Blogger's note: Usually I start my Saints updates with either something that God has laid on my heart from hearing or reading His Word and sometimes I choose something I think is witty or funny. For my Kentucky Crusade updates, I wanted to share part of the team devotions that our team shared on the trip. My good friend and coach of the North Georgia Saints David Cogliano wrote and shared the devotions on the trip and I wanted to share them in my update posts about our Kentucky Trip. The theme of the devotions is "Compete for the Crown".
Blogger's extra note: The IL part of the trip missed parts of the day 4 devotions because we departed West to head back to Peoria while the rest of the team headed East to either catch a flight or drive home. We did not present for the team devotions but we did manage to catch part of the devotions over Facetime! I managed to get Cogs' notes and this is what he had for the devotion on the last night.
1 Corinthians 9:25- 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
In this verse, Paul is drawing a powerful comparison between athletes in competition and Christians in their spiritual journey. The believers in Corinth would have been very familiar with the Isthmian Games, which were similar to the Olympics and were held near their city. Athletes would undergo rigorous discipline- physically, mentally, and emotionally- for the chance to win a perishable crown made of pine or olive branches. Paul uses this image to teach a deeper truth. Just like an athlete submits to strict training for a temporary reward, so must followers of Christ discipline themselves for an eternal prize- the "crown that will last forever." This crown represents eternal life, God's approval, and the joy of finishing our race well. This verse challenges men to take spiritual growth seriously. Training for godliness isn't about coasting or comfort, it's about intentional, disciplined living. It's about controlling our desires, denying ourselves when needed, and keeping our eyes fixed on the goal. While athletic trophies fade, rust, or are forgotten, the reward God offers never perishes. Paul reminds us that it's worth giving our best to the only race that truly matters. This truth reshapes how we live, compete, and serve. When the applause fades and the lights go out, the only thing that matters is what was done for Christ. That's the crown worth living for. Let's stay focused, stay faithful, and finish strong.
Many of our Crusades include games on Wednesday or Sunday or both. We were all feeling really good and reasonably refreshed going into the last day of the trip. We got up, packed up for the trip back to Illinois, and got a small hotel breakfast before heading out the door to Roederer CC.
We arrived at Roederer CC on time and we parked in front of the security building. Once we went through the metal detector and got our volunteer ID's, we parked by the softball field. We saw a small crowd of around 40 guys. We played the first game and came out swinging pretty good and won the first game. After the game we met in the outdoor weight room which was under a pavilion.
I shared my testimony. I started with saying my dream growing up as a kid was to play Major League Baseball. Unfortunately that dream didn't work out. I asked the group if they could remember the date of when they realized that dream wasn't going to happen. For me, that date was February 16th, 1994. That was the day I was cut from the Limestone High School baseball team. I went home that night and cried in my room. The tears weren't so much from not getting to play baseball, it was realizing that I didn't belong on that team. When I threw a ball, it didn't make the same sound when it hit a glove as some of the other kids. When I hit a ball, it wasn't quite the same sound as some of the other kids who had made the team. In order for me to make that team, it would have taken a coach forgiving me my lack of talent. He would have had to look past the fact that I wasn't as big, strong, or fast as some of the other kids. He would have had to look past all of that in order to put me on that team.
A year or so earlier on an Easter Sunday morning, the pastor of the church I grew up in preached about why Easter was important. He preached about sin and that everyone had sinned and was separated from God and destined for a place called hell. I was a decent kid growing up but I knew that he was talking about me and my sin was still enough to send me to hell. He then talked about how Jesus went to the cross to take that punishment that I deserved and that all I had to do to avoid hell was to believe in Him and put my faith in Him.
I'm not 100% certain if that is when I became a believer or not but a few years went by and our family eventually started attending the church I am part of now. I believed that God saved me from my sin but I wasn't really sure of how much I wanted to be involved in church. The church did have two things I was interested in. 1. Church softball and 2. Kelly Holley! Of course I ended up marrying Kelly Holley, but the church softball team played a big part in me growing in the Lord. The other men on the team took their walk with the Lord seriously. They spent time with me to help me grow to be more like Jesus. I knew that there was nothing I could do to save myself from my sin. I also knew that I needed to repent. I'm sure repentance was preached on that Easter Sunday morning but it really didn't sink in until years later. It's been a bumpy road but the Lord has been faithful and has allowed me to continue to use the game I love to share about Him while serving with the Saints Prison Ministry. I then encouraged the men to believe and repent and listen to the next speaker as he shared the Gospel.
Brent Gerber from the Illinois team shared the Gospel. Brent walked through four basic points of the Gospel: 1. God 2. Man 3. Christ 4. Response.
Once Brent was done, we collected the response cards, talked with the men, and prayed with them before starting our next game.
The next game was a little closer but we won the last game of the trip on that field. We circled up with the men on the pitcher's mound and recognized their umpires and MVP's. We closed out the trip by reminding them about the Gospel and how they needed to believe and repent.
At the end of the day we handed out 56 Gospels and had 13 men make professions of faith.
After we shook hands with the men, we left the prison and went to lunch at a local BBQ place. Before we ate, we had a time in the parking lot to reflect on the trip and praise the Lord for how He provided.
We enjoyed some fun food as a team and were able to relax for a moment.
Roederer CC is only 25 minutes away from Louisville so we visited the Louisville Slugger factory and museum as a team. It was fun seeing the exhibits of bats used by Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Ernie Banks, and others were on display. There were several Ryne Sandberg items on display as well. I had the opportunity to hold a game used Mark Grace bat. The tour of the factory was fun. I work in a factory so it was cool to see baseball and manufacturing combined.
At the end of the tour, the IL guys made our way back across Kentucky and Indiana back home to Illinois.
Overall on the trip we handed out 469 Gospels of John and saw 40 men make professions of faith.
I appreciate everyone who has been praying for the trip and for our season. As I'm getting older, there are times where I wonder how much I have left in the tank regarding softball but I came away from the trip energized and excited about what God is doing through the ministry. I'm looking forward to finishing our season and getting ready for the 2026 season!
Praise the Lord for what He has done in prisons across the country this year!
