Happy Thanksgiving! Or, as a golfer might put it, “I hope you enjoy your ‘birdie’…however you might choose to fix it.” Seriously, may the Lord give us many opportunities to savor, not only the turkey and gravy of the holiday, but his tender care and goodness as well as we share time with family and friends.
One day I was surprised to hear that the land our church building sits on was originally plotted for a golf course! Nothing against golf (a sport I really enjoy!), but I can imagine the Lord smiling and saying to himself, “I’ve got a better plan for that land!”
When I joined the pastoral team at Grace in the fall of 1997, I relished hearing stories of how, under the leadership of our founding pastor, Dave Reimer, the Lord started this church in 1987 with a core group of 13 mostly retired folks who had a vision to plant a biblically grounded, culturally relevant, gospel-sharing church. When the Lord provided our current 12-acre plot of land back in 1990, our church facilities were on the fringes of Newton, and no one had any idea how the Newton community would grow up around our church campus.
Interestingly, one of those city development projects was the Sand Creek Station Golf Course just across Anderson Avenue from us. As someone who jumps at the chance to play a round, I watched with great anticipation as the golf course was laid out and began to take shape. I walked the fairways under construction and imagined what it would be like to actually tee off on this Jeffrey Brauer (a famous golf course architect) designed course when it was finished. Honestly, I was pretty pumped that a nationally acclaimed public golf course was located right across the street from our church! And, I wondered how the Lord might use our proximity to connect golf with his kingdom work.
The Lord began opening doors right away. Wanting to build connections and eventual bridges for the gospel, when Sand Creek Station opened in 2006, we as a church happily let golf tournament patrons and spectators use our parking lot, and we also lent Sand Creek Station our tables and folding chairs for their golfing events. Chris Tuohey, Kemper Sports’ Regional manager and head of the Sand Creek team, has valued that connection been eager to maintain a relationship with us.
Personally, I’ve enjoyed interacting with the Sand Creek Station team by golfing there occasionally, volunteering at golfing tournaments there, and by offering to be a liaison when Chris asked me recently whether or not GCC might be willing to help with hospitality facilities at the upcoming prestigious USGA-sponsored Adaptive Open Championship in July of 2024.
I presented this request to our elders back in August, and they readily agreed to this opportunity to serve our community next summer. By offering our facilities at next year’s USGA July 5-10 event, we will be part of a welcoming and serving team that will host the golf world’s top handicapped golfers and their families.
Perhaps you know that the USGA (United States Golf Association) is the governing body for amateur and professional golf in the United States. It reviews and sets the rules of golf, as well as sponsors 15 national golf tournaments, including the US Men’s and Women’s Open Championships. The US Adaptive Open Championship began in 2022 and is a unique and emotionally moving USGA sponsored tournament for qualified amateur and professional golfers with disabilities from all over the world.
At the Adaptive Open Championship, Sand Creek Station will host ninety-six golfers, who will be divided into eight different impairment categories to compete for the overall championship (Men’s and Women’s) and for the best score in each impairment category (such as arm and leg impairment, amputees, vision impairment, intellectual and neurological impairment, etc).
Being selected by the USGA for the Adaptive Open Championship is an incredible honor for Sand Creek Station as well as for our Newton community. I’m excited that, in offering our facilities as a place for the several hundred volunteers to receive orientation and have a place to quiet, we will be sharing the welcome and love that Jesus provides, especially to those with life-altering disabilities.
Our participation, I believe, gives us a chance to mirror the heart of God, who loves to “heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds,” as Psalm 147:3 puts it.
I’ve already blocked out the three days of July 8-10 next summer to volunteer in the tournament, and I encourage anyone with a heart to serve our community and the world to participate in any way possible. If you’re interested, please contact Sand Creek Golf Station at 316-284-6161. And watch this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAeDGrtO8fg)
Blessings,
Steve Friesen