Upward Unlimited, Inc. (“Upward”)

Statement of Faith and Ministry Foundations and Core Values

STATEMENT OF FAITH

·          We believe the Bible to be the inspired, authoritative, Word of God.

·          We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

·          We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.

·          We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful people, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.

·          We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.

·          We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life, and they that are lost unto the resurrection of eternal punishment.

·          We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

FOUNDATIONS

Vision Statement

Submitting to God’s authority, Upward desires to change generations globally and recognize that Every Child Is A Winner.

Purpose Statements

The purpose of Upward Sports Ministries is to fulfill God’s vision that He planned long ago by promoting:

·         Salvation - To share the love of Jesus Christ with everyone involved in an Upward ministry.

·         Character - To help every child grow as Jesus did – spiritually, physically, mentally and socially.

·         Self-Esteem - To help every child grow in their understanding and enjoyment of sports.

Mission Statement

Upward is committed to equipping believers to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with unlimited children through sports ministry.

Guiding Principles

To achieve our mission with a Christ-like attitude, Upward is committed to:

·         Using ever-changing ways to share a never changing message

·         Promoting and protecting the mission of Upward through sound stewardship of all resources

·         Working together as a unified team to be a first-class, organized, and detailed evangelistic ministry

·         Always viewing conflicts as ministry opportunities

·         Reaching beyond denominational and cultural boundaries to encourage Kingdom Growth

·         Developing participants to share the love of Christ in and beyond Upward

CORE VALUES

Upward Unlimited sports programs are designed to provide evangelical churches the opportunity to use sports as ministry to kindergarten - 6th graders.  Ministry involves building the self-esteem of every child, teaching every child godly character through the person of Jesus Christ, and sharing with every child the need for salvation.  To ensure that our mission is accomplished, the following core values are essential to every Upward Unlimited program:

Sharing the need for Salvation with every child.  In order to accomplish this, each Upward Program will:

·         Provide a prayer ministry with 100 days of prayer, which concludes on Awards Night

·         Conduct devotions during each practice

·         Incorporate scripture learning into each practice

·         Conduct an Awards Celebration that includes the presentation of the gospel

·         Provide a Bible to every child participating (provided by Upward)

·         Conduct a halftime devotion or testimony at each ballgame

Teaching every child godly Character through the person of Jesus Christ.  In order to accomplish this, each Upward Program will: 

·         Incorporate emphasis on the white star as a reminder to every child that the character of Christ is worth following

·         Govern play with Rules Unique to Upward that promote lessons beyond the game itself

Building the Self-esteem of every child.  In order to accomplish this, each Upward program will:

·         Recognize every child after each ballgame with a game day star

·         Conduct Coach and Referee Training to educate our most important volunteers as to how they blend sports and ministry

·         Provide an End of the Season Award to every child (provided by Upward)

·         Register every child as an individual, instead of in teams

·         Conduct evaluations and draft teams using the Upward Multi-Sport computer program

·         Use the Upward Substitution System to create equal playing time and foster equal opportunity for improvement

·         Not keep division standings

·         Not conduct post-season tournaments or crown league/division champions

·         Institute regulations to protect the safety of every child and spectator