Church Planting with a Purpose

Twanna Henderson: Welcome to TTime spiritual conversations For, With and About Women. I'm your host, Twanna Henderson and I always want to remind you to take a moment and like this podcast and share it with your friends and other women in your life. Well, I'm excited about today's guest who is someone who is very special to me. We have with us today Dr. Melissa Patton. Dr. Melissa serves as the Chief Operations Officer at both Victory Church and the victory Corporation. She is an impassion educator as well as an innovative and thriving entrepreneur. Melissa has devoted a lifetime to assisting people to better understand their purpose and potential through the vehicles of education, business development and strategic planning. She received a bachelor's degree in English and creative writing from Drake University, a master's degree in community counseling from Concordia University and a Doctor of Education degree in higher education, and organizational change from Benedictine University. She's married to pastor Stanley and they have two active sons, Micah and Mason. Pat and Melissa, welcome to T Time.

Melissa Patton: It is so good to be here First Lady, thank you for inviting me.

Twanna Henderson: Good to have you. It's good to have you. And I'm so excited about this topic today. We're going to be talking about the intersection between youth and sports and faith. And I know that you have a sports background so why don't you just kind of talk to us about your personal journey as it relates to sports.

Melissa Patton: Absolutely. Well, I tell you, sports has, It's the great equalizer and for me, it was a way that I could express myself it was a way that I could work on my physical health, as well as my ability to be in a team environment. I started playing sports on an all boys sports team, a basketball team when I was six years old at the YMCA. Yes, I remember that. My dad said you lacked aggression. So we're going to make you play with the boys Melissa. And boy, did I learn aggression. Fast forward, I became a pretty, gosh, a pretty aggressive runner and basketball player with offers D2 and D1 and finally decided that I was going to accept a scholarship at Drake University as a quarter miler. So I ran at Drake University around the big oval Drake Relays, 400, 200, 100s and all the relays.

Twanna Henderson: Oh my goodness. So yeah, so you are a real sports enthusiast and player and all of that. So talk to us about Victory Kids Sports and how that came about.

Melissa Patton: Yeah. So my husband and I both are runners. He is a quarter miler and a 400 meter hurdler. He ran it Morehouse University in Atlanta, Georgia on scholarship. And we were in a situation where we were ready to plant a church, in our community but we wanted to do something a little bit different. We wanted to essentially build a house we could live in. And what I mean by that is we wanted to create a model that people would find attractive in building community. And we we both put our heads together as far as what could that look like? And we said, Well, why don't we start sports leagues that seems easy enough to do. And that's how we'll plant our church. And that is exactly what we did. We started sports leagues in Brevard County, Florida. They were terrible. But what it taught us as we kind of took a look back, and were humbled, was that there were organic relationships forming around sports and around faith, and people enjoyed the community atmosphere. And that is exactly how we developed Victory Kids Sports and how we also planted our church.

Twanna Henderson: Wow, I think that is so amazing, and so innovative. So tell me what exactly that the organization does.

Melissa Patton: Yeah. So the mindset was reach, represent and raise, how do we reach people for Christ and find that community of believers organically? How do we represent Christ and all that we do? And how do we raise support to fund the ministry? And that is how Victory Kids Sports operates. If you fast forward from those terrible football leagues that we had day one, and we're now a national organization, we impact thousands of children in different parts of the country. We have a camp system that involves recreational sports, steam, and movement, physical literacy activities for kids all summer long. We also have after school programs for underrepresented communities and school districts, where we go in and we teach kids sports, and they don't have to pay for it. And then we have a virtual program that allows us to integrate into textbooks and virtual school programs so that kids can get movement and PE classes right there on their computer.

Twanna Henderson: Okay, now that's a lot. Let me first say, I love the branding of the reach, the represent and the raise. So you talked about going into schools? Are you allowed to integrate faith in the school programs?

Melissa Patton: That is the number one question that I get on the faith side, and you absolutely cannot. Not as a 501C3, that's a non religious organization. So what we've integrated into our curriculum is something called the victory moment. And the victory moment is essentially the fruits of the spirit. So for example, the first lesson that we always do is basketball. And we always talk about teamwork and basketball, and how we can be good stewards and how we can love on our neighbors, and how we can make good decisions when we're at home. These essentially are just walking through love, joy, peace, patience, goodness. And this is absolutely acceptable within the school system, they actually applaud it, because we're teaching really organic principles to kids that may not have the foundation for it.

Twanna Henderson: Okay. I like that the victory moment. And I know you talked about the camps as well. Talk to us about the camp system. And is the is it a religious camp program, the camp systems? How does that work?

Melissa Patton: Yeah, so camp victory summer explosion does not take the place of your traditional Vacation Bible School. This is a program that we purposely and intentionally place in churches around the country. And families come to this camp, knowing that it's in a church, but may not have that faith connection. So I want you to imagine hundreds of kids across the country walking into churches that are not believers, what do you think happens? It's so impactful. A lot of my coaches are believers, some of them are not, and they go on a faith journey as well. The program is broken up into four rotations so that all types of kids can be involved. We have a sports rotation, a physical literacy, rotation, we also have a PE rotation where kids bring their scooters and their bikes and things to campus. And then we have something called steam for those kids that want that education integration. So science, technology, engineering, art and math.

Twanna Henderson: Now, you know, it's pretty amazing how you all have developed this. I mean, it's just, you know, something that's really new. I mean, I don't know, are there other organizations that are doing this? And have you all just kind of, you know, kind of broken the mold with this? You know, how does that look, you know, in terms of with other organizations, and how are you comparing with other other organizations?

Melissa Patton: Yeah, so you already know that we're quite the disruptive family here. And so if there's something that already exists, we're already trying to figure out how we can disruptly innovate that particular opportunity. And you're right, what we've done is we've taken some psychology and counseling principles, and we've integrated that with the steam and the education component. And then we've added another facet, which is physical literacy, or how, how does my body respond to the movement that I am doing? And then how does that motivate me to move forward? So when you take all three of those, you traditionally don't see that in one camp. And that's exactly why we do it. It's attractive to families that have kids that need movement. And most importantly, they need structure like the school day, without it being school. And so it's a very difficult model, because you get families from all different walks of life. And it's not always the best system for them. But it is it is clearly unique.

Twanna Henderson: Yeah, so let's talk about some of the challenges because I'm sure there's got to be a lot of challenges in running a, a youth sports program, particularly in today's social climate.

Melissa Patton: Yeah, you saw my facial expressions on that.

Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

Melissa Patton: I was just putting out a fire a few minutes ago. No, there are absolutely challenges in this youth sports culture, there are stereotypes of what sports programs should look like. And we don't fit that mold. Our campers are not the best athletes. They're not the best. You know, they're not the next LeBron James or pro athlete. These are kids that sometimes fall in between being extremely intelligent and going on and having great careers in math and science and engineering versus kids that trip over their two front you know, their feet, they trip constantly, and they can't get it down. So we clearly kind of ride the waves with that and that causes a lot of conflict. We also are living in a community and in a society where there are more and more kids presenting with special abilities, disabilities like ADD, ADHD, autism being on the spectrum and our program looks really attractive to families, because we have the movement, we have the opportunity where there is some psychology connected but we're not always the best fit for that family holistically. So we come up against barriers all the time. But as a team, we just get together, we obviously pray about it and we asked for guidance on how we can move forward and still produce a really good program for kids.

Twanna Henderson: So how many people does it take to make victory kids sports run? I mean, when you talk about your team, who does the team consist of?

Melissa Patton: So we spend 10 months planning for 10 weeks. So we have an administrative team of about six ladies who work full time. And all we do is plan strategically and logistically for all of our sites. We pray for the the campers that are coming in, we spend time getting them onboarded, we spend a lot of time marketing and advertising, updating our website so that information is very clear. Our parents, if you guys have heard of the phrase, Karen's we have some Karen's, they want every single detail so that they know that they can make an educated decision about what they're going to pay to have their kids in our program. Outside of that, I just did an onboarding with over 100 coaches this summer. And so those coaches are on boarded, they go through training, they go through development sensitivity, types of things, understanding that there's cultural boundaries and barriers. And then I teach them how to do their job. And that, that, that training is constant throughout. And we're updating that based upon the types of things that we're hearing back. So it's a it's a large team that is constantly working every day, all day, throughout the year.

Twanna Henderson: Absolutely. I mean, it has to be to make it work. Now let's talk about believers and sports. Because, you know, there are those believers that, you know, that feel that sports can be just an idol. And when I say that, you know, because a lot of times, you know, these these practices are on Sunday, or the rehearsals are on Sundays and that the games are on Sundays. And there's this emphasis on just winning. How do parents particularly believers. Believing parent. How do they help their children to develop a Christian worldview towards spores?

Melissa Patton: Yeah, and I think Christians are the best people that can get the word out. And I'm gonna be honest with you, I am not a big fan of sports programs requiring kids to be active on Sundays, I think that should be a day of rest for families. But obviously, when you're talking about competitive athletes, they don't really care what your faith background is, they just expect you to show up. So I think as believers and these are some of the things that I've heard people in my circle, just setting an example, through their actions and creating opportunities for there to be practices at other times. I don't look at sports as an idol. Obviously, sports has, it's a part of my life. It's who I am as a person. My kids are really involved in sports. I think of it as an equalizer. And I think I mentioned that at the beginning of our conversation. Sports is the greatest equalizer, it is an opportunity no matter what, what faith you are, what color your skin is, for you to come together under one umbrella and have a unique opportunity to cheer for the same team. So I think if we keep the main thing, the main thing, and we slowly insert our values into programs like our competitors, I think that we can really, really set it forth and I've been seeing it happen, but I don't think it's happening as quickly and it is conflicting.

Twanna Henderson: So where does Victory Kids Sports exists now?

Melissa Patton: Yeah, so we are in Des Moines, Iowa. We are in Miami, Florida. We're in Orlando, Florida. We're in a community called Space Coast, Florida, which is right by the Space Coast. And we are covering conversations with a community in California.

Twanna Henderson: Okay, okay. Wow. Wow. So that's pretty amazing. Just how it's growing and expanding. What are one or two principles that you can give parents to help them to just develop a healthy framework around faith and sports with the youth that are in their lives?

Melissa Patton: Well, I think sports no matter how strongly at the sport, like how well they do at the sport versus their ability to be competitive, I think it's an important part of everyone's life, especially believers. It creates healthy minds. It creates healthy hearts, and obviously healthy bodies. And that is our temple. Our Scriptures tell us that. So I think it's really, really important for kids to be involved in sports of some sorts. I think that's one principle. And I also think that I don't know that believers understand that people are watching us at all times, and we carry our light everywhere we go. So as you make decisions about little Johnny, getting striked out for the third time in this game, and you use profanity, or you get loud unnecessarily or you storm, you know, the dugout, you're setting an example for other people, and your light is not shining in the way that it should. So I think if we can keep track of those principles, I think that we'll all be in a really good place.

Twanna Henderson: Now, you said something profound with that, because you know, people get very, you know, excited, if you will, when it comes to games, when it comes to their kids, and when it comes to seeing them excel. And, you know, and wanting them to do well. What have been some of the things, some of the life lessons that you have learned as it relates to this whole area, and just working with youth?

Melissa Patton: Well, I've learned that it's hard. And I'm going to be transparent and give myself permission to say that it is not difficult. We are in a very, we're a lean startup, we're a startup business. We're constantly changing everything. And faith is a big part of what we do, especially with my staff and my team that lead programs. So that's a really hard place to be in because when someone's not happy with something, they don't care that you're a Christian, and that you go to Victory Church, they want to say whatever they want to say to you. So I think how I changed the way I say things, my body language, realizing that I have a target. And that the way that I respond to negative stimuli is super important. For me, as a Christian and me just as a woman, I think that that's something that I've had to learn and I'm being reminded of that constantly. As our organization grows, and develops and takes twists and turns, I've got to have good team members. Just like when you're running a church, just like when you're at your job, you have to have strong people around you. And that takes resources. And, so I think as someone that is running an organization that's thriving and growing, I need strong people that are praying for me that have my back, and that have my best interest at heart. And it's hard to find people like that. But I have such a good team. I cannot say enough good things about them. They're so amazing.

Twanna Henderson: Yeah, that is so important. Just having the right, having a team and then having the right team is huge. So important. You know, there are parents that are listening to this and they may say, Hey, how can we get something like this in our area? You know, how does that happen? I mean, how do you know? You said you're in Iowa?

Melissa Patton: It's a program seriously?

Twanna Henderson: How does how does that what does the expansion of Victory Kids Sportss look like if somebody said, Hey, you know what, we need this in our little neck of the woods. How would that happen? And how would somebody get in contact with you who's in the areas that that you're already in?

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Twanna Henderson: Okay, great. Well, I think that's going to be some very helpful information for someone and just a wonderful opportunity for churches to partner, you know, because there are lots of people who, you know, can as you said, share this podcast and talk to their pastors and talk to those that they know and say, hey, there's this wonderful organization that I heard about, that I think we need to be a part of. There are parents listening, who, who really are trying to seek a balance in this area of sports and faith, you know, and who need wisdom and guidance in this area. And, you know, there because parenting is hard. It's just hard. But also, you know, there are those youth who are trying to learn to walk out their faith, in a faithless world. Can you just take a moment and just pray for those parents and also pray for those youth as we prepare to close?

Melissa Patton: Absolutely. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you for the opportunity to just be a vessel Lord. And to provide a little bit of insight that's in my head Lord, I just pray for the listeners, I pray that they're receiving the conversation, and that they are open to understanding that sports is a positive opportunity for them to live out their faith. But they have to be that light, as they are integrating themselves into sports. Lord, I pray for the difficulties in parenting. This is not an easy world for us to parent in. And as a mother of two little boys, who is constantly dealing with battles, in their schools and in their sports arena. I empathize, Lord, but I pray for those parents. I pray for those moms who just want the best for their kids. But that deal with those struggles, Lord, in addition to that, Lord, I just pray for wisdom. I pray that you will guide their decision making process and help them understand that you love them and that they can move forward. That they have the diligence to be able to do it. I pray this Lord in your precious and holy name, Jesus. Amen.

Twanna Henderson: Amen. Amen. Well, Melissa, thank you for the impact that you and Dr. Stanley are making for and with youth as we seek really to reach another generation and I see you all reaching them in such a unique and innovative way. To all of our listeners. I'm Twanna Henderson and I look forward to connecting with you the next time be blessed the Lord.

Melissa Patton: Thank you