Dribbling For Jesus!

Hello, this is Matt Slick from the Matt Slick Live Podcast, where I defend the Christian faith and lay out our foundations of the truth of God's Word. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network.

I'm Matt Slick, and I'm here to help you. I'm not going to be on the stage, but I had an awesome visit earlier this week hosting a live national show with two of my good buddies from Crossfire Ministry, Randy Shepherd and Jamie Johnson. You are going to be blessed. I promise I won't rap or sing anymore, but this that you're about to hear on this week's edition of Truth Talk is the interview I did with them.

They've been all over the world in all kinds of countries proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ through basketball, but they've also had over the last many years thousands, over 20,000 kids from all over come to their amazing Crossfire Ministry basketball camp in the mountains of western North Carolina. So you're going to hear all about that and how that could change a kid's life forever because they get to learn the game and they get to hear about Jesus. So stay tuned, be encouraged. Here's my interview on Truth Talk with Randy Shepherd and Jamie Johnson of Crossfire Ministries. How about our special guest?

I'm going to bring him on right now. When you have a high level, this could be the highest rated show I've ever done, because this guy here has led thousands of people to Christ. Randy and his partner together, they have a ministry, they give all the glory to God, and I'm doing an Instagram live broadcast with two of my favorite ballers, BallerNation and Pastor Jay, and all kinds of Instagram people are listening right now to this. And they're going to go to the Truth app and listen because they want to hear from a man of God who can tell me right now, Randy Shepherd, Jamie Johnson, can you tell all of our listeners what God's favorite sport is?

Can you tell us? Basketball! Unbelievable.

Awesome. Hey, is there any other sport? I mean, honest to goodness, now we're not going to argue with our football friends, our baseball friends, our CrossFit friends, and our tennis friends, and we love all these sports, but basketball is on fire, and Crossfire has used that swirling ball to reach thousands for Jesus Christ, including the two guys on IG Live with me right now. Pastor Jay's son really dialed up his walk with God and recommit his life to Christ.

Randy Shepherd, through your ministry, Jamie Johnson, through your ministry. So guys, welcome to this program, the Steve Noble Show. I'm Stu Everson, and basketball is my favorite sport, too. I have a confession. Guys, God bless you. Thanks for being here. It's a blessing to be here, brother, and thank you for having us on, and you can shoot the rock well, and Jay Boyce can shoot it well, and his son can shoot it well, and John Perry can shoot it well, so we're blessed to be here. Awesome. He's bragging about you guys on IG right now.

You can't hear it. See, it's going into my headset here, but Randy Shepherd just talked about how you two guys can shoot the ball really well, and even told me that, you know, he said I hit one in warm-ups from like 20 feet once, which was kind of cool, but amazing. Hey, but Crossfire, the camps, and I'm going to hang up on IG.

Love you guys. Jay, we're praying for you as you preach in camp, not too far from these guys in Tennessee. John, we're praying for you as you minister using the basketball, and what's cool about both Jay and John and me and everyone else on IG, listen on the Truth App, by the way, guys. Listen to any Truth Network station across North Carolina, the country, to hear right now from Randy Shepherd and Jamie Johnson, Crossfire Ministries. What's absolutely amazing about this ministry is how many people have come to Christ, they've been in all these countries, and you're going to meet them firsthand right now.

You can call this number toll-free, 866-34-TRUTH. If you want to talk to Randy Shepherd or Jamie Johnson about Crossfire Ministries, maybe you came to Christ through their ministry. It's funny, I bring their name up, and the guy's like, oh, you're not going to believe it, but that's how I got saved. I just talked to a college coach, he's like, yeah, I want to have these guys come speak to our team. I'm glad you reminded me. I'm going to call them today.

I said, well, don't call them right now, because I've got them on the radio with me, but when they're done, you can call them. So anyway, God bless you guys. Randy Shepherd, tell us the story of Crossfire. Tell us how this all happened.

Tell us what God did to bring this about. Well, Stu, thank you for your kind words, brother, and we obviously give the glory to the Lord. We appreciate you all at Truth and your friendship. We knew each other from a distance for a long time, and we finally met at the NBA Chapel service a couple years ago, but Jamie and I played against each other in middle school and high school and college. Jamie's dad was a pastor. Jamie had come to the Lord at a young age, and he was walking with the Lord and living for the Lord, and I'd come to the Lord as a nine-year-old boy. But as I got older in high school, I let basketball kind of become my God. I went to church on Sunday, but it wasn't really where I needed to be. And then the Lord called me back to him my junior year at UNC Asheville when I was on a basketball scholarship, and Jamie had played at Montreat Junior College and was an academic All-American there.

And then he went to play at Gardner-Webb, and the Lord used an injury, ironically, in a game against Gardner-Webb that Jamie was also playing in. And I appreciate bold believers, Stu, like yourself, because a guy came up to me on campus at UNC Asheville, and he said, Randy, how's your walk with the Lord going? And I lied to him.

And probably some of you out there today that are listening, you might have to do the same thing because we're put on the spot and we're embarrassed. And I said, oh, it's going pretty good, but it really wasn't. And then he asked me this question, Stu, that changed my life. He said, Randy, if you died today and you stood before God, and he said, why should I let you into heaven, what are you going to say?

I knew the answer. I believe I was truly saved at nine, but I knew I was backslidden. And Jamie and I played a lot of pickup ball together during the summers during this time, but I kind of tried to stay away from him because he was living for the Lord, and I wasn't.

And you know, Stu, they say the most miserable person is a Christian that's out of fellowship with God. Well, God used that injury my junior year against Gardner-Webb to get my attention, and I realized maybe you're listening, you're driving, you're in your living room, and the Lord's been trying to get your attention, or maybe he's gotten your attention, or he wants to use you to help get somebody else's attention. But that injury got my attention, and I got down on my knees the next couple of days in my dorm room at UNC Asheville, and I said, Lord, if I were to stand before you right now, I don't know if I'm saved or not.

And not that I think that I can lose it, Stu, but if you're not living it, there's always doubts there. And Dr. Adrian Rogers, who became a mentor from 88 to 92 for me when I went with a ministry in Memphis, Tennessee, used to always say, you got to know that you know that you know. So prior to that, I got down on my knees in my dorm room, and I said, Lord, if I didn't mean that at nine years old, I mean it now. And I want to know that you're in my heart. And from that, Stu, the Lord just did a 180 in my life.

He gave me a boldness to share the gospel with a telephone pole if it would listen. Took me through a major depression. I spent about eight weeks in a Christ-centered clinic in Richardson, Texas, which is totally Christ-centered. That's the reason I went there. These awesome preachers that you hear on the Truth Network, these are the folks you need to get your counsel from, from God's Word and from godly counselors.

That's what I did at that clinic and came back my senior year at UNC Asheville, was co-captain of the team, and graduated. And I was praying, Stu, God, what do you want me to do with my life? Hey, tell us, I want you to finish that thought when we come back.

We've got to take a quick break. And there's some amazing camps coming up that could change your youngster's life forever. More with Randy Johnson.

Randy Sheppard and Jamie Johnson, Crossfire and basketball coming up. I can tell you, when I share my testimony, I talk about how big an impact that going to Christian camp had on my life. I can think about the moments where I just had these God encounters, these godly counselors that shared the gospel with me, that loved me. My parents and the people that funded and the church that, you know, dragged me all the way up to the mountains to camp, and how that changed my life as a youngster to this day. Here I am on the radio sharing the gospel with you because of how God used Christian camp in my life.

Now, imagine this. I loved the game of basketball. If it had been a basketball camp with a Christian emphasis, with someone like Jamie Johnson and Randy Sheppard, I would have thought I had died and gone to heaven. You couldn't have taken me away from there.

You would have had to physically take me from there. And what I'm talking about there is Crossfire basketball camps. And the founders of the whole ministry of Crossfire, these guys have played all over the country and the world. They're on the air with us right now. I'm Stu Epperson, and we're going to tell you about an opportunity, a unique opportunity. And they're getting calls like crazy.

People are going to their website, crossfireministry.com, to sign up for camp. Randy Sheppard is with me. Jamie Johnson is on the line. Guys, the Lord has done such a neat thing. How many countries have you guys been in sharing the good news of Christ with basketball? Well, Stu, first of all, thank you for having Randy and myself on. I love your passion, your excitement, so God bless you, brother.

And to those that are listening, make sure you support The Truth Network and what they're doing. They're reaching the world with the gospel, so praise God for what you're doing. And we've been able to go, Stu, Randy and I out of 68 countries around the world and 46 states. And you think about traveling about every continent on the globe, and you see what God has done.

It makes you a believer that there is a creator, and he gave us his word, the Bible, to live life by. So we're blessed to travel and go all over, and I've got the best teammate in the world. He's kind of like an instant pull to strength, he's ready to go, spin the ball, and it's just great to have an apostle Paul like partner and Randy. Randy, you weren't always on fire for Christ, preaching the gospel aside your partner there, Jamie. You were running, but God got your attention, and next thing you know, God's using you with basketball to bring others to him, huh?

Exactly. When the first segment we were mentioning, I had just mentioned I spent eight weeks at the Minersmeyer Clinic, Richardson, Texas. And Dr. Yusef was just mentioning there's no deliverance from anything like that apart from Jesus Christ, and that's what happened. I came back my senior year as co-captain at UNC Asheville. I was praying, Lord, what do you want me to do with my life? And through a friendship with Michael Jordan that I had been blessed to develop when Michael was 17 and I was 16 at UNC basketball camp, and then he, my high school teammate Buzz Peterson and Michael went on to be roommates in North Carolina. I called Michael after I graduated from UNC Asheville, and I said, could you get me drafted by this six foot four and under pro team in Chicago? It wasn't the Bulls, but it was called the Chicago Express. And still, I went there with 45 players, which was a miracle. They don't draft the guys from UNC Asheville.

They draft the guys from Carolina, Duke, Michigan, UCLA, you name it. And I went to that little gym in Chicago, really thought I was going to make that team because, as you mentioned, the Lord had turned my life around. And but I got cut. And Jamie and I tell young people and adults, unfortunately in life, you're going to be cut from something. You may be cut from a ball team.

God forbid, one out of two marriages end in a cut. Churches run their pastors off all the time. And when I was walking out of that gym that day, the guy walking beside me, I hadn't talked to him the entire week. And I felt led to turn to him and I said, have you ever played in Europe?

Have you ever played overseas? And he said, no, but I'm a born again Christian. I said, me too. He said, I played on a ministry team in Memphis, Tennessee, called the Spirit Express. And just like that, I knew, man, maybe this is what the Lord has for me.

I flew back to Asheville. I called the coach in Memphis, Tennessee. He said, hey, we've been praying for staff members and players.

You have to be able to compete on a certain level. But it's not just playing basketball. It's sharing your faith. So I went with that ministry for four years in Memphis, 88 to 92. Got to sit under Dr. Adrian Rogers, who's one of yours and my hero's gospel preacher. And then Jamie came on with Spirit Express the last six months because he saw the difference in my life. And we were coming back to Western North Carolina, playing Western Carolina, UNC Asheville Firm and even UNC Charlotte, preaching the gospel at halftime.

And Jamie said, wow, I would really like to do something like that. So the Lord worked it out for us to be together there for six months. And then we left there in 93, came back here and started Crossfire. But the basketball camp you were talking about, I'd actually started in 1990. And I said, Lord, I want to have a basketball camp where we can teach everything they could learn at a major university camp. I had worked Michael Jordan's camp, NBA All-Star Brad Daugherty, who's from this area.

I knew the game, had played point guard. And I said, I don't have the name that they have, but I've got you, Lord. And from that stew, the Lord raised the camp up. And glory to the Lord, we've seen 22,000 young people come through in 30 summers. And we're blessed to be here with you on truth. And we're sending the word out all the truth stations that we can about the camp coming up full day overnight, July 18th through the 22nd.

We'll teach your young person ages 9 to 18 everything they could learn at a major university camp. But every day we're going to share God's word with them and testimonies. And glory to the Lord, stew, probably over 14,000 young people out of those 22,000 have made a first time decision. We can't take any credit for that. We give all the credit to the Lord.

But that's what we're sharing. And we're looking forward to some folks in your truth listing office audience taking advantage of the camp, which will be a beautiful Mars Hill University. Again, later on this summer, we do have a camp starting next Monday, which will be a half a day camp at Asheville Christian Academy right outside of Asheville. Then two weeks later, we'll have a camp at First Baptist Hendersonville, which is on the other side of Asheville. Those are half a day camps. Probably those that are listening would have to take advantage of the overnight camp.

And again, that's July 18th through the 22nd. That's how it all got started. We love getting to play a silly game that we enjoy.

But more importantly, using it, as you mentioned in your life as a former camper, that if you would have had that, they would have had to pull you away. If you haven't been able to pull Jamie and I away in 31 years and we love what we're doing, glory to God, Stu. Amen. And you are the two biggest campers there. You guys love it.

Every time I'm around you, just the adrenaline is amazing. The love for Jesus. Randy, I've been in the room where you've led a bunch of guys, dozens of people to Christ in chapels and other things. And I just, my tears fill up as I see folks hearing about Jesus watching you spend 10 balls at a time.

And you and Jamie, you put on the exhibits, but it's all to point people to the God who so loved the world. Shaped like a basketball. Jamie, you got big time ball players coming who literally want to, and God's gifted to play at the next level, but you also got kids that haven't played much ball. You're taking all kinds of kids, ultimately, that want to learn the best in basketball, but also be exposed to Jesus Christ and the gospel.

Is that correct? Absolutely, Stu. We all have a different story. Even our coaches, our players that come. Some come as beginners. They've never really been to a camp.

Some are playing on a little school, high school team, aspire to play college. And even Randy and myself, Stu, have a different story. You know, I grew up in a God bearing preacher's home and was more of an outdoor kid, baseball kid. And I didn't ask to go. If I had asked to go to a basketball camp, my parents would have paid for it. But I didn't go to a camp. Whereas Randy went to camp.

Hold that thought. More about this Crossfire camp coming up. There's a man going around, taking names, and he decides who to free and who to blame.

Everybody won't be treated all the same. There'll be a golden letter reaching down. Okay, thank you, Man in Black, Johnny Cash, for that cool intro.

Always nice to come into an intro lead-in with him singing. I'm Stu Epperson. Just an honor to be with you today with two of my heroes, two guys that are using the game of basketball to lead people to Christ.

It's really cool. So many of you have a gift that God's given you. And if you're an athlete, what do you do? Well, you do the same thing that Colossians 3.23 says. Whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God. Do it with all your heart and your mind because we serve Jesus Christ.

He's the ultimate coach. And if you have a question or a comment or thought for Randy or Jamie of Crossfire Ministries or guests, maybe God used Crossfire to change your life. You can call us at toll-free 866-34-TRUTH, 866-348-7884. And I've got Randy and Jamie. And Jamie, you and Randy, it's neat to hear Randy's story. Your story was a little different. You're talking about how you came up in the church closer to Christ, and God just kind of brought you all together.

And thousands of campers later and thousands of miles on that passport around the world, God's used you guys in such a cool way, Jamie. I was so encouraged by your testimony. Well, I appreciate it, Stu. And I wanted to kind of continue on what you shared before.

I asked about Crossfire and a camp experience. And Randy and I have unique stories, and they're both important because Randy was a little more the go-getter in basketball than I was early on. I was more the baseball guy. And I was the late bloomer. Randy experienced success throughout his basketball career.

I did not. And so if you're listening as a parent, as a grandparent, as a player, a baller, understand that no matter where you began doesn't mean that's where you've got to finish. You always have opportunities that God gives you to improve in life spiritually by being in the Word, place of prayer, in the local church.

You have opportunities to stay healthy and make good choices, not to drink alcohol, not to do drugs. In basketball and academics, you have an opportunity to improve your skill set. And so where Randy went to lots of camps, Tennessee, Wake Forest, Carolina, I didn't go to a single camp. But here's what's cool.

Looking back at my stories, Stu, Randy and I can say, here's what I experienced, here's what Randy experienced, and we can relate to these kids to say, come to our camp. Experience the game in the best way. Learn the fundamentals. Learn how to play 5 on 5 and be a team player.

But also learn that there's something bigger than what basketball gives you, but you can incorporate basketball in the bigness of life and honor in Christ. So here I am. I meet Randy. I play against him in middle school, high school, college. I finally join up with him because I'm tired of beating me in his feet. And I join him.

And with Crossfire, we're playing all over the world, as we said earlier. And now at the camp setting, I kind of fell into his shadow. He had all the camp experience in playing and leading.

I did not. And so I learned from him. Now we team up together and we take these kids to, boys and girls from ages six and a half, up to 18, high school, college, future players, take them from point A to point C, spiritually, athletically. We try to help them realize that you can improve your game. And we hear coaches say it all the time.

Randy can tell you this. You know, kids today don't know the fundamentals. I'll pick on myself. When I was in the seventh grade, I couldn't shoot a left-handed layup. I was cut from the freshman team. I always thought I wasn't good enough. My sophomore year in JD Ball, I sat at the bench and I retrieved the starters. My junior, senior year, I finally got to play and went on to college.

So I didn't have camp. But if I could go back, God's in control, and experience a Crossfire camp, I may sound partial, where Randy loves to share the Lord, I love to share the Lord, and Godly coaches, as you said at the beginning of the program, Stu, this is where it all hits the fan. It's pretty awesome, because we teach kids about Christ, and we teach them basketball. Amen. This is Randy Shepard.

That's the voice of Jamie Johnson. These two guys, ministry partners for all these years in Crossfire Ministries. Many of you have seen the big ACC All-Star game up in Asheville. These guys have ministered Christ to all kinds of people, from Michael Jordan to Buzz Peterson.

Their story is quite remarkable. And I just always love it when I can visit with them, but especially when I can tell all you all to sign your youngsters, your whole youth group. People will come in buses from all over the country to this basketball camp, because it has a phenomenal emphasis on the formative, incredible, important skills of basketball, with an emphasis on growing closer to Jesus, and introducing your youngster may actually listen to your testimony about Christ for the first time ever from this camp.

And this is formative. Randy Shepard, these are the ages. We've got a caller calling in right now at 866-34-TRUTH, but this is an age that kids are not just basketball formative, like they're learning how to walk and chew gum at the same time, like Jamie articulated, making that left hand layup off the right foot, learning how to do a crossover in basic skills and drills and fundamentals and stations, but they're also learning about Jesus, and a young person's heart is far more tender to the Gospel at this age, right Randy?

Randy Shepard, is that what you're finding? Oh yes, and the late Kobe Bryant, who we had a chance to minister to at the 2012 Olympics, he made the comment that the AAU ball really hurts players and their fundamentals, and we're not against the AAU ball, but we want to teach them the fundamentals, so a lot of these kids out there, maybe your child plays travel ball, but this particular week, July 18-22, come to the beautiful mounds of Western North Carolina, Morris Hill University, drop them off on a Sunday afternoon with us, finish up with a parent program on Thursday, when you leave them there, you can feel like you're leaving them with your pastor, because we're going to run it Christ-centered, but they're going to get all the basketball they can want from a beginner level up to a college prospect, and I know that, as Dr. Adrian Rogers used to say, people are looking for answers, especially today, he's been gone 10 or 12 years, but coming out of COVID, there's so many questions, what's going on in the world, it's almost sometimes like the days of Noah, but we're going to give them biblical instruction from God's word every day, from coaches and players, we have a service every day after lunch, we watch Christian videos at night, and it's totally Christ-centered, so we're looking forward to reaching this out in the truth audience, and maybe getting some young people to come from all over the southeast and across the United States to give them a great experience, but Stu, maybe you can take a week off and come work the camp, we'll pay you, buddy, but it's a great experience, and we'd love it. I would pay you guys for that experience, I just love playing, Randy, you and I played six months ago, and it was just awesome to drop buckets, and what was really cool about that moment is, I'm getting too old to play, but I'm better at talking than playing, and God's told me to use my voice to share Jesus, and Randy, you came and you actually shared a gospel testimony, a couple of guys received Christ that moment, you know, after we played ball on the court, and you're sitting there and you're thinking, well, it's just neat to see how do you marry those two, and if anyone has, by the way, a question about camp, we've got these guys on for a few more minutes, you've got a question about Crossfire Camp, I want to hear from someone how going to a Christian camp changed your life like it did mine, as we promote and advertise and encourage folks to get involved with Crossfire Ministries, that's crossfireministry.com, that's the website with all the dates and everything, but Randy, Jamie, how do you marry the game of basketball with camp?

Now, we only have two minutes in this segment, I want you to answer that question, and I want you to factor in this thing. You've got an intense competition, you've got guys in each other's face, guarding each other, you're watching the NBA playoffs right now, and you've got guys fighting hard, it's rough, it's physical. How does Jesus come into that, guys, and how have you been able to leverage all of that, and have competition, but have Christ exalted? Well, Jamie's taught me a lot, Stu, very quickly. Jamie has an awesome ability of self-control, which is one of the fruits of the Spirit, and me not so much, just kidding, I've learned a lot, kind of like you, Stu, I'm a competitor, but we have to keep it intact, pray before practice, pray before the drills, and then when it does get heated, you know, we have to bite our tongue sometimes, because God made us competitive. I'm sure the disciples had their flair of disagreements, and Peter even chopped off an ear one time, but we want to teach them that as a Christian athlete, you can belab the Spirit, you can give 100%, lay it on the line, and you can also respond correctly, no trash talking, no putting other people down, and doing it for the glory of God, and we're all a work in progress. Amen. Jamie, your thoughts on that, just that self-control, which is, it's interesting, one day you thank the Lord for giving you that control, then the next day all of a sudden, you catch that elbow, or it gets real intense on game point, how have you been able to honor Christ in the moment, and also share Christ?

Because I can't really share Christ with a guy that I just knocked over. Well, I mean, Randy does a great job, I think he's my equal, we both have just as much drive, I'll run through a wall, Stu, if you play me, I'll give it my best, just like Randy. I think it's a matter of, and Randy, I've talked about this with our players, is when you go into that setting, just recognize your audience. If it's a private, 5 on 5, that's one thing, if it's 5,000, the stand, it's another. If it's TV and radio, it's bigger. And so it's just reality, social media, television, one mess up, people judge you, and they don't even know your life.

You could have one little slip up, because you're playing hard, somebody elbowed you, like you said, they didn't sit on TV, and then you're the bad guy. So you just have to say to yourself, when you're out there, I'm in front of an audience of the Lord Jesus, and then there's those that are watching me, but in that two hour segment, it's make or break at times. Hang on, some famous people, some famous folks that love basketball and love Jesus, coming up, hang on. Okay, welcome back, this portion of the show is brought to you by Cupcake Cuties, a complete, just spontaneous sponsorship, because I was just there, and I just had my first time ever tasting their homemade strawberry cake, which has actually won awards across the state of North Carolina. Cupcake Cuties in historic downtown Wahlberg, North Carolina, grateful for them. The Davis family sponsoring on The Truth Network, and I am sitting in front of me, or was a second ago, thankfully not now, is a six-pack of cupcakes, delicious cupcakes, they make everything homemade from scratch, they've got the Homeland ice cream, the Homeland Creamery, and you'll love the place. And we're grateful, great hot coffee, and next time Randy and Jamie are anywhere near, we'll have to get a good hard run in, Jamie, get a good sweat in, because afterward we're going to go over to Cupcake Cuties and support one of our Christian sponsors.

Okay guys, that sound good? My treat! We're on the way, we're on the way right now, buddy. I mean, I'm looking at this Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, handmade cupcake, chocolate fudge cupcake, and their strawberry cupcake, which is kind of like their award-winning strawberry cake, they've got all kinds of, dozens of cakes, gooey brownies, all homemade, and then they do have some sugar-free, what do you call it, that's, you know, keto diet cookies, which I had one earlier with a fellow pastor friend, and with some hot coffee, before coming to the show, so we're grateful for them. We're really grateful to Crossfire Ministries, because your kid, or your youth group, I mean, you could sign up a group, I mean, it's filling up kind of quick, guys, which is why we had to kind of rush to carve out time to talk to Randy Shepherd and Jamie Johnson, the founders of Crossfire Ministries. They've spanned the globe, 68 countries, is that right, Randy?

Yes, sir. Okay, and they've shared Christ with all kinds of people, we're gonna have a little fun now, we're gonna walk down the Hall of Fame, and really, what really matters is the Spiritual Hall of Fame, you know, Hebrews 11, if your name is written in heaven, but these guys, you know, sometimes we see a celebrity, we get kind of like in awe, like, oh wow, there's the, you know, there's the king, there's the head of state, I want to shake his hand, I want an autograph, but Randy and Jamie Johnson with Crossfire Ministries, who are on the air with us right now, playing basketball, teaching basketball, and sharing Jesus, you guys aren't, when you see Michael Jordan, of course, you guys were roommates in camp, so there weren't, you know, no one knew who he was then, Randy, but you guys aren't chasing them down for an autograph, you're talking to them about something far more important, can you tell us about that? Yes, Stu, Mark 1, 16-18, Jesus was calling the disciples, and he said, hey, come follow me, and I'll make you become fishers of men, and if you're listening and you're gonna send a young person to camp, your young person is just as important to us as one of these celebrities, but Stu, we believe God wants to share with those that he's put in front of us, and glory to God, we've been able to share with Michael numerous times, we pray for him daily, had a chance to share the gospel with President Obama, when he came to Asheville, one time at a Final Four in Charlotte when Arkansas was playing, we had a chance to share with President Clinton, had chances with Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, current players, we shared with Kobe Bryant at the 2012 Olympics, God put us in a hotel lobby with Coach Moe from Athletes in Action, who was the chaplain of the team, but we were blessed to get in there, and we were able to go around the horn to the dream team at that time, which was Chris Paul, your guy there in Winston-Salem, and Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, we went around the horn, Stu, and just said, hey, we have a basketball ministry in North Carolina, you guys have never heard of us, but we use basketball to share Jesus, and we'd like to ask you a question, and all of us said yes, and we did it politely, tactfully, and we said, hey, have you ever repented of your sin and given your life to the Lord Jesus Christ to each one of them, and about half of them said yes, and a couple of them hung their head like they knew they needed to, and a few said no, but we try to take every opportunity possible, Stu, to share the gospel, and we probably share it with 60 to 80 different NBA players, a few NFL, a few other athletes, but again, the wino on the corner is just as important to God as these guys, but it does impress people, but hey, most of them, like you said, or people are asking them for something, for an autograph, but we try to ask them, hey, do you know Jesus, because we know that's what's going to get them into heaven, brother.

Amen, and you've got youngsters in your camp that are future, maybe NBA Hall of Famers themselves, or future pastors, engineers, painters, radio broadcasters, who knows what, but they're full of potential. They're going to be at camp, which is coming up. Jamie Johnson, can you practically talk about how a parent, a youth pastor, an uncle, a pastor, anyone, how can practically people sign up for camp?

What all is involved? They drop the kids, you know, you've got day camps, you've got night camps. Jamie, give us a little bit of the X's and O's for people listening, because this is, you know, things have opened up, and you guys, you know, some camps have closed down, you guys are actually having a phenomenal basketball camp with a great Christian emphasis, so Jamie, give us, someone's listening, like, how do I sign up, or how do I, maybe it's a grandma listening, saying, how do I get my grandkids signed up, like, right away? Can you give us the nuts and bolts?

Sure, sir. So, go to crossfireministry.com, our website. It's user friendly, crossfireministry.com. When you go there, we have splashed on the very front page information on camp, where you can go right into a link, and you can register your son or daughter, and look at information about the camps, the half day, the full day, the overnight. And we have camps, as Randy said earlier in the program, that are half day. You might not be in the Asheville area, but you have friends that you would like to know about this camp, or you want to come here for a vacation, I've heard Randy say that before, and you want to get away in the beautiful mountains of West North Carolina, this is a great stop. You can come drop off your son or daughter, ages 6 to 12, 6 to 14, 9 to 18, depending on the camp, and you can enjoy the beauty of the mountains, so go to the website first, too, and then when you get there, you're going to see the options where you can read about the camps. You've got the half day, Boys and Girls 6 to 12 at one location, which is June 21 through 25 at Asheville Christian Academy east side of Asheville. Then you have another week of half day, July 5 to 9 in Hendersonville, which is about 20 minutes going south of Asheville for Boys and Girls ages 6 to 12. Then you have the full day, overnight option that runs together at Marsh Hill University.

Those locations are all listed, Asheville Christian Academy, First Baptist Hendersonville, and Marsh Hill, M-A-R-S-H-I-L-L, two words, Marsh Hill University, all as mentioned on the website, and you can drop off your son or daughter at the full day, overnight option, July 18 through 22, Sunday through Thursday, July 19 through 22. Now, Stu, if someone gets stuck, all they've got to do is call our number, 828-255-9111. Let me repeat that, 828-255-9111. You can text it. It's a cell number. You can text and say, hey, I heard y'all talking to Stu, Mrs. So-and-so in Salisbury, North Carolina. I want to talk to you. I'm not sure what to do, and Randy or myself will call you back, will give you information, will hold your hand through the whole process, but you can register and pay online, and if you want snail mail, you can print out the registration, Stu, online, and you can mail the check in.

If you don't want to use credit card, but most people today usually use the online system, but it's not required. Stu, let me say one word. Maybe you're going to be, you can't make any of those dates. Crossfire can come to you. Jamie and I preach just about every Sunday somewhere with an emphasis toward evangelism or soul winning. We could come to a clinic in your area, a one-day camp, preach on a Sunday, speak in your school, Christian school, chapel service, but we appreciate you publicizing what's coming up soon, the camps, but I wanted to throw that in there if you think, well, I can't make those dates, but how can I still use Crossfire?

We have a number of ways we could come to your area. Okay, fantastic, and Randy, just piggybacking on that, and that's really, you speak at chapels, churches, your ministry, and I just love that you know when these guys come to speak to your group, whether it's a civic club, anyone, they'll spin the ball, they'll play some ball, they'll do all these things, but they're going to point people to Jesus. The gospel we presented, Randy, a family takes their kid through camp, just like you've had over 20,000, 22,000 you said earlier, kids have gone through the Crossfire ministry camp, and I hear testimonies all the time. A pastor I was on the line with earlier at the beginning of the show, he's like, Stu, my son, who's a collegiate level ball player today, a turning point in his walk with Christ was at Crossfire camp with Randy Shepherd and Jamie Johnson.

Randy, what happens? I just picked my kid up from camp. I dropped him off on Sunday afternoon. I just picked him up on Thursday at the big parent night.

What just happened in those four or five days? Can you give us a quick blow-by-blow, and we only have about a minute left in the show. Definitely. We'll get him up about 7 in the morning, feed him an all-you-can-eat breakfast. We'll go right to the gym. We'll have a devotional by one of the coaches.

We'll go through about two hours of Pistol Pete marriage, which Stephen Curry drills. We'll break for lunch. Right after lunch, we'll go to the Belk Theater at Morris Hill. We'll have music. We'll have a message. We'll have an invitation for those that don't know Christ to come to the Lord.

Those that know Christ, we'll encourage them in their walk. We'll go from there back to the gym for about two hours, break for dinner. If they stay overnight, we'll go back to the gym, play some competitive five-on-five, go through some game-type situations, just like they would get at AAU Ball or at a school team. And then we'll show them some Christian videos that night.

We try to find some Christian players that we can share their testimony, show some highlights of them. We'll go to bed. We'll get up the next day, do it all again for four days. And then afterwards, Jamie and I will pray that you might have a cabin for us or a place that we could stay on the beach, if you're listening, and have a rest time after a week of eating with about 160 to 170 young people.

Just kidding, friend. Amen. Multiple weeks of camp, basketball at the highest level, the Gospel of Jesus Christ being presented. You will love this camp if you haven't been. But sign up now.

It's filling up quick. Jamie Johnson, one more time, hit us with the website as we wrap up the show today. Crossfire, C-R-O-S-S-F-I-R-E ministry dot com, crossfire ministry dot com. God bless you guys. Hey, thanks for using God's favorite sport to point people to the Son.

God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son. Thank you for Crossfire Ministries. Randy Shepherd, Jamie Johnson, love you guys. Thank you so much. Folks, sign up quick, guys. There's still some slots open, right? Yes, and I want to make sure you all pray for Truth Radio and Stu as they get the word out. Those preachers we were listening to in the commercials are awesome. Please support this station.