Tricks that count
S.O.A.R. Dunk shares gospel through stunt performances
There is not just one way to serve Christ. Knocking on doors and passing out literature is not the only way to reach people. One Liberty University ministry team has developed their own unique style of serving.
Showcase — Liberty’s S.O.A.R. Dunk ministry team captures audiences’ attention as team members share their faith in unconventional ways. Photo credit: Isaac Apon
The S.O.A.R. (Soul’d Out and Ready) Dunk team is the most unconventional of Liberty’s recruiting groups, according to the Ministry Team website, performing aerial acrobatics off trampolines, dunking basketballs and sharing their testimonies.
“First and foremost, (the team members are) ambassadors of Christ and of Liberty,” Jim Jackson, associate director of the Department of Ministry Teams, said.
This year’s team, coached by former member Shawn Lewis, consists of seven Liberty students who travel the Southeast, entertaining and ministering to school and church audiences and encouraging high school students to come to Liberty.
“They capture them with their shows, then when the students meet the guys, hear from them, hear their hearts — they really listen,”
Jackson said.
The team, which comes up with most of its own stunts, awes crowds with feats such as backflips, mid-air leapfrogging, and even having one member do a handstand on the rim while another slam dunks a basketball in front of his face.
This year, the travel schedule takes them down to South Carolina and as far north as Pennsylvania, performing at different venues nearly every weekend through April.
While 95 percent of the S.O.A.R. Dunk team’s performances are for Christian schools and Baptist churches, they are the only ministry team that public schools will accept, Jackson said.
“We’ll give a message of integrity and good character,” Jackson said. “Sometimes a school will ask us to speak on anti-bullying.”
According to the site, Joseph Morecraft from Fellowship Christian School in Roswell, Georgia, was impressed with the S.O.A.R. Dunk team and their impact.
“They not only kept the entire student body entertained with their acrobatics, they brought the message back down to earth when one of the team members shared his testimony,” Morecraft said.
The team performs annually at Liberty’s Homecoming, as well as during halftime for basketball games in the Vines Center, according to Jackson.
Abby Chennells, a freshman at Liberty, discovered one of S.O.A.R.’s promotional videos and said she would love to see them live.
“They looked like a really high energy group, and I think it would be a really great experience,” Chennells said.
The team evolves as members come and go, with two to three tryouts taking place per year, narrowing from an initial “show us your best dunk” tryout to a rigorous interview process.
An eight-day training camp takes place before classes start, during which all the ministry teams rehearse for the upcoming year.
For more information on the S.O.A.R. Dunk team and their upcoming shows, visit liberty.edu/ministryteams.
RIEGEL is a feature reporter.