. Forest Hill Blvd. in Wellington. Registration for its Upward Basketball and Cheerleading teams is currently underway and closes Sunday, Nov. 1. Divisions may be filled before registration closes, and the cost is $175 per child. For more information, visit www.stpeters-umc.org/upward-sports or contact [email protected].
