Sometimes serving God looks a lot like play. At Trinity Baptist Church, the impact of the Upward Sports ministry continues to grow. In addition to offering its usual line up of fun for youth, Trinity also will host its first Upward Unlimited Special Needs Soccer League.

The special needs soccer league is developed for boys and girls 5-8 years old who may have physical, intellectual, and/or developmental disabilities. All four sessions will be held indoors.

“Every other week during our normal soccer schedule, we will have an early session for the Upward Unlimited League on our indoor courts,” said Lauren Wellborn, Trinity Baptist Church director of recreation. “We found out from others that traditional game format does not work for all. Players will enjoy playtime games for introducing new skills, while participating in a team. Each player will have a volunteer who will be with them for the four sessions.”

 Founded in 1995, Upward Sports is a nonprofit organization with the mission of “promoting the discovery of Jesus through sports.” Upward partners with churches in the U.S. and Canada to bring youth sports ministry to their local communities, including flag football, soccer, basketball, and volleyball.

“Upward promotes the discovery of Jesus by connecting the fundamentals of sports with the spiritual disciplines of the Christian faith,” said Becky Girola, Trinity Baptist Church Upward basketball coach.”In every practice, there is time set aside for a devotional, which allows the coach to speak life into the players. This gives the players the opportunity to reflect internally and be encouraged to live like Jesus.”

Trinity is one of Upward’s “flagship” churches in size and longevity.

To learn more about Upward Sports at Trinity, sign up a youth to play or volunteer to help, visit tbclc.org/upward, or call 337-310-8424.