The concept behind the Faith Community Church dodgeball ministry is simple: Local middle school and high school students are invited to the church to play dodgeball every Friday evening, and the gospel is presented during halftime.
Greg Fowler '15 & '16
Mr. Z
“I love serving in youth ministry. Being able to shepherd that flock – to disciple them, give them a foundation in the Word of God, and help them know who Jesus is and how much He loves them – I can’t ask for anything better than that!” These are the words of Greg Fowler, the youth director at Faith Community Church in Dover, Delaware. He and his wife, Brittany, live in the same area where Greg grew up. They serve in the same church where Greg first heard the message of hope found in Jesus. As I talk to Greg over a video call, it is immediately evident that he has a huge heart for his hometown – and that his deep compassion for local students stems from his own experience as a teenager. “I had heard about God, but I didn’t know who God was or what He did for me,” Greg explains. He grew up without any background of faith, and his early years were marked by fear and uncertainty. “I feared death and just about everything else in life. I knew that, if there was a God, I definitely wasn’t good enough to get to heaven. I was overcome by fear and anxiety from a very young age.” Greg shares that he was first invited to play dodgeball at Faith Community Church when he was twelve years old. “At that time, there were about 70 to 100 kids who grew up playing dodgeball every week, and almost all of them came from the local schools.”
students are invited to the church to play dodgeball every Friday evening, and the gospel is presented during halftime. Over the years, this consistent ministry has given Dover youths the opportunity to break away from the hurts and hardships of daily life through the avenue of sports. But for Greg and countless others, it was the example and fatherly care of the dodgeball ministry leader that made a lasting impact on their lives. “His name is Mr. Z,” Greg shares. “We used to call him ‘Gandalf the White’ because of his white beard and hair. He is the definition of what a life lived for Christ looks like. Christ is identified as perfectly balancing grace and truth. That’s what I saw in this man, and it’s something I had not yet been exposed to in my life. We trusted him, and we heard what he preached.”
From Fear to Faith: Greg Fowler on the Power of Consistent Ministry By Hope (Trimble '20) Cate
The concept behind the Faith Community Church dodgeball ministry is simple: Local middle school and high school
Faith Community Church where dodgeball evenings are held
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The Word of Life Experience
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