Together We Ball Poster
DALLAS Aug. 23, 2017 /Discipleship Ministries/ – Rev. Junius B. Dotson, General Secretary (CEO) of Discipleship Ministries will join leaders of St. Paul United Methodist Church and other churches and ministries for a sporting event to help build better community relationships with residents, police and local leaders in Dallas.
The 3rd annual Together We Ball basketball game on Sunday, Aug. 27 is expected to draw more than 1,000 spectators and will highlight the partnership between church leaders and police. The event will be hosted by Project Unity, a not-for-profit at St. Paul UMC in Dallas.
“I am thrilled at the work that Pastor Richie Butler at St. Paul is doing in leading this crusade to build relationships between the community and police,” said Dotson, who will participate in a celebrity free throw contest, as well as speak at halftime of the featured basketball game with pastors, police and community leaders. “For us at Discipleship Ministries, it means that he is leading an effort to #SeeAllThePeople.”
More than a dozen churches and ministries will participate in the event, and their congregations will be on hand to cheer for their favorite pastor. The highlight of the afternoon will be the basketball game featuring local police officers, clergy and faith leaders, educators, business owners, community leaders and elected officials.
“As an avid Dallas Cowboy fan, I realize that sports is a great way to bring all people together, so my participation in this event is about recognizing that we ought not miss an opportunity to encourage people in their effort to move beyond the walls of the church to engage people in discipleship and remind everyone that we must see all the people,” Dotson said.
Discipleship Ministries launched a grass \roots disciple-making movement in May called #SeeAllThePeople to inspire the denomination to fully embrace the spirit of the Wesleyan tradition by being in relationship with the communities that surround our churches. To learn more about #SeeAllThePeople and how to be a part of this growing discipleship movement, go to www.SeeAllThePeople.org to download the free booklet, Developing an Intentional Discipleship System: A Guide for Congregations, and see a video that started the conversation. The agency will have a table at the Dallas event with free resources and information for churches to engage in the #SeeAllThePeople initiative.
“We’re excited to bring the community together for a good, old-fashioned – and competitive – game of basketball,” said Richie, senior pastor at St. Paul. “Together We Ball is our signature event and a great venue for children and families to meet and cheer on community leaders and to have fun on the court themselves.
“Basketball is a universal language that spans communities, ages, races and professions. We’re eager to use this forum to promote racial unity, teamwork and spirit in Dallas,” Richie said.
At this year’s event, Project Unity will take the competition to the bleachers with the Spirit Stick Scholarship. The participating player’s organization with the most attendees present at the headliner game will receive a $500 scholarship. The funds are to be used to hold a youth-focused event on race relations or as a scholarship award to a graduating senior of that organization, based on a 500-word essay competition on race relations.
Steve Horswill-Johnston serves as executive director of communications for Discipleship Ministries, a United Methodist general agency to support annual conference and local church leaders for their task of equipping world-changing disciples.