If you are personally involved in sports, you know how successful they are in drawing people of all walks of life together. This is what makes sports outreach such an amazing ministry for churches to be involved with. Sports in general bring communities together in ways nothing else can! Upward Unlimited™ is the largest Christian youth sports organization in the world, offering Upward Basketball, Upward Soccer, Upward Flag Football, Upward Volleyball, Upward Baseball/Softball and even Upward Sports camps. They successfully use the power of sports to share Jesus with hundreds of thousands of youth and their families.

Upward Sports is able to thrive because of the importance of youth sports in our communities. They created a unique program revolving around sports and lives are being changed! Some of the largest gatherings of people in our country – and worldwide – come together for the sole purpose of watching live (or televised) sports, whether it be football, soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis, etc. Upward found a way to utilize this sports obsession into an organized program that keeps young people active and healthy, but most importantly feeds their souls with the gospel of Christ! Upward Sports is a self-sustaining ministry and a win-win for your church, players, families and coaches. What better way to let the community know who you are as a church! Upward Unlimited will provide you with all the ministry tools and support needed to run an awesome league. Upward Sports has a fantastic track record, with hundreds of thousands of young athletes involved in multiple sports throughout the year.

One of the most exciting Upward Sports awards night presenters is Christian entertainer, Mark Lippard. Mark will add the perfect finishing touch to your season ending Upward Sports Celebrations! Mark is on the Upward Sports website as an endorsed Upward Awards Ceremony performer with hundreds of Upward Awards Night Celebrations under his belt. Because of his agility, athleticism, fun personality and amazing juggling and unicycling skills (not to mention his lifelong love of sports), Mark’s entertainment ministry is perfect for Upward Sports themed events and year ending Upward Sports awards night celebrations. He will even integrate your specific sport into his show by juggling soccer balls, baseballs/softballs, volleyballs, footballs or basketballs.

Mark was hired by Upward Sports for 12 straight years to travel all over the country, presenting his high energy, fun and athletic show at more than 30 regional and national Leadership Training Conferences. He has performed his upbeat juggling, trick unicycling, fire eating, audience participation and comedy show over 850 times for Upward Sports leagues, sharing the Gospel and seeing lives changed. These have included season finale’ performances for Upward Basketball and Cheerleading, Upward Soccer, Upward Volleyball, Upward Flag Football, Upward Baseball/Softball and Upward Sports camps.

Mark has been blessed to use his unique talents to entertain and minister to people all across the country for over 30 years. However, back in his home state of NC, Mark and his wife, Beth, had the opportunity of coaching their sons’ Upward Basketball teams in their early years. They also served on their home church’s Upward Basketball leadership planning team, moved and stacked LOTS of chairs, shared halftime testimonies, supervised the gym, refereed games and helped book entertainment for their own church’s Upward Basketball Awards celebrations. Because of this firsthand experience with the Upward Sports ministry, you can be sure when you book Mark that you’re bringing in someone who knows exactly how important the Upward ministry is to your church and community! You’re getting the best of both worlds – a unique Christian entertainer and an Upward Sports volunteer leader.

Because of his experience with so many Upward Sports awards celebrations, Mark has seen the good and the bad over the years! The following are some tips to keep in mind when planning your Upward Awards Celebration:

An Upward Awards Celebration is not a typical church service. There’s a time and place for each. It should be an upbeat celebration of sport, team work and friendly competition, ending with a short and simple Gospel presentation. Bring the energy and the fun! Play upbeat music as people arrive at your Upward Awards Celebration and make sure they are greeted on arrival. If attendees haven’t been in a church recently, make them WANT to come back.

Keep your Upward Awards Ceremony somewhere around an hour. It should be fast paced and quick moving. Planning too much will kill the momentum and energy, so be respectful of people’s time. If it goes on and on, you will lose people and they will not want to return. If you show a season video or slideshow, try to include every team in it, but not every child (unless you have a small league). Play it on a loop as people are coming in so that it doesn’t take up time DURING your Upward Sports Awards Celebration. Alternatively, put the video/slideshow on the Upward section of your website which will drive people to your church’s site – always a positive thing!

Hire an approved Upward Sports Entertainer that is appropriate for ALL ages – including the parents and grandparents. Make sure that person is comfortable sharing a short testimony or a simple and clear Gospel presentation. Don’t have a pastor do it unless completely necessary! The entertainer already has everyone’s attention, so let him/her share from the heart. DO let them know in advance the amount of time you’re allowing for their entertainment and Gospel presentation. Sharing should be kept short because of the younger childrens’ attention span limits.

Have a clear plan of how you want the Upward Awards Ceremony entertainer to transition after the Gospel message. Each church handles this differently, so don’t assume the entertainer will know what you want.

Response/evaluation cards can be a great way to have a record of every player, coach and family member’s Spiritual decision. If the card also has a feedback section for use as a season evaluation, you will receive valuable tips from the families that can guide you the following season. Many Upward Sports leagues use the collected cards to draw for 2-3 really nice door prizes at the end. This will encourage everyone to fill out their card and turn it in! Once again, keep your Upward Awards Night Celebration short and sweet – no longer than an hour. Life is busy and the parents will leave thinking how wonderful it was instead of how long it lasted!