Good News - August 2018

WORLD 26 AUGUST 2018 Good News • South Florida Edition Almost 30 years ago, Coach Rick Andreassen, founder and president of SAINTS International Sports Ministry and SAINTS of Florida Homeschool P.E., knelt at the foot of his bed and prayed. “They were going to have me teach Sun- day School [at NewCovenant Church] and I was like, ‘Lord, I can’t.’ I was making all the objections like Moses did; I felt so unqualified, and God said, ‘Love my children. Just do that one thing... love my children.’ He kept it simple and that’s all I’ve ever done,” Andreassen said. Today, Coach RickAndreassen heads up an international ministry dedicated to sharing the love of Jesus Christ with children around the world through the platform of sports. Creating an atmosphere “Where Jesus is Lord and Every Child is a Winner,” SAINTS reaches more than 10,000 children weekly through- out four states and six countries. With his signature smile, a seemingly endless supply of enthusiasm and an uncanny ability to remember the name of every child even years after they grad- uated, Coach Rick exudes the joy he strives to bring into the lives of children. So many families wrote letters of appreciation about him in 2002 that he was elected to carry the Olympic Torch on its way to the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, representing homeschool families. He’s been recognized in Who’s Who Among Amer- ica’s Teachers and was named a “Hero Among Us” by the Florida Panthers in 2015 for “enhancing the lives of young people around the world.” “I never get tired of hearingmy name froma little boy or girl in the grocery store,” Coach Rick beamed. Coach is a title he is honored to wear. “Billy Gra- ham once said he believed a coach is one of the most influential people in America today.” Coach Rick added, “There are more kids on a soccer field on Saturday than in a Sunday school on Sunday. I know they believe coach on your name is like having MD – doctor said. ‘Coach Rick said, eat all my veg- etables. Coach Rick said, I can… Coach said you are awesome.’ So, if I can co-labor with parents to raise up a child in the way he should go, I knowGod has given our staff a huge platform.” Coach Rick and the SAINTS staff hope to im- pact a generation for Christ through sports. He points to salvation statistics that indicate 70 percent of all people who get saved do so before they turn 14 years old, another 20 percent by their 18th birth- day and the final 10 percent in their adult years. He’s personally witnessed thousands of kids make sal- vation commitments through SAINTS since its start 21 years ago, then they connect these children to local churches in whatever country they are minis- tering. After working as a physical education teacher at New Covenant Christian School and Children’s Pastor at NewCovenant Church in Pompano Beach for 11 years, Andreassen said God gave the vision for SAINTSwhile he was heading back to Florida following a visit to his childhood home in Saugerties, New York. “I was going through a rough emotional time after the drowning of a 5-year- old little boy who was very dear to my heart, and I was reading a book Stephan Tchividjian gave me [ATale of Three Kings]. I read this one sentence ‘…that God might yet be able to give his authority to a trustworthy vessel.’ I wrote down the words ‘trustworthy vessel’ and looked out the window of the plane, then God gave two words: Homeschool P.E.” I heard a pastor say (and I will paraphrase), “There is a part of God’s heart that can only be seen through eyes that are filled with tears.” God gave the vision on August 27, 1997, and five weeks later on October 1st, SAINTSwas launched by Coach Rick with two volunteers at George English Park in Fort Lauderdale serving 18 kids from ten homeschool families. Using anA.C.S.I. accredited homeschool physical education programCoach Rick designed for children ages 5 to 18, SAINTS brings joy to children by en- gaging them in more than a dozen sports and games, including archery, basket- ball, kickball, volleyball, flag football, soccer, track and field. He modeled his Saints-Sational Fitness Challenge after the President’s Physical Fitness Chal- lenge and incorporates games with parachutes, hula hoops, frisbees, jump rope and more. Beyond fitness, SAINTS coaches are encouraged to “build children up in who they are in Jesus Christ.” “It’s not rocket science, but what we do with the kids is a science,” Coach Rick explained, stressing that structure is everything. “My background is in Early Childhood Development with three years of Bible College, so we create an en- vironment of order. If you can create order where they feel safe, then you can teach. A few days of playing, laughing, feeling safe and not being picked on, then you can speak into their hearts.” Through sports, Coach Rick is able to fulfill what he calls his life mission, “to tell a child who they are to Jesus Christ.” He tries to live by “The Starfish Story,” saying, “I know I cannot help them all, but like the little boy who picked up one more starfish, I know I can make a dif- ference in the life of this one.” In the midst of this one-life-at-a-time approach, SAINTS doubled in attendance year after year. “In the first year it went from 18 to 36 and from 36 to 72, but then there was a year when it went from 250 kids to 500 and from 500 kids to 1,000 the following year. That’s when all the dynamics changed… That meant duplicating the vision and duplicating the heart. We du- plicated vehicles, equipment, but it was a stepping stone. God allowed it to duplicate in PalmBeach, then Orlando and Jacksonville. And with that model we could duplicate in Texas and California then to other countries.” The expansion from homeschool P.E. to interna- tional ministry began about 10 years ago when a homeschool mom from Boca Raton asked, “Do you think you could do SAINTS in Zambia, Africa?” Coach Rick said, “Absolutely, yes. I knew everything we were doing could be duplicated in third world countries. Since we set up everything from the back of a van, it could fit into a duffle bag” or what he now calls “SAINTS in a Box.” After going through Lifework Leadership and Min- istry Ventures, our passion for God to reach more chil- dren for the Kingdom grew exponentially. SAINTS International Sports Ministry partners with typicallyAmerican organizations that are feeding, cloth- ing and educating children by bringing in games, joy and laughter. “My heart would be to give children a childhood they’ve never had. The Bible says laughter is good medicine. So we bring joy,” explained Coach Rick, adding “what these kids go through would break your heart.” In Haiti, SAINTS partners withMission of Hope, a connection that developed through Rio Vista Community Church. Kenya, Africa, is facilitated through John McKay at a Boy’s Home for teenagers rescued from living on the dump. Their Zambia, Africa, ministry is through CCMTrust School. The ministry in Zimbabwe was started by Coach Steve Schaffer, lead coach at SAINTS of Texas. And SAINTSministers at a Christian school in Guatemala through a partnership with Lighthouse Community Church in Hollywood and Pastor Bob Befeld. “We are also grateful forAbove &Beyond Community Church in Boca Raton, that has now commissioned Full-Time Missionary Felix Lopez to serve in Guatemala as well,” Coach Rick said. Coach Rick Builds Children Up with "Who They Are in Christ" Thru Sports Shelly Pond Good News Editor Coach Rick Andreassen displays the torch he carried for the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.