FREE FITNESS CENTER'S SHAPE-UP PROGRAM HAS EXTRA DIMENSION...
A FREE FITNESS center that twins Bibles and barbells is helping people shape up spiritually as well as physically.
Around 150 have given their lives to Christ since Sports Excellence opened the doors of their gym to the community of Atwater, California last April. Over 1,000 have used the no-charge Youth With A Mission ministry facilities, which include a full-length basketball court, weights room, aerobics classes and racquetball courts.
The 23,000 square foot center - formerly belonging to the United States Air Force - offers the Total Fitness program every weekday between 4 pm and 6.30 pm. Visitors get free use of all the equipment and trainers' help - and hear the gospel during a short "time out" presentation during the afternoon.
"At first a few people raised their eyebrows, but they know who we are now and why we are there, and they seem to respect us," said Kevin Stark, a former Olympic coach who leads Sports Excellence. "They come because they want to get bigger or stronger, or to keep fit and avoid stress, and then we get the opportunity to address their real need, which is Jesus."
Among those who have become Christians in recent months are some local gang members and former prisoners. "Just the other day we gave an altar call and one of the guys in the weight room raised his hand to pray; he was in a gang, selling drugs," said Stark.
New Christians are provided with Bibles and follow-up materials, and invited to attend the weekly Pre-Game Talks discipleship sessions. They precede Friday Night Live, which is geared towards young people. The center also runs basketball leagues and offers martial arts classes.
"Probably more than half the people who come in are non-Christians, and we just share the love of Christ with them through relationships, by working out and training alongside them."
Sports Excellence underwrites the free gym schedule by renting the facilities out at other times to private groups including the local high school, home schoolers and a local church. The ministry has won a government grant to run summer sports camps for young people form the surrounding area.
Twenty staff work at the center, including members of Team Extreme who present the gospel through feats of strength and sporting skills at crusade meetings around the world. More than 100 people in the Atwater have become Christians through local Team Extreme presentations.
Stark became aware of the mothballed gym - part of a giant air force base that closed down a few years ago - when Team Extreme visited the town, just outside Merced, in 1997. Sports Excellence signed a five-year lease for the facility - which also has the use of neighboring outdoor basketball courts, soccer field and a track - a year ago.
A former coach at the University of New Mexico and trainer to Olympic athletes, Stark founded Sports Excellence seven years ago. In addition to Team Extreme and the gym outreach, the ministry runs training programs for Christian sportsmen and women wanting to use their skills in missions.
(Photo available on request)
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