ST. LOUIS – Missouri Baptist University (MBU) head track-and-field Coach Jerry McQueen is creating opportunities for his athletes to be involved in service projects and help them be the hands and feet of Jesus.
MBU encourages its sports coaches to get student-athletes involved in hearing and presenting the gospel, McQueen said. So 12 MBU track-and-field athletes recently served with Focus on Missions (FOM) in north St. Louis. FOM is an evangelical eyeglass ministry operated by Steve Smith, a member at First Baptist Church, Arnold.
The students “saw the gospel being presented with boldness,” McQueen said.
Through that and the opportunities to pray with eyeglass attendees, he “saw growth in the experience and the desire to be missions minded” among his athletes.
During the clinic, six people made professions of faith from the over 50 who visited.
FOM provides free eye exams and eyeglasses to individuals in disadvantaged neighborhoods. It operates clinics throughout the U.S., using volunteer help from local churches. Along with the eyeglass services, visitors also get gospel presentations and prayer.
FOM’s Smith said the MBU players “did a fantastic job in several capacities” during the eyeglass clinic at the Gamble Community Center in north St. Louis on April 26.
“They helped with the screening of the eyes, the distance tests, fitting glasses, cooking hotdogs, and praying with each person.”
McQueen said the students who served with FOM were all Christians, but at different levels in their faith. “I saw some that were very new to the faith grow in their faith.”
“It was a life-changing moment for them,” he said. “They think they are going to be impactful for the kingdom. But then they also get a blessing from it.”
FOM’s Smith said that, besides the MBU team, FOM also had volunteer help from Concord Baptist Church in Jefferson City, FBC Arnold, FBC St. Charles, FBC Festus, Fifteenth Street Baptist Church in East St. Louis, Ill., and the Gideons.
He said he can set up clinics where they are needed or for churches who would like to work in inner-city missions. Email Smith at Capehill@aol.com for more information.