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    2Apr, 2024
    2024 “Summer of Hope” Breakaway Initiatives


    In 2024, Breakaway’s “Summer of Hope” campaign will include 11 youth camps this year as well as life-giving GOSPEL outreach initiatives serving prisoners’ kids, justice-impacted youth, and migrant/refugee children.

    Please prayerfully consider making a special donation to these SOH outreach efforts:

      • Our East Tennessee “Camp Elevate” is going into its 18th year of serving disadvantaged kids impacted by hardship and trauma. These campers depend on scholarships from Breakaway partners to attend the camp. If you’d like to support this ministry, you can make a secure online donation, or subscribe to our newsletter to get more info.
      • We have sports camps and sports ministry leadership development active on FOUR continents this summer: North America (+ Latin America), Europe, Africa, and Asia. Fill out the mission trip inquiry form if you are interested in serving on a sports mission trip with Breakaway.
      • We are working with a team in South Korea to develop a new youth sports league in the city of Bucheon—a population with a little less than a million people, where 81% are gospel-destitute. The league will run from April into October, getting kids off the streets, and bringing them into safe recreational spaces to hear about the life-changing message of Jesus. We are also running sports clinics in schools and ministering in juvenile centers and prisons in the region.
      • In addition to our existing baseball outreach in Germany, a new partnership is developing with a first-year multisport camp near Frankfurt. The local pastor’s heart for the camp is that it will be a sustainable long-term Gospel outreach to youth, especially the many Muslim migrant youths in the area.
      • A first-year sports camp is launching this year in Mali, a region that is 95% Muslim, through our West Africa partnership. Local leaders have recognized the impact that sports ministry can have in breaking down social and religious barriers, building bridges into Muslim communities for Gospel engagement.
      • In the Dominican Republic, we will be running Vacation Bible School for orphans, community-wide sports ministry in Barahona, and outreach to Haitian migrant/refugee communities in the Dominican bateyes. With the ongoing crisis in Haiti, please pray for the ways in which God would have us help through our Dominican partnership, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.

    Partner with us for 2024 Summer of Hope by making a secure online donation (you can designate your gift to any specific ministry).

    14Mar, 2024
    From Prison to Purpose: “You’re only as sick as your secrets”

    From Prison to Purpose

    “You’re only as sick as your secrets,” says Regi. If you’ve ever heard Regi’s story, it’s worth hearing again. In the latest Breakaway Talk podcast episode, we hear from “Sure Shot Regi” about sports rivalries, basketball life, drug addiction, prison time, finding redemption, the “Juvie Globetrotters,” missionary passion, mentoring takeaways, and endurance for youth workers.

    We call this “The Old School Mix Tape #1”

    Regi was part of the birth of the Breakaway Outreach sports ministry over 28 years ago when he was released from prison and started volunteering with a Breakaway basketball program in juvenile detention centers. The podcast conversation is a fun and encouraging discussion down memory lane as well as takeaways on the importance of youth mentorship in today’s world.

    5Feb, 2024
    NFL Flag Youth Championships Coming this Summer

    The National Football League announced today that the NFL Flag Championships, the world’s premiere youth football flag tournament, will be hosted on July 19-21, at the Hall of Fame Village in Canton, Ohio. The NFL Flag Championships will feature over 280 teams of girls and boys, NFL Flag regional winners from across the country representing all 32 NFL clubs.

    ESPN will provide LIVE coverage of the 30-game showcase, beginning with the round of 16 for 14U boys and 17U girls. The 15 boys and 15 girls’ games will appear on multiple ESPN platforms, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, and ESPN YouTube. In addition, the games will be available to stream on NFL+.

    “The worldwide broadcast of—and global participation in—the NFL Flag Championships, being held at the center of football excellence in Canton, Ohio underscores NFL Flag’s popularity and its global reach,” said Troy Vincent, Sr., executive vice president of NFL football operations. “This tournament emphasizes the importance of Flag Football and will showcase it as the highly competitive cornerstone of affordability, accessibility, and inclusivity of football for all.”

    BREAKAWAY OUTREACH INCORPORATES FLAG FOOTBALL IN OUR YOUTH SPORTS CAMPS

    The platforms for the Championship finals will expand to include additional Disney platforms, with both the boys and girls’ games airing on ABC, Disney Channel, Disney XD and ESPN Deportes and streaming on Disney+, ESPN+ and NFL+.

    Coverage of the NFL Flag Championships will be available in over 125 countries on ESPN branded networks including Mexico, Brazil, throughout Africa, Australia and New Zealand, Netherlands, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands.

    “The NFL Flag Championships is ESPN and Disney’s newest opportunity to support the NFL’s tremendous work around flag football. We will equally showcase the girls 17U and boys 14U tournament across our television and streaming platforms and our branded social networks, introducing the sport to new fans. The summer tournament adds a signature event on our year-around NFL calendar and further deepens our youth-focused initiatives.”

    —Julie Sobieski, ESPN senior vice president of league programming and acquisitions

    NFL Flag, operated by RCX Sports, will produce the three-day competition in partnership with Omaha Productions just footsteps from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The NFL Flag Championships will be the premiere youth flag tournament of the calendar year, featuring some of the very best girls’ and boys’ Flag Football players from across the country and around the world. International youth flag football teams representing multiple countries will compete in an NFL Flag Championships showcase.

    “The inaugural NFL FLAG Championships is the most prominent stage these athletes will have ever played on. As we look ahead to the 2028 Olympic Games, it’s encouraging to see how our mission of increasing accessibility and inclusivity has led to more kids getting involved in NFL FLAG. I’m excited to see how many athletes competing here in Ohio may be competing to represent their country on the global stage in four years.”

    —Izell Reese, CEO of RCX Sports, executive director of NFL Flag and a Global Flag Football Ambassador

    “For all of us at Omaha, it’s been fun to team up with our friends at the NFL and RCX Sports to build out the NFL Flag Championships and create a new platform for high-level competition,” said Peyton Manning, whose company Omaha Productions helped develop the plan for the tournament. “We’re excited about this initiative and the impact it will have on growing youth football participation worldwide.”

    The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Oct. 16, 2023, that Flag Football will be included in the 2028 Summer Olympic Games program in Los Angeles, CA. The inclusion puts flag football on the world’s largest stage.

    “We are honored to host the NFL Flag Championships and to welcome these flag football athletes and families from around the world,” shared Michael Crawford, President and CEO of Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company, Hall of Fame Village’s parent company. “Hosting this type of youth sporting event at our world-class sports complex directly speaks to our Mission, which is to Honor the Past and Inspire the Future. Youth Flag Football athletes of all skill levels will be competing at the highest level in the shadows of the place that houses to best to ever play the game.”

    Flag football’s rapid growth and popularity also is reflected in an exhibit inside the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Flag football is the world’s fastest-growing sport, played by over 20 million people in more than 100 countries, across six continents. It is the most inclusive and accessible format of football, played by people of all ages and genders, with female athletes driving some of the fastest growth. The Pro Bowl Games youth participants as well as Global Flag Ambassadors will make appearances at the NFL Flag Championships to promote the growth of flag football and bring awareness to the event.

    21Nov, 2023
    2024 Mission Trips: Serve with Breakaway

    Join us on a mission trip in 2024:

    • Domestic USA, Tennessee (sports ministry and camps for kids facing hardship)
    • Dominican Republic (sports ministry, youth and children’s ministry)
    • West Africa (sports ministry, youth and young adult ministry)
    • Europe (sports ministry, English camps)
    • South Korea (sports ministry, English camps, prison/juvenile ministry)

    Fill out the mission trip inquiry form or contact us for more details.

    19Oct, 2023
    West Africa Sports Ministry Development in Ghana
    The Breakaway Africa Sports Initiative continues to drive sports ministry development in Ghana and neighboring Ivory Coast. Some of our missional focus includes:
    • Coach/leadership development and resourcing for sports ministry
    • Sports camps/clinics for baseball, Baseball5, American flag football
    • Evangelism/discipleship resources for youth workers, laypersons, and students

    It’s been said by African leaders that what touches Ghana touches all of Africa!

    You can support this gospel-centered sports ministry and the ongoing multiplication of disciple-making movements across the region by making a secure online donation to help us reach and build next generation leaders.

    Learn more about our global initiatives here.

    18Oct, 2023
    Playing for an Audience of One: Sports Ministry Devotional


    Most of us have heard of Babe Ruth, but few have heard of Babe Pinelli? Pinelli was an umpire in Major League Baseball who once called The Great Bambino out on strikes. When the crowd began booing in disapproval of the call, Babe turned to the umpire and said, “There’s 40,000 people here who know that the last pitch was a ball.” Pinelli responded coolly, “Maybe so, Babe, but mine is the only opinion that counts.”

    In life it’s easy to get caught up in playing for the approval and the opinions of others, but in the end, it’s not our scoffers or critics by whom we will be judged, only God. This book offers 52 weekly devotions for what it looks like to play for an audience One—to seek first the approval of God over all other voices and influences in our lives.

    This doesn’t mean you have no affinity or accountability to your teammates, coaches, family members, or neighbors. Playing for the audience of One means those relationships will be more deeply impacted by the fact that you are playing for a bigger purpose—the chief aim being to please your God and bring Him alone the glory in your life. Playing for an audience of One means you will bring honor to your godly leaders, while ignoring the critics, the haters, and those who are not in your corner. It will even entail overcoming your most difficult opponent: yourself (your fears, your insecurities, your doubts, your lack of confidence). None of these need to get the final word in your performance or the spiritual marathon you are running. By playing for an audience of One, you choose to put God first over all others, including those inner voices that speak contrary to God’s best intentions and His ultimate reign over your life.

    Each devo comes with a prayer and questions for personal reflection or group discussion, fitting for athletes, coaches, parents of athletes, and sports ministry leaders who work with athletes. The format of the devos also work well for fostering devotional times and gospel sharing at sports camps/clinics during mission trips.

    9Aug, 2023
    Baseball5™ Sports Ministry and Youth Outreach

    Baseball5™ has seen explosive international growth since its launch by the WBSC in 2017, and will make its debut in the Youth Olympic Games in 2026.

    What is Baseball5?

    Baseball5™ is a simple urban version of the classic games of baseball and softball, where only a rubber ball is required to play the game. This faster paced street discipline of the sport has been designed to appeal to youngsters and other fans across the world. The variant eliminates the need for traditional baseball equipment such as bats, gloves, helmets, etc. No pitcher is needed as hitting is done by hand. The sport maintains the uniqueness of baseball/softball while eliminating the structural complexities, thus making the game playable anywhere.

    The discipline can be characterized as: accessible, sustainable, urban, youth-focused, inclusive, and instant fun.

    Baseball5 Basics

    • Fast-paced team sport
    • Individual skills and hand-eye coordination are highlighted
    • Utilizes four vital athletic skills: Hitting, Throwing, Catching, Running
    • No construction or dedicated venue needed
    • A rubber ball (or tennis ball) is the only equipment needed to play

    The game is played on a compact playing field that requires little space for the game, the teams are small and therefore the game is fast and dynamic.

    Benefits of Baseball5

    • Adapts to any environment, indoor or outdoor
    • Can be played on any surface, turf or pavement or gym floor
    • All you need is a ball
    • Skills also transfer to traditional baseball/softball
    • Promotes inclusion—a game for all demographics
    • Social contribution—its accessibility makes it invaluable particularly to the most underserved communities

    Baseball5 as Sports Ministry

    Baseball5™ is helping to drive baseball and softball to new places not possible before, which also makes it a highly impactful sport for evangelism, youth outreach, and church missions. Depending on the venue, Breakaway Outreach can facilitate Baseball5™ as a standalone sports ministry camp or provide coaches to add it as a feature to an existing ministry context such as multisport camp, English camp, student ministry, or VBS program.

    Breakaway Outreach has used Baseball5™ as sports ministry in USA, Germany, Italy, Northern Ireland, England, Dominican Republic, Ghana, and Korea. Contact us if you are interested in running a Baseball5™ camp or clinic as sports ministry in your community, or if you’d like to coach Baseball5™ on a cross-cultural mission trip.

    8Aug, 2023
    Vova’s Prayer and The D.R.E.A.M. Initiative

    Vova grew up in an orphanage in Ukraine. He was adopted and brought to America when he was 15-years old. In 2021, he had the opportunity to go on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic, where he shared his testimony at an orphanage and worked with a sports ministry for underserved children. That experience captured Vova’s heart for the Dominican people and he’s never been the same since. On another visit to the DR, Vova asked God for a vision of how he can help give opportunities to less fortunate children in the region. The D.R.E.A.M. initiative was born as an answer to Vova’s prayer.

    The D.R.E.A.M. (Dominican Republic Equipping Athletic Ministries) initiative aims to equip local Dominican leaders/coaches with resources to help develop young athletes through gospel-centered programs, and to mobilize sports ministry mission teams to go and serve in the DR.

    Some of the D.R.E.A.M. goals include:

    • Providing sports equipment for faith-based athletic programs
    • Funding construction and renovation projects for sports fields/venues
    • Equipping Dominican leaders/coaches/mentors with essential ministry tools for sports development and spiritual formation (discipleship)
    • Mobilizing mission teams to go and serve in the DR

    Here are some ways that you can partner with the D.R.E.A.M. initiative:

    GIVE: You can support the D.R.E.A.M. initiative by making a monetary donation or donating sports equipment.

    GO: You can go and serve with our partners in the DR, bringing gospel-centered sports ministry to youth and children.

    PRAY: You can pray for God’s work in the DR. Pray for the leaders we are resourcing, the youth/children being served, and the local churches we partner with to multiply disciple-making movements through sports ministry.



    4Apr, 2022
    UK Baseball Mission Trips (Belfast and Bristol)

    Baseball Ministry (UK Mission Trips)

    Join us for an exciting missions opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus using the game of baseball to reach youth/children with the gospel and make disciples. Whether you are a returning Breakaway missions team member or looking to serve with us for the first time, these baseball camps offer turnkey models for stepping right in and making a difference with your love for Jesus and passion for the game of baseball. The Belfast camp will serve children ages 5-11 and the Bristol camp will serve ages 9-13. Contact us for more details if you are interested in either or both of these 2022 UK baseball missions opportunities, or for information about other Breakaway baseball camps in Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean.

    11Oct, 2021
    Bless Underprivileged Children With Baseball Gear

    Bless underprivileged children with baseball gear! You can donate new and used baseball equipment to be used at our baseball camps/clinics serving children in West Africa, Dominican Republic, and other regions. We can also use other sports equipment such as flag football gear, soccer balls, and basketball balls. How to help:

    1. Collect new or used baseball gear from your team, parents, neighborhood, etc.
    2. Box up the gear for shipping (unless doing local drop off).
    3. Weigh and measure each box.
    4. Email info@breakawayoutreach.com or call (423) 933-6986 for info about shipping procedures, or to schedule a local Pick Up or Drop Off location.

    Monetary donations are also helpful and will be used to cover shipping and distribution expenses.