More Than A Game 7/2/2019 11:20:00 AM CU Athletics

Campbellsville athletics to send 30 to Belize for mission trip in cooperation with Sports Reach

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — Over 150 Campbellsville University students, faculty and staff will visit more than a dozen countries this summer to serve on mission trips and ministry projects.

The largest non-student sponsored trip will be July 18-24 when 28 coaches, athletics staff, student-athletes, alumni and supporters take to the mission field in Belize. The trip is in cooperation with Sports Reach and fans can follow the trip on the official CU to Belize Sport Page at the link above.

During the week, the CU representatives will coordinate clinics with local coaches, universities and private schools as well as working in orphanages, feeding the homeless and going door-to-door to spread the gospel. Sports and activities that will be sponsored – baseball, basketball, football, soccer, swimming, track and field, and athletic training.

The mission team is scheduled to depart from campus at 2 a.m. ET on Thursday, July 18 with the flight leaving from Nashville at 5:35 a.m. CT. Once the team lands in Belize at 10:30 a.m.CT, it will be boots on the ground spreading the gospel. The return trip is scheduled for Wednesday, July 24.

The lodging for the week will feature the Ramada Princess and The Aquanda with sport camps being featured at the Marion Jones Stadium and YMCA in Belize City on July 19-20. On Sunday, July 21, all 26 members will split into three groups for church inside the city before meeting at a children's home in the afternoon.

On Monday, July 22, the team will travel to San Ignacio (Sacred Heart College) for another full day of clinics. But for those who have traveled internationally for mission trips, you better stay on your toes because schedule changes will happen ever day.

While mission trips are familiar to Campbellsville University, this style of trip is in its third stint.

In the summer of 2014, Campbellsville athletics took its first international mission trip to Costa Rica. In 2016, the department traveled to the Dominican Republic and now in 2019, Belize is on the schedule.

CU Athletics Director Jim Hardy will be among those representing Campbellsville on the trip. Hardy has spent the last year planning with Robby Speer from Sports Reach and fundraising efforts started quickly.

The idea for an athletic department-wide mission trip began all the way back in May of 2013 when Hardy learned about another institution organizing a department-wide mission trip for student-athletes. Hardy began praying and six years later will now lead the third international mission trip for the Campbellsville University athletic department.

The partnership with Sports Reach is the first of its kind that has gone international, but not the first between the two organizations.

Many CU football players and coach spend their spring break visiting prisons in Florida playing softball and sharing the Gospel. One of those mission trips led a young man, David Richardson, to Jesus Christ and now he's a student-athlete at Campbellsville. Sports Reach has also partnered with many CU basketball players for similar mission trips in Florida.

Members of the Campbellsville to Belize Mission Trip, are:
Alex Adams, women's soccer head coach
Chelsea Adams, athletics supporter
Jordan Alves, sports information director
Matt Atwood, football assistant coach
Casey Bradstreet, swimming head coach
James Clements, men's soccer assistant coach
Zach Clements, athletics video coordinator
Keri Coots, assistant athletic trainer
Savannah Gregory, women's basketball and track student-athlete
Jim Hardy, director of athletics
Lorri Hardy, football/baseball secretary
Alex Higdon, women's soccer assistant coach
Madison Kaiser, women's basketball and track alum
Mark Miller, track and field head coach
CJ Moritz, Esports head coach
Brett Pierce, athletics photographer
Danika Prater, athletics supporter
Adam Preston, men's soccer head coach
Brayden Russell, football and track alum
Jacob Russell, football alum
Madison Sheppard, women's basketball student-athlete
Kent Skaggs, athletics supporter
Jordan Stallings, women's soccer student-athlete
Rebekah Tilton, swimming assistant coach
Perry Thomas, football head coach
Nicole Tyson, women's wrestling representative
David Tyson, athletics supporter
Mark Vernon, men's basketball assistant coach

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