Don’t Panic! I, Ted, did go back to prison, but not because I was arrested. I’m back visiting the San Quentin prison north of San Francisco to play basketball. Keep reading to get the full scoop.
The Best Place I've Ever Played Basketball
I think most of you know I play basketball and that I’m kind of tall. God has used basketball in my life and I have so many great memories of where that sport has taken me. I played in high school, then college, and then 2 years professionally in Portugal—that’s how I ended up meeting Sandra.
I never made it to the NBA, but I did get to play against many NBA players when I played pickup basketball at UCLA. Once I even got to match up against the legendary Elgin Baylor. On the first play, he caught the ball, spun baseline and dunked it, right on me—when he was 58 years old!
The Green Team
These moments were very exciting, but what tops it all has been the opportunity to play with my incarcerated brothers inside San Quentin prison. This sports ministry is run by two friends of mine, Don Smith and Bill Epling. Our team, called the Green Team (because our jersey's are green), visits the prison every Saturday during the season to play against the San Quentin Warriors and the San Quentin Kings, two teams made up of brothers inside the prison. At halftime, we pray together and talk about Jesus. Sometimes one of us will share, other times one of the incarcerated individuals will share. It is pretty simple, but so wonderful.
The brothers love to see us! They tell us it is the highlight of their week and how much it means to them. But as anyone who is on the green team, we will say that we get more out of it than they do. It makes me understand the grace of God in a deeper way. BTW, they do not like to be called “inmates”, they prefer to be referred to as “incarcerated individuals”, I prefer to call them my brothers in San Quentin.
The Green Team - about to head in
San Quentin Prison
Q Ball the Movie
In 2019, Fox Sports and Kevin Durant produced an award winning documentary movie about the San Quentin Warriors, called Q Ball. It is worth watching, you will get a glimpse of what the Lord is doing. Be warned though, you will most likely shed a few tears. It is available to view on Amazon, and also on youtube, just click here or on the image below.
The Impact of COVID
in San Quentin
Unfortunately, the prison had to shut down due to COVID. The last time we visited San Quentin was late 2021. The last few years have been very hard for everyone, but the brothers inside had it particularly tough. San Quentin had one of the worst outbreaks of COVID in our entire nation.
There has also been some encouraging news, some of the teammates have been released and are doing really well. We have been able to stay connected and help them with their re-entry. Some might even be allowed to go back into prison with us to play on the Green Team!
San Quentin finally opened up 3 weeks ago! It has been so good to get back in! After 3 games we finally won our last game. More importantly we have been able to reconnect with our brothers, share the word and pray together.
I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
Matthew 25:36
3 Ways to Get Involved
Our criminal justice system is the subject of lots of debate. We spend a lot of money locking up a lot of people. And when the incarcerated are released back into society around 80% end up returning to prison. Jesus cares about this and he is the solution. Do you want to get involved? Here are three ways you could do that:
Pray! This is the most important. Don't diminish the power of your prayers.
Are sports your thing? If you feel a tug consider volunteering. This would be a life changing experience. We are helping to launch other sports programs particularly in other prisons, and not just basketball, I know there is also a softball team and we’re working on other sports. Community volunteers make a huge difference, and unfortunately most prisons have a much harder time getting volunteers than San Quentin does.
Even if sports aren't your thing, you can still volunteer. Prison Fellowship and TUMI Bible College-need volunteers to help run their programs. If you’re interested, reach out to me and I will direct you.
All Bay Area
Leadership Summit
October 20-21
on October 20-21, in collaboration with several ministries, we will be hosting the All Bay Area Leadership Summit. We would really appreciate your prayers for this event. The summit will be held at in San Jose at Westgate Church, Saratoga campus. Westgate also happens to be the church that sponsors the Green Team although the players are from various churches all over the Bay Area. Other ministries sponsoring this summit are City Team, The Salvation Army, Transforming the Bay with Christ (TBC) and several others.
This is such a strategic time for the Bay Area; the needs are great, but the opportunities are even greater. We want to bring together leaders from all over the Bay Area in order to promote missional unity and collaborative efforts to fulfill the great commission in our communities. We are planning to have around 50-100 leaders attendance from around the Bay Area, including pastors, church leaders, ministry and business leaders. If you would like to attend, click here for learn more.
The speakers will be sharing how they’re modeling collaborative efforts and the best practices on how to reach the lost and their communities. One of the cases that will be presented is Healing Grove Health care clinic. We’ve mentioned them several times in our e-mails, and how God used them to bring healing to Sandra. Their model is to deliver high quality health care as an open door to bring the kingdom of God into the poorest neighborhood in Santa Clara county, with stellar results.
A good portion of our time will be spent building relationships and strategizing. Join us in prayer, that this time will be very fruitful for God‘s kingdom. When we collaborate together like Jesus told us, we synergize our efforts so that the results are much more than the sum of the parts. I believe we can dramatically change our society if we build deeper missional unity.
“I pray...that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
John 17:21
For his kingdom,
Ted & Sandra
Our Ministry Vision
Our ministry has three main objectives: equipping leaders, mobilizing prayer, and serving the poor through collaboration with others. If you would like to partner with us financially, just click here or on the big blue button below. We can now also accept gifts of stock, cryptocurrency, and other financial assets.
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