This October a small team of staff and interns from Christians in Sport travelled to the Admirals Basketball Academy in Moldova, an organisation we’ve partnered with for over 12 years, to run a week of sport, leadership and Bible training.

Admirals was set up by Nick, who fell in love with basketball and came to faith in Jesus through the work of a Christian Basketball camp in Moldova in 1995, having grown up in deeply challenging circumstances against the backdrop of the fall of the Soviet Union. Today, Admirals, named after ‘The Admiral ’, NBA player David Robinson, is a mission organisation operating in Ukraine and Moldova. Recognising the hardship that young people face in Eastern Europe, Admirals run basketball academies to enable young people to build relationships, be introduced to Jesus and follow a leadership training pathway.

Landing in Chișinău

Arriving late on Friday, Lloyd, Matt and Grace, began Saturday with a leadership training session with alumni and ambassadors of the Admirals programme, some of whom currently play for the senior first team, as well as coaches in the 1st team and academy set up. The session focussed on connecting Christian faith with leadership on and off the court as competitive sportspeople.

Sharing a meal with Admirals Ukraine head coach Leo (front left) and alumni and ambassadors of Admirals Academy Programmes.

Sunday saw the beginning of a three-day camp working with academy players, themed around the ‘Born to Play’ training programme. This outworks a big picture of the Bible within the context of sport, beginning with God’s good creation in Genesis 1, the fall in Genesis 3 and Christ’s sacrifice to redeem people and call them to whole life worship of Him in Romans 12. These sessions focus specifically on what it means for a sportsperson to know they are created in the image of God, to enjoy the gifts He’s given them to play and compete in relationship with others, all to reflect God’s creative and relational character and point to His glory. On the last night one of the academy coaches shared their testimony, encouraging young people to see the freedom that comes through committing their lives to Jesus.

Running a Born to Play session with young people in between Basketball sessions.

Admirals Ukraine head coach Leo shared his highlights from the week:

“There’s been so many highlights. Thank you for coming and serving our academy, the impact is huge and it’s a great experience for them. My six basketballers from Ukraine have experienced war and extremely difficult times. Here they can relax and think about God in community with other Christians. They can talk about identity in Christ, it’s so important for me as a coach and mentor of these kids, it’s huge what you do with us.”

Lloyd reflected on the camp:

“One boy from Ukraine had never opened the Bible before, he’d said the experience has made him want to go back and look more deeply into the Bible and what it means to be in relationship with Jesus. Another chose to use his birthday money to come to the camp instead of buying a new pair of Basketball shoes. As part of the camp Admirals were able to give a new pair of shoes to every young person, that was heart-warming to see his eagerness to come to the camp.”

Leading the charge

Admirals Basketball Academy began in 2013 after years of planning, including a visit to Sports Plus enabling Christians in Sport to share experience and support Nick’s vision. Before saying goodbye to our team, Nick shared his vision to continue growing the work of the Admirals:

“It’s hard to believe it’s been 12 years since we began this partnership, it’s been a great blessing for us to have so many staff coming from Christians in Sport each year, Greg, Lancs, Lloyd and all the different interns who’ve visited. What an impact you guys have had on the lives on many Moldovans and Ukrainians through this Born to Play training. Looking ahead, I’m excited to see how we can build and develop on this foundation we’ve laid over 12 years. The highlight of this week was seeing young people understand that their identity is God, to help them discover that in the Bible and see them understand and enjoy that for the first time. That’s why we exist and that’s what I love about this mission.”

Former interns with Academy Basketballers in Moldova in 2016

The joy of gospel partnership

It’s exciting to partner with organisations that share the vision to reach sportspeople with the good news of Jesus, sharing knowledge, resources and experience with each other. It’s especially encouraging to see fruit where relationships have grown over a number of years. Admirals Basketball is a wonderful example of passionate, biblically grounded, sportspeople seeking to create sustainable and growing mission projects to engage with young people. Will you pray with us that Admirals ministry in Moldova and Ukraine continues to grow and bear fruit in the world of sport for Christ.