Testimonies Archives — Breakaway Outreach

10Jan, 2021

Lacey’s Story: Fatherless, but Never Forsaken

Abandoned, But Not Forsaken

Lacey started coming to Breakaway summer camp when she was 6-years old. Though she was abandoned by a father who ended up in prison, she was never forsaken. The Bible says, “God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy” (Psalm 68:6 NLT). Now as a second year Lee University nursing student, Lacey shares a heartfelt story about overcoming childhood hardships and how the Breakaway community became a refuge for her. Having a father in prison, or living in the foster care system “doesn’t define you.” You choose what defines you. We always have that choice no matter what kind of cards we’ve been dealt in life. Prepare to be inspired!

25Aug, 2019

Kobe’s Story: From Isolationist to Leader

24Aug, 2018

Why Baseball Outreach in Europe?

Baseball Outreach in Europe

For over a decade Breakaway Outreach has been mobilizing mission teams to facilitate baseball camps in Europe. Why do we do this? This video answers that question. Listen to some of our camp leaders in Italy, Ireland, and Germany, share how this ministry is reaching people far from God and transforming lives.

Europe a Forgotten Mission Field

Europe has been described as one of the most forgotten mission fields of our day. Once at the epicenter of the sending church, today it is a region where the church has faced attrition. The church in Europe has the lowest growth rate at 1.1% annually. Europe’s cities, through their diverse populations and activities, produce connections with individuals and cultures from around the world. Imagine what would happen if that influence could be harnessed to extend God’s Kingdom.

Why Baseball?

Baseball is a relatively unknown sport in Germany. Having Americans instruct baseball is not only engaging for German youth, it impacts entire families and communities. Utilizing baseball camps for 8-18 year old young people has proven to be groundbreaking in its effectiveness to share the gospel.

Short Term Mission Trips

We provide short term mission trips for Americans to serve in Germany. Although you don’t have to be a baseball player to go, a general knowledge of the game is important. The most important aspect is your willingness to serve others and build relationships with our German friends. Contact us about mission trip dates and locations.

7Mar, 2017

Antwon’s Story: From Risk to Resilience

From Risk to Resilience

We initially met Antwon through our Christmas outreach that serves prisoners’ children. In 2007 he attended our summer camp through the Breakaway scholarship program for underprivileged kids. At that time, he was 9-years old.

Since that first year Antwon has never missed a summer camp! As a young adult, he now serves on our junior staff.

Growing up with a parent in prison means that, statistically, you already have a 70% chance of ending up in prison one day yourself. That’s what statistics tell us. But statistics also reveal that when a youth attends a summer camp for at least three years or more, social resilience and positive outcomes are realized.

In Antwon’s world, this meant that two statistical trajectories must collide and something would have to give.

Growing up with a parent in prison was just one of Antwon’s disadvantages. He also lived in a community deluged with youth violence. He admitted that it was hard sometimes to even walk down the street in front of his home where bullets had been known to scour. To dodge the mischief around him, he tried to stay busy with academics and athletics.

Antwon has long benefited from mentoring relationships that were born out of his summer camp experiences with Breakaway. He’s had caring adults that took him to church and youth group. He attends Bible studies and has served with Breakaway’s neighborhood outreach in under-served communities. In 2014, he got to do something that most prisoners’ children would never imagine was possible: GO ON AN OVERSEAS MISSION TRIP.

germany mission trip — Antwon in Germany 2014

In 2014, Antwon was part of a Breakaway missions team that traveled to Germany to lead a gospel-centered baseball camp for youth and children. Antwon’s responsibilities included teaching baseball skills to children, managing sports equipment, and organizing activities while serving alongside of an adult leader in Bible discussion groups.

“My lifelong dream is to become a coach either in football, basketball, or baseball and this would be a huge step toward that dream,” Antwon said during the trip.

Today, Antwon is in college, pursuing a career in sports management, and serving as a positive role model for vulnerable children. He knows what God has brought him through and is eager to share Christ’s message of salvation with others. Antwon is a living example that any kid can truly ‘breakaway’ from a difficult past and learn to give back to their community when afforded consistent mentoring relationships and opportunities to serve.

Hear Antwon’s story in his words

15Oct, 2016

Cameo’s Story: From Incarceration to Influence

From Incarceration to Influence

Cameo found himself locked up in a juvenile detention center as a teenager. He was “facing some pretty heavy charges,” but found that God’s transformative presence wasn’t bound by bars and fences. He got involved with a Breakaway Bible study and discovered a life-changing relationship with Jesus. He eventually went back to the inner city with a new purpose in life. Today, Cameo is using his musical talents to influence young people with the hope of the Gospel through Christian hip hop.

15Sep, 2015

Ryan’s Story: God Doesn’t Waste Our Pain

God Will Never Waste Our Pain

As a kid living in San Diego, Ryan described his life as “perfect” until tragedy changed everything on Mother’s Day 2006.

“On that day around 10:30AM, my life would be forever changed,” lamented Ryan. “We were going to Yuma, Arizona to pick up a dog as a Mother’s Day present. We were traveling on a stretch of interstate when all of a sudden the truck started flipping.”

Ryan was airlifted to the hospital where he later discovered the horrific news that his mother, Mellissa, and his sister, Kendra, didn’t survive the crash. He bears a scar on his wrist from that ill-fated day that compares nothing to the hole this tragedy left in his life.

Scared, confused, and disoriented, the 8-year-old was terrified to get back into an automobile. He had constant nightmares that carried him back to the devastating wreck site over and over again. In hopes of starting their lives over, Ryan and his dad moved to Tennessee where they ended up in a public housing neighborhood. Their first night in the hood, there was a stabbing on their front doorstep. Two days into the school year he became the laughing stock of the school for wearing second hand clothes. He was bullied throughout the next three years. “The thoughts of losing my mother and sister plus the bullying was too overwhelming for me. I started having thoughts of ending my own life,” he confessed.

On the day that Ryan was planning to commit suicide, he got an unsuspecting call that informed him of a scholarship opportunity Breakaway Outreach had afforded him to go to summer camp. He postponed ending his life and decided to go and check out camp. “It was the best decision I have ever made,” he said.

Ryan had a life-changing experience at camp that also birthed some new mentoring relationships in his life. He went on Breakaway KidVenturez trips where he learned more about living in community with God’s family. Some volunteers with our ministry started picking him up for church on Sundays where he eventually began playing percussion on the worship team, got into a youth group, and was baptized. Since 2009, he’s been coming back to camp every year where he now serves as a staff leader.

“Before the first year at camp, it was the lowest part of my life,” he said. “I know now that God will never give me more than I can handle. My life still has ups and downs like everyone else, but I know now that God has me no matter what.”

At the time of this writing, Ryan is a few weeks into his freshman year at a Christian college. Two months ago he was part of a mission team of young leaders Breakaway took to Germany to lead a gospel-centered baseball camp for youth and children in Berlin, where Ryan also worked with Syrian, Bosnian, and Albanian refugees who attended our sport camp. It’s hard to imagine where Ryan’s life may have ended up had he not been afforded the kind of mentoring relationships he found through camp.

One of the things he recently told Jimmy was that he wanted to mentor one of the younger boys we brought to camp this year—a boy who has a father incarcerated and has been abused by his stepfather. Ryan is a young man of boundless compassion. God never wastes our pain. He never wastes our suffering. Even though the pain of Ryan’s loss will never go away in this lifetime (it’s not meant to), God will always use it for His redemptive and eternal purposes.

Ryan is now a Shaper because others have played a role in shaping him. We never know how our coming alongside of others is going to have a ripple affect in changing the world. We need to do for one what we wish we could do for everyone. Ryan is proof that a little love can produce a big change in a young person’s life.

UPDATE (September 2016): Ryan has just officially been admitted into the United States Army, where he will be serving his country while continuing his education. We are so proud of this young man and praise God for His redemptive pathways in Ryan’s life!

Thank you Breakaway partners for making all this possible! Your gifts change lives and help us foster resilience in kids facing adversity, helping them turn from despair and grow into responsible contributors to society.