Missionary Spotlight: Becky Bowden

Becky Bowden always loved sports and in high school felt called toward ministry. However, she kept sports and ministry in separate boxes until her first SportQuest trip to Belgium in 2009. There she realized that sports and ministry could go hand-in-hand and that God had given her these passions for that purpose. Becky loved the way SportQuest intentionally invested and challenged team members to be disciples and disciple-makers using the tool of sport. Over time, SportQuest became her family, and Becky joined the team in a full-time capacity in 2016.

Currently, Becky serves with SportQuest in Tampa, Florida, where she partners with a local disciple-making movement called 1Body to serve an urban community through sports, games, and mentoring. From Tuesday to Friday each week, Becky serves on “The Field” – a small piece of land in the neighborhood that was purchased by 1Body and is now used to serve and love their neighbors by organizing sports, PE games, and free play. In the past year, The Field has been transformed from a sandy patch of ground full of discarded litter to a fenced-in park complete with a basketball court, volleyball net, and soccer field. On most days, kids go to Becky’s apartment after school, which is located in the complex across from The Field, to play games, eat dinner, and talk.

There are many stories of grace from Becky’s ministry. She has had the privilege of recently seeing four teenage boys, who were baptized shortly after she arrived last Fall, grow in their discipleship journey and leadership abilities. Every week, her team takes the boys to work out and do a Discovery Bible study. These young men are starting to understand that following Jesus is about listening to God, obeying what He says, and sharing with others, and they even challenge each other to see who can retell the weekly Bible story to their friends the most throughout the week. Each of them put a sticker on the back of their phones to represent the key truths of the Gospel, which has become a talking point for many friends at school and an opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus with others. Because of these boys, other kids in the neighborhood want to get involved in the ministry. These four guys are also part of a neighborhood student council that Becky helps lead. This 6-person student council is made up of older high school students with leadership potential who meet weekly to discuss ideas of how to make the community a safe space. The council members are developed as leaders, given responsibilities, and mentored with the hope that they will eventually take over the ministry. During games at The Field, some of these youth leaders coach drills, allowing Becky can focus more on relationships and lead from the background. The youth have greater ownership as Becky delegates responsibilities.

“Every day is a challenge to choose to live with a Kingdom culture mindset instead of getting wrapped up in worldly ways of life, but God is gradually changing their hearts and lives and I am blessed to be a part of their journey,” Becky says. Becky has discipled many people in person and online – from youth in her community to SportQuest athletes spread across the country. The fruit of her ministry is evident, but Becky is a humble servant-leader who seeks to be like Jesus, such as when he washed his disciples’ feet. Becky’s vision is for her work in the community to be a model for other cities. “It’s not about our name being a model,” she explains, “but about the Kingdom expanding.” As a result, the material she uses to train people does not have the team’s logo but is open source and given away for free so it can be used by all to glorify the Lord.

Two challenges Becky has encountered are adapting to the culture and a lack of volunteers. Because the culture is so different from anything Becky has been a part of, she has “had to lay down my agenda, learn the culture, then move forward with God’s plan and at His pace of grace.” There is also a lack of volunteers, with only 2-3 adults and anywhere from 25-75 kids on The Field each afternoon . Despite these challenges, God has been faithful and they have recently had several people step up to serve in various capacities. Becky can confidently say that “God is good!” and is excited about what He will continue to do on The Field in the future.

Prayer Points for SportQuest Tampa:

1) Clear vision for moving forward in the plans God has for the team in Tampa.

2) For disciples to be multiplied in this neighborhood.

3) Wisdom, strength, protection, and unity for our team.