Steve Bazal who is an American from Washington State met his Australian wife Julie in Florida while they were both studying in Bible College in 1995. Romance ensured with the result that another international love match came into being as is not uncommon today, particularly in Christian Mission circles.
Married in Australia in 1997, they returned to the USA to work with Teen Missions International leading short term mission trips around the world including Eastern Europe, South America, South East Asia and Africa.
Steve and Julie Bazal discovered that in all their Mission activities, the Lord had given them both a gifting and a passion in mobilising Christian young people into mission service.
As a result of this, Steve and Julie believed the Lord had called them to Australia where they linked in with a local Anglican church in Tamworth, New England, NSW as the youth minister where they served for three years.
It was during this season of ministry Steve and Julie began to feel the Spirit of the Lord direct their lives toward Mission work once again, and the end result, after seeking the Lord's guidance, was to SIM as the Queensland Ministry Director.
Steve and Julie were well suited to this new work with their world mission experiences and passion for ministry with young people.
SIM's Sports Friends is a ministry that was formally developed in 2001 in the third world, as their missionaries realised that sports at grass roots level was the most obvious way in which to draw teenagers and youth.
Sports Friends became so easily adopted into so many countries around the world that SIM considered that a more refined model might also be effective in the First World. In their third world model, the methodology that has borne so much fruit in terms of evangelism, witnessing youngsters come to Christ followed a familiar pattern:
1. SIM found soccer is particular to be a well loved activity by young people. Other sports too filled the same void, such as basketball, volleyball, cricket – sports that required an open space (no infrastructure costs).
2. SIM teams invited young people from the local district to join them in fun games, not necessarily competition sports, and with the emphasis on 'fun' and everyone participating.
3. With the emphasis on 'fun', this model has young people, without much else to do, bringing their friends along for good old fashion sports fun.
4. With this audience, and over time, where trust and good-will is developed, so too the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is spoken into their hearts. Hence, Sports Friends has developed into a first rate program.
Sports friends web site:
http://www.sports-friends.org/
Steve and Julie Bazal have been assigned the task by SIM Australia to bring to Australian churches the model of Sports Friends that will naturally fit into the Australian culture.
Steve and Julie are well aware that the Australian culture with its competitive association sports is a very different situation to the third world, where such sports associations are few on the ground in less well off situations.
Australian Missionary News IPTV anchorman Mark Tronson interviewed Steve Bazal which may be viewed at either
http://tv.bushorchestra.com/Mission/videopages/steve_bazal.html
OR www.safeworlds.net
How Sports Friends in Australia will develop is now in the hand of Steve and Julie Bazal and they some very insightful and exciting ideas.
To speak with Steve and Julie or have them come to your church, please ring or Email - 0427 664 869 steve.bazal@sim.org