Connecting with Kids on the Court

May 1, 2022

story

A Hoop Time Story…

Each Friday night at Hoop Time we have roughly 40 students from all over the St. Cloud area packing the gym and ready to play basketball. This is where I met *Tristin, an 8th grader who goes to a Middle School in the area. Each week that Tristin has been on my team I have seen him encounter God in a powerful way. The first night during our “Hoop Talk” breakout between games we talked about how God is near even in difficult times. Tristin shared about the challenge of not having a mom in his life and that his brother recently passed away.

The next week, we were discussing how God gives us hope. Tristin shared that he wants to see his dad freed from his smoking addiction, so we took a moment to pray for his dad. Then just last week we were talking about how God knows us and cares for us and again we got to pray for Tristin.  He was surprised, totally engaged in the prayer, and experienced God’s love.

It’s beautiful to see how God is pursuing Tristin at Hoop Time and how he encounters God’s love in a new way each week!