This is the Truth Network. Are you ready for basketball camp? It's time to throw those youngsters in the family station wagon minivan. And get them to cross fire camps. And I'm talking to one of the leaders of this great camp, Ryan Goodson.
This guy spins the balls, talks about Jesus all over the place, not just to basketball teams, all kinds of teams in all kinds of settings. Ryan, there's no time of year like camp. You were one of those youngsters going to camp a long time ago, weren't you, brother? Absolutely. Absolutely.
And what a blessing it is to do basketball camps this summer with Crossfire and share the good news about Jesus Christ. And what's kind of give a sense of what these kids will experience, you know, a lot of parents out there. You know, they really want their kid to be good at basketball. They want them to get the fundamentals, but they also. Want their kids to get something.
Deeper beyond the game, knowing their youngster may not be in the NBA like some of these campers, you know, and whatnot, but they want to know.
Well talk about how Crossfire is able to blend. this great sport with our great God as well. Cool.
Well, for me, what an incredible experience it was last summer getting to work the crossfire camps full-fledged for the whole summer and getting to see and experience it myself because for years I ran my own camps for 15, 16 years and would do it all over. And just to see how, you know, Randy and Jamie have built such a special camp at Crossfire that, like you said, you're getting excellent basketball instruction. I mean, it is superb. The kids are in there training, getting better, drilling, working on things that are going to help them make their basketball team the following year. But then the coaches there.
Oh, my goodness. Just the experience of getting to be around some of these coaches that all love the Lord. And there is just a sole purpose amongst the coaching staff and everyone there, and it's to point these kids towards Jesus. And just to see that play out over the course of the week or to see the impact they have on these youngsters over the course of the week, whether it's their attention span growing and hearing from parents over the course of the week that, hey, my son and daughter, they're coming home and they're actually like doing what I asked them to do, their obedience. It's like, I don't know what y'all are doing at camp, but that's just what an amazing staff.
uh at these camps. And getting to see that last year was an incredible testimony. Yes, so cool. You know, Randy Shepard, before we went to heaven, was just a regular guest on this radio program. Of course, Jamie Johnson drops in the studio a lot.
And both of these men started CrossFire decades ago, and they've been in all these countries, all over the world. They've taken teams and they've played the highest level against other teams internationally, shared the gospel, led thousands to Christ, spoken in schools. The camps have been a real. Anchor a real pinnacle of all they do, Ryan. And I know you're going to tell us.
about some of the exciting dates coming up. Greenville, South Carolina, I believe always up in the Asheville area, man.
So that's like that's like kind of the headquarters for everything. Before we give those details to our listeners, make sure they plan properly. And of course it's all at the website crossfireministry.com. Ryan Goodson, tell us a little about your testimony, man. You didn't just wake up one day and spin a bunch of basketballs and teach NBA elite athletes ball handling drills and stuff.
Like, how did you get into all this and how did you come to know the Lord? Wow. You know, it is, it's just God's grace. You know, I think. I think sometimes when you grow up and you've seeds have been planted in your faith.
And I'd say for me though, I think I made a profession of faith at a young age, but as far as an assurance of my salvation, I think that happened maybe about 10 years ago. And there was a broken time in my life when sin that was in secret, that no one knew about, came to the light. And praise God that it did. Um and the Lord led me to chapter in Psalms and it's Psalm 107. And it just told three or four testimonies of People wandering in the desert.
chained in slavery, right? They were fools because of their iniquity, but each and every one of those testimonies. They were going their own way, doing their own thing. But when they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, He heard them and delivered them and rescued them.
So, at that broken time in my life, when my sin not only hurt me, but the people that I loved, what hope I found. And in that Old Testament chapter, seeing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so clearly. That's when I really feel like I surrendered my life to the Lord. He became not just savior, but Lord in my life. And I knew I needed to make some changes.
And praise God. I experienced salvation and peace. Oh, the peace I had. Because that was a tough time. That was a trial in my life.
But I felt the peace of the Lord. And then I've experienced transformation in my life. And I can testify to that, that the word has renewed my mind. The Lord has given me a new heart with new desires. And I've been training.
I have been training, the Lord knows, for the last three, four, five years. I felt a shift and a call to go into ministry. And I've been training up and preparing, not knowing what I was preparing for. Um, but uh, long story short, about a year and a half ago, I reached out to my friend Randy Shepard. I said, Randy, I'd love to come to your overnight basketball camp.
I love to come for free. Of course, they paid me anyway because that's how they are. I try to turn it down, but anyway, I went and worked it and spoke it, and it was just like God's timing right there.
So clear. I felt a call. the timing of going and working my first crossfire event with Randy and Jamie. I spoke for three hours, only crossfire event I've ever done, and up until that point. And I didn't know it at the time, but that was Randy's last.
The very last basketball camp. He passed away not too long after that. Of course, I was sad. When he passed away, what a hero him and Jamie have been. And he, of course, I was also.
Um You know, thinking what a life well lived, and how cool it would be to do something like that. And someone needs to because now there's a void.
Somebody's got a sub in the game because Randy Shepard was a bold witness for the Lord and would share. And Things just worked out over the coming months to where. I had the opportunity and felt the call. To come on board at Crossfire Ministry. And that is God's grace because I worked one event with Jamie and Randy at that Morris Hill camp.
But I think it was Randy who had shared with Jamie before he passed away about. you know, maybe considering me being involved with crossfire.
So I've heard others too talk about God's call. And it's clear for me, it was very clear. I had salvation. I had a transformation. And then that timing of my training seemed to really coincide with God's timing of that.
I don't like to say handing of a baton because no one could possibly feel Randy's shoes. What an incredible evangelist. But just the timing was there. And for me, what a faith-building time. And now, the joy on the other side of getting to go out and tell others about Jesus.
And one way we do that. Is with these summer basketball camps, which Randy and Jamie have so faithfully done since I think even the early 90s, which is incredible. What an amazing camp. Wow. Amen.
Well, what a testimony, man. And thank you for being a part of this. If you've never seen Ryan in action, find him on the Instagram or the Facebook, and you'll see him with his crossfire jersey. You'll see him spinning balls and doing things that like a young pistol Pete. And of course, Randy did the same stuff.
You know, I think you and Randy are the only guys I know that can spin the ball. On some kind of object or on your finger and share the whole gospel. I'm sitting here thinking, I don't know if I've been balling a long time, brother. I don't know if I can pull that off, but it's just neat to see it's all about Jesus. You know, Randy made it all about Jesus.
It didn't take a split second for him to get to the Lord, you know, at a restaurant, leading way to Rachel's to Christ at what, you know, served us, you know, when there was a little time for him to do that, you know, leading these kids, grabbing a parent, you know, just talking to them and in the gym or, you know, at a hotel in a lobby. And God's got you. And of course, Jamie Johnson, man, he's, he's, boy, he's special. Just to hear him speak, to hear you speak. And this is what you get at Crossfire Camp, and you get amazing basketball training.
Give us a quick overview, brother, on the upcoming camps. Just let us know some quick dates as families are planning and how they can get involved. And if they can't come to camp, they can send a gift, a donation to help another kid go to camp, right? Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
You know, we've got several camps coming up this summer, whether it's for your son or daughter, or maybe they have a teammate. Maybe they don't know the Lord, and you can encourage them to come. But there's several opportunities this summer. We have one coming up very soon, June 22nd to the 25th. in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
We have another camp in July 13th to the 17th in Suannanoa at Asheville Christian Academy. And then we'll be in South Carolina July 20th through the 23rd in Greenville, South Carolina for a camp. And that's for our younger players. You know, that's the younger ages. We have an older age group camp.
That will be July 17th. It's a one-day camp.
So if you're a middle school, high school player and you want to get better, maybe you want to grow in your leadership on the team and what way to be a leader than to lead others to Christ, this is a great camp to do that at. Where you can learn from men and women that do that. And you can learn from some greats. You can come and learn from Jamie Johnson. What a blessing it is as a rookie in ministry and evangelism that I get to learn from Jamie Johnson week in and week out.
You can come to these camps this summer and have that same experience. I love it. And the whole thing's a crossfire ministry. Hey, pray for this camp. Support this camp.
Support it by taking your kids. They'll love it and they'll hear all about Jesus. They'll become better basketball players by the end of the week and they'll be tired. They'll be ready to go to bed every night, won't they? Won't they, Ryan?
You're going to wear them out, aren't you, bud? Yes, sir. No doubt. That's going to work out all those jitters and prepare them for the next level of hoops. And of course, Most importantly, walking with Jesus, knowing Christ, and making him known.
And then those of you maybe you can't get to camp, you can't, it's geographically impossible, or you're out of the country, out of town, whatever. Please pray. Because Christian Camp is one of the greatest. Evangelistic outreaches. Where young people come, their hearts are still tender.
and they hear the gospel. Pray for our brother Ryan. For Jamie and all the counselors. You guys have some great talented counselors, man. Get up there, Duncan.
You do all kinds of skills and drills. Everyone. Hey, bless you, brother. Thanks for what you're doing, man. And we're going to connect with you soon, too, man.
I can't wait. I have to pop in and hit a three-bomb or something, you know, one of these days. Please do. Please do. Thank you so much.
I appreciate your time and letting me come on. Thank you. Amen.
Yes, sir. Blessings. CrossfireMinistry.com. True talk why?
