Sports Camp 2010

At Riverbend Bible Church we are eagerly anticipating our annual Sports Camp which is held over Labour Day Weekend (22-25 October). The weekend is primarily designed as an evangelistic ministry event centred around sport. Teams gather from around the North Island to compete against each other in sports such as rugby, soccer, netball, basketball, hockey, cycling, athletics, kayaking, softball, volleyball, beach volleyball, longball, cross country, and more.

The aims of Sports Camp are:
• to glorify and honour God in everything we do at Sports Camp (1 Cor 10:31; Rom 15:5-6).
• to evangelise the unsaved represented at camp (including both campers and referees) (Matt 28:18-20).
• to challenge and mature the Christian young people in the teams so they can grow in their walk with the Lord and be a witness to the unsaved in their team and in other teams (Eph 4:12-15; 1 Peter 3:15).
• to come alongside team leaders to encourage and support them in their youth leadership roles (Heb 10:24-25).
• to provide a safe sporting environment where, sportsmanship and participation is encouraged.

These aims are achieved by:
• faithfully preaching the gospel using the living and active Word of God.
corporately worshipping God through music and songs that glorify Him both in content and delivery.
• encouraging team leaders in God’s Word and in prayer, in order to promote a unified goal and purpose.
• providing opportunities for Riverbend Bible Church to interact with campers and share the gospel one-on-one.
• providing opportunities for Riverbend Bible Church and other helpers to serve during Sports Camp, thereby modelling a servant heart.
• maintaining a Christlike testimony in all aspects of planning and hosting Sports Camp.

The speaker this year is Mike Penberthy, a former Los Angeles Laker. Here is his bio:
At 6'3" (1.90 m), the NAIA powerhouse guard played for The Master's College in California where he gained much attention. Mike broke numerous school records (including most career points), and was later inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2005. Penberthy played 56 games for the Los Angeles Lakers over two years and was part of the 2000-01 championship winning team. After the Lakers, Mike played basketball professionally in Italy for eight years.

Mike attends Placerita Baptist Church, California – the same church that sent us last year's Sports Camp speaker, John Richard.

Here is some video footage of Mike's basketball days, if you're interested. . .