1 minute read
Awareness
Tessa Gray, ’22, a tennis player and long-standing member of the Sports Ministry Team on campus, says the Christian Leadership Scholarship has helped her become more aware of her own actions and the actions of those around her.
“You could be the only Jesus someone ever sees in their life,” Tessa said. “As Christians, our reactions in life and in sports should look different from unbelievers’. I want to set the standard of Christlike behavior in every circumstance – win or loss, hardship or triumph.”
She read the book The Assist her freshman year that addressed the topic of Christian behavior in the sports realm and inspired her to be the one to give encouragement after a tough play, handle a loss with grace, and take a win with humility.
One evening in her freshman year, Tessa followed teammate and fellow Christian Leadership Scholarship recipient Jacyln Jewel, ’20, to every Sports Ministry leadership meeting, even though Tessa wasn’t yet a leader. Since that day, Tessa has not missed a meeting, and she continues to serve as a Sports Ministry representative on her team. Each representative is tasked with evangelizing and ministering to their specific team. Tessa has found that many of her teammates haven’t had much exposure to Christianity before coming to Cumberlands, so she’s spent a lot of time praying over them, getting to know them, and continuing to show them an example of Christ-like responses to life’s – and sports’ – tough situations.
