Adventists in Cuba use baseball as outreach tool

Popular sport draws notice as players pray before games

Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Mark A. Kellner, News Editor, Adventist Review

What would you do to attract young people to church, particularly in a nation where overt witnessing is difficult?

How about a game of baseball?

That’s the recent experience of Seventh-day Adventists in Cuba, where baseball has long been a popular sport. Starting, and growing, a league of baseball teams is bringing newcomers to the church, local leaders say.

In Cuba, baseball is a highly regarded sport: the country has its own amateur league, and a Cuban national team was a finalist in the 2006 World Baseball Classic competition, losing to Japan in a game played in San Diego, California.

“The program began in 2009, as a way to help young Adventists enjoy sports without harming their Christian witness,” said Dayami Rodriguez, Communication director for the church's Cuban Union Conference. 

Shirts and caps may not always match, and there are other challenges to be met, but Cuban Adventists have found that baseball is an ideal outreach tool. In fact, the peaceful nature of the games even attracted a local government official, who offered words of welcome.

“Games are conducted with respect for all sides; team members pray before games. The fighting and rough language sometimes associated with other leagues is absent from the Adventist practices and competitions,” Rodriguez said.

The peaceful atmosphere also attracted non-Adventists, who wanted to participate. Church leaders agreed, but with conditions: players must demonstrate good behavior, their speech and attitudes would be in line with Adventist standards, and all players would attend daily, morning Bible studies and evening seminars.

Players remove their hats for the national anthem, a baseball tradition.

Players remove their hats for the national anthem, a baseball tradition.

According to Rodriguez, “It worked! Onlookers – ranging from local umpires, professional baseball players, and members of the public who happened upon the games — were all absorbed to see men in the heat of the game praying for each other before a game, holding hands, embracing and congratulating each other after the game.”

Some spectators approached the teams, asking to learn more. The youngsters identified themselves as Seventh-day Adventists, and invited those interested to the evening meetings. In the first year, 28 people gave their hearts to the Lord as a result of the effort. Last year, 100 people made a Christian commitment as the games and outreach took place in Palmarito, Holguin, in the eastern part of Cuba.

Rodriguez said, “Each night the little town was paralyzed by what was happening in the humble Adventist church atop the valley. Everyone was running to hear the preacher, carrying their own chairs to find a little place in the midst of so many people who crowded the windows and doors of the sanctuary. And at the end of the week of an evangelism series titled, ‘Jesus the Conqueror of All Time,’ the church rejoiced to receive within it many who decided to cast their lot with Christ forever.”

Local authorities – at first reluctant to permit a religious group to use local facilities – finally relented, and volunteers cleared the designated area for play. In fact, the local Communist Party first secretary attended the opening, giving a welcome. The president of the Adventist Church in Cuba and other pastors joined him.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has been active in Cuba since 1905. According to world church statistics, more than 31,000 baptized members worship in 297 congregations across the island nation. 

—with reporting by Dayami Rodriguez

arrow-bracket-rightCommentscontact