Enjoy exciting dodgeball action. Sign up to compete and win big cash prizes. Put away some pizza and other foods – for free.  David Doyle, student and evangelism pastor at Trinity Baptist Church – where faith and family are always important – wanted to create a high energy event to involve the next generation of faithful followers, a venue to share the gospel and challenge their faith.

“I want them to know that there’s a bigger purpose in life and it happens when we encounter a real, authentic God,” Doyle said.

On Sunday, Oct. 24, from 5 to 8 p.m., Trinity Baptist Church in Lake Charles will host a dodgeball tournament in Trinity Center gym, 1800 Country Club Road. There is no cost for teams to enter. Teams may sign up by going to tbclc.org/dodgeball.  and check in on the 24th at 5 p.m.  Prizes include $600 for the winning team in each division. One student will win Chick-fil-A for a year and the church will match cash prizes awarded to fraternity and sorority dodgeball teams. Family and friends of players and church members are invited to watch the fun and enjoy the free food.

“We want them to know that Trinity is for the Lake area and we’re for them,” Doyle said.

Chick-fil-A and Crust Pizza are helping sponsor the event.

“The next generation is falling away from its faith,” Doyle said. We see it all the time. They are hearing messages from the world to go this way, listen to that and be like this. It can be difficult to listen to the voice of God in a world of such distractions.”

Doyle said there are many venues and opportunities for sharing the gospel, which means good news.

“We believe as a church that for the whole time of creation, God and Jesus have intervened to make a way on our behalf,” Doyle said. “We were created to have a relationship with Him, to walk side by side. But sin entered the world, which means simply missing the mark. We’re not perfect. It doesn’t matter if you’ve made one mistake or a thousand like myself. When sin happened, it disconnected us with our creator and our purpose.”

Trying to make it back to a perfect God is not something done by the individual, according to Doyle.

“We’ll always struggle, no matter how hard we try,” he said. “It takes Jesus coming in the God-formed flesh, to do something we couldn’t do, to make a way back into relationship.”

Doyle quoted a phrase from Hebrews 9:22 that states “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

“We can’t do it,” he said. “God’s love, God’s grace makes a way.”

Doyle will also tell his story, of how his encounter with God at a similar event radically changed his life.

“The world would be a lot better off listening to stories instead of judging others whose stories we do not know,” he said. “God meets us exactly where we’re at to take us to places we’ve never been before.”