A t half-time team members present the claims of Christ to vast audience.
BASKETBALL
by D IC K H IL L IS General Director, Orient Crusades
T he place is Melbourne, Austra lia, where the gigantic Olympic Stadium is bedecked with the flags and splendor of the world. To the 100,000 spectators it means ex citement, thrills, teamwork and keen competition. To the hundreds of participating athletes it means glory and a place in the sun — win or lose. Just to compete is a rare honor. But to one man in that vast sta dium it is much more than this. To him it is a spiritual opportunity . . . an open door for the advance ment of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This lone individual presents a unique sight to the throngs of spec tators who are jammed in the sta dium to w i tne s s the colorful
opening day ceremonies. He’s an American missionary marching with the Chinese Nationalists. The man is Bud Schaeffer, two- time Little All-American basketball player at Wheaton College and now serving as a missionary with Orient Crusades in the Far East. It was his privilege to be coach of the Chinese basketball team, serving in a position unique in the history of the Games. He didn’t choose the honor . . . through an unusual set of circumstances God put him here. After a spectacular professional career in basketball, Bud Schaeffer toured the Orient with Venture for Victory, a group of young Christian athletes from America, under the leadership of Coach Don Odle of
Taylor University, Upland, Ind. It was during one of these basket ball tours that God spoke to his heart concerning missionary serv ice; to the spiritually hungry hearts in the Philippines. His stellar play and style caught the imagination of the Chinese who never forgot him. When the Chinese players against whom he had played learned that he had returned to the Orient, they requested that he come to Formosa to coach their team. He responded to the request, and with permission of Orient Crusades he accepted the opportunity and honor. Basketball evangelism was born in the fall of 1951. The schools and army camps on Formosa which had been open to the gospel were sud-
48
THE KING'S BUSINESS
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs