Faith and sports
Athletes in Ministry marks 10 years of impact
Athletes in Ministry founder Brian Ford’s vision for the organization blended faith and sports to inspire young athletes and create lasting community impact. The Anderson County nonprofit, which began in 2015, has now served nearly 1,000 boys and girls.
“I attended the camp, and until that time, I never knew that sports and God could come together like that,” said Ford, a Clinton native.
The memories and impact never left him, he said, even as he went on to play collegiate baseball and raised five children with his wife, Anne.
While he had the idea for many years to offer a similar opportunity to others, it wasn’t until seeing a baseball hat advertising 323 Baseball, a sports ministry in East Tennessee, that Ford felt the Lord was giving him a true sign to start a similar program in Anderson County.
“I was serving as the youth director for Memorial United Methodist Church at that time, and 323 was our street address,” he said. “I felt that was the Lord telling me to go ahead and make it happen.”
Founded Jan. 18, 2015, Athletes in Ministry has seen nearly 1,000 area boys and girls come through its programs. Initially, it offered travel baseball, and it achieved nonprofit status in October 2019.
Unfortunately, with the onset of Covid-19 just a few months later, donations were slow, even as Athletes in Ministry transitioned over to volleyball.
Ford said that “2024 was the first year we had a monthly donor — although honestly, our main goals were offering God to kids who might not otherwise have that, along with making sure the program was as self-sustaining as possible, and run at our costs.”
Ford said he has put several thousand dollars of his own money into the program.
In addition to sports travel and practices, Athletes in Ministry also has offered youth sports camps, a Christian concert, prison ministry softball, and missions trips to Honduras.
“We have done a lot with the program, to make an impact for the Lord,” Ford said.
There are also plans to take a group of rising senior high school volleyball players to Honduras this summer on a mission trip and to play against Honduran teams.
To celebrate its first decade of service, the organization is hosting a gala, “A Night to Remember,” from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at Poarch Manor in Heiskell.
“It is our first time doing one, and we thought it would be good to highlight what we have done for our first 10 years,” Ford said.
Only 120 tickets are available. Single ticket price is $65, which covers the meal and a beverage ticket.
Couples’ tickets are $100, and table-sponsor tickets are $750, which includes eight dinner/beverage tickets.
Sterling “Sterl the Pearl” Hinton will be the guest speaker, and a live auction from JD’s Realty and Auction and C-Town music will provide further entertainment.
For more information, or to purchase tickets, contact Ford at 865-806-9349 or Brian@athletesinministry.org.
