by Steven Anthony
A basketball camp in the nation’s largest city aims to build connections that go beyond one day.
Trevor Bates is a Super Bowl champion. But before he made it to the bright lights of football’s biggest stage, he went down a darker road when his father went to prison. But he found hope when, at the age of 10, Trevor received gifts from his dad through Prison Fellowship Angel Tree®.
Two decades later, he paid it forward at a sports camp in Brooklyn, New York, as a volunteer from Tapestry Church in Jersey City, New Jersey.
“A lot of people don’t really know what you’re going through,” Bates says. “You go to sports camps. You may not have your dad there, and all these other kids have their parents there, and shame can come with that.”
BUILDING BLOCKS
Kids learn valuable life lessons—like teamwork—through sports. Bates and many other volunteers and coaches came together as one team on a cool summer day in June to help kids sharpen their basketball skills.
The day began with kids getting a free pair of Nike shoes, something they might not be able to afford otherwise.
“We hear story after story of how people’s needs are met in that way,” says Joshua Hubbard, senior program manager for Angel Tree events and inventory.
The kids were able to shoot hoops, and then it was time to welcome everybody. The day’s lineup was explained before the kids began working on dribbling, passing, and shooting.
While the kids went through drills, the adults took part in a breakout session where they heard a woman named April share her story. She was an Angel Tree parent, and her son went to a camp for a week where he put his faith in Jesus. He sadly died at a young age, and she shared the heartbreak of losing him and her mom within a short period of time.
April now pays it forward as an Angel Tree coordinator at her church, and her story inspired those in attendance.
“To see where the Lord has her now is what really encouraged people,” Hubbard says.
BEING THERE FOR THE KIDS
Not having a parent at a sports camp—or around in general—is difficult for children. Brandon Johnson is keenly aware of that.
“My mom was in prison. I was incarcerated, so I know what these kids are going through,” Johnson says. “I know what they’re experiencing. Sometimes you do feel alone.”
Johnson came to this camp and others like it around the country. He played college basketball at the University of San Diego before being drafted by the Washington Wizards. But in 2013, his career came crashing down when he was sentenced to six months in federal prison for fixing games.
Even though his dreams were derailed, he now helps others through his own nonprofit in Texas.
Demi, a volunteer from Hillsong Church, understands what the kids are going through, too. She rarely spoke with her father while he was in prison for most of her childhood.
“As an adult, you reflect back, and it does hurt,” she admits.
Camps also bring a new perspective to those who are there for the first time. Angelique “Kat” Smith with Church of the City admitted she hadn’t thought much about the lives of those impacted by incarceration.
"This really opened my eyes to how many challenges and how much hurt can be there, but also how much opportunity there is to come together as a community,” she says.
STEPPING INTO FAITH
The basketball camp wasn’t just about serving the kids’ physical needs. The Gospel presentation from Pastor Juan Martinez III of Hempstead Assembly of God aimed to serve their spiritual needs. With the kids sitting on the court where they were just playing, he shared the Good News of Jesus Christ by getting to the heart of Christianity.
“If we believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, we close that distance between us and God,” Martinez said.
The Holy Spirit was at work that day in the Big Apple as 31 kids responded to that simple yet profound truth by putting their faith in Jesus.
Jason is one of the kids who participated in the camp. His dad was recently released from jail, and despite the physical separation from his earthly dad, he leans on God to get through the hard times.
“God is like a father to me,” he says. “Whenever I’m about to eat, I pray to Him, and every day, I thank Him for letting me live another day.”
CAMP AND BEYOND
Jason Coleman understands this sports camp is just one day in the life of the kids. He also knows that just like in a basketball game, there’s a lot of crossover.
“Dedication, hard work, willingness, having faith—a lot of these things are instilled in sports [and] are easily transferrable to life,” he says.
Those traits lead to a desire to build meaningful connections that go beyond a day at camp. That’s where Angel Tree every day comes in. It’s designed to inspire and equip local churches to expand their ministries to families with an incarcerated loved one. It serves as a mechanism for promoting and advancing year-round, day-to-day care and support by local churches.
“We give them that vision of [being] connected to each other,” Hubbard says. “We want [them] to meet other people that are in similar situations.”
There is strength in numbers, and in a city of more than eight million, knowing there are people walking through tough times just like you can make all the difference.
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