For the RHEMA Eagles, winning has more to do with life off the court than on it. Like any team with a desire to win championships, the Eagles put in long hours of intense training to be at the top of their game. But the first priority isn’t practice or game time—it’s living for God and serving Him day-to-day.

Building on a championship tradition is important to Eagles players and coaches. Paramount, however, is building the Kingdom of God by demonstrating His love to a hurting world while learning to depend on the Living God for guidance, growth, and sustenance.

“I never want to say God is on our team,” said men’s Coach Perry Shockley. “God is with every team in the country and with Christian kids. But as in life, when you fellowship with God and you receive what He has, you can draw from Him, and these guys are really drawing from the Lord and doing things as unto God.”

The Eagles volunteer their time to play basketball amid the demands of studies at RHEMA Bible Training Center, service at RHEMA Bible Church, and work. Through it all, coaches motivate players to first consider the welfare of others. Eagles men’s and women’s teams have given their time to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ at children’s hospitals, camps, juvenile detention centers, Indian reservations, and nursing homes. They also participate in church outreaches and pray, worship, and study the Bible together.

“As we put the list of God’s priorities first, He takes care of our list of priorities,” said women’s Coach Olivia DiCamilli.

RHEMA’s non-scholarship program has already made a mark as a national basketball power in the USCAA and ACCA. Still, Eagles coaches endeavor foremost to help players be living epistles who demonstrate the love of God to their teammates, and fans—while being formidable opponents for the toughest squads in the nation.

“On the court, we’re a family of believers,” Coach DiCamilli said. “We put into practice what we learn in the classroom. Here, we are a team of ministry school students. We’re basically David going against Goliath. We’re learning how to walk in love as a team. In the Body of Christ, self-interest has to be lower in importance than the team’s interests.”

Athletic accomplishments, though exciting and satisfying, are no match for the eternal rewards of giving stuffed animals covered in prayer to hospitalized children, or ministering to the elderly who are lonely and hurting in the isolation of a nursing home.

In addition to serving God, players learn one of life’s most important lessons—how to rely on Him. Reliance brings tangible results. God has supplied material needs and healed injuries. Over the years, many players have been healed of injuries that would have prevented them from playing.

When fierce competition on the court and the demands of student life off it present formidable challenges, the Eagles can also rely on each other for strength and support. Through it all coaches watch in awe of how God works.

“It’s the most humbling thing in the world, because you realize you have no part in the growth,” Coach DiCamilli said. “You can only sow seed and water, but God causes the growth.”