Upward Basketball
It’s Not Just About Basketball
Every year in December excitement begins to build as another season of Upward Basketball at Mayfair gets ready to tip off. The excitement comes from the fact that Mayfair has an opportunity to touch the lives of hundreds of children and family members with what has become one of our largest local outreach ministries. But the reason Upward qualifies as an outreach is not just the fact it brings in families from our community. At the halftime of every game, basketball play is stopped and a devotional message is presented and closed in prayer. Our guests, from the moment they walk into our building, are exposed to Mayfair volunteers, some of whom are coaching their children, others refereeing the games, and Mayfair youth serving in concessions.
During every practice, coaches stop practice and hold a devotional with their players. A memory verse is assigned for each weekly practice for children to recite. When our season closes out in late February, an Awards Night Ceremony is held in our Worship Center with hundreds of people from our community present. Our Upward ministry allows us to take something that everyone is familiar with, namely basketball, and use it as a ministry outreach tool to families.
Upward Basketball is also a wonderful recreational program which shifts the emphasis from winning games to learning life skills, which in turn will help make each child a winner in life. The purpose of Upward is to recognize the winner in every child by offering a non-competitive, non-threatening environment where every participant gets equal playing time in each game. Every child will receive an award following each game to recognize a positive contribution he or she made that day. All children who participate also receive a special award at the end of the season during an awards ceremony. Upward Unlimited is committed to doing whatever it takes to recognize that “Every Child Is A Winner.”
Mayfair’s Upward Basketball is run through the tireless efforts of many volunteers. Jeff Hipps has served as league director for the past 4 years. Kenneth Gill has served as referee coordinator for the past 3 years. Through their direction and the support of adult and teen volunteers, God has blessed our efforts with this program for the past 6 years.
We invite you to come watch on Fridays from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm or Saturday from 8:00 am - 3:00 pm. Contact our Children’s Ministry office for more information. randy@mayfair.org
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Upward Basketball
Upward Student Registration 2007