Josh Stephens
Hometown: Jacksonville Beach, FL
Class: Senior (graduating Dec 08)
Major: Bible and Ministry

Josh Stephens is known at Milligan College for his unusual speed on the soccer field as a striker, his amazing ability to score seemingly impossible goals, and his long, brown curls blowing in the wind as he runs down the field. Josh is a very talented soccer player at Milligan who has been a huge asset to the Milligan Buffs over the past three years. However, he sees his talents not as simple skills, but at gifts from God, and he spent his college summer break in 2007 glorifying God with his soccer skills.

As a Bible major, Josh was required to do a summer internship in the ministry. His mentor, Dr. Roberts, encouraged him to do something that he would like to do in the next fiver years. While Josh wants to be a pastor eventually, he wants the opportunity to use his soccer skills for a ministry first, therefore Josh searched for an internship involving both soccer and the ministry. Josh thought back to a promotional video of the Charlotte soccer team that he had watched in high school and decided to pursue an internship with the organization.

“I wanted to use something I love to honor God.”

Josh landed an incredible summer internship with the Charlotte Eagles Soccer Team out of North Carolina, a non-profit Christian professional team. The Eagles soccer organization was started by Brian Davidson, a sports minister who believed in sharing the good news of Christ in relevant ways such as soccer. The Eagles do many evangelical ministries such as sending their players to help set up teams in Africa, and by running children camps in America.

“The whole purpose of the team is to spread the gospel and share with kids. The team represents Christ by playing fairly.”

Josh performed various tasks throughout the summer including office administration work and game day operations, but his main task of the internship was working with the Christian youth soccer camps sponsored by the Eagles.

Josh helped out with the Eagles youth camps not only in Charlotte, but also in South Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. Josh was assigned to a group of kids in the beginning of each week, normally twelve year olds, and he remained with his group for the duration of the camp.

In the morning, Josh and the other soccer counselors would teach various soccer skills to the campers. Following lunch, the teams had to perform a skit for one another, and then they would go to Bible time. At Bible time, Josh shared with his team about the Prodigal Son, which was the theme of each week at camp. During the afternoons the teams would play in an organized World Cup tournament and compete against one another until a winning team was decided at the end of the week. Teaching soccer skills was fairly easy for Josh, but learning patience to share his faith with the campers was slightly more of a challenge.

“It was difficult to get everyone to pay attention at Bible time, but once that happened, I was able to really share the essential truths of Christianity.”

Friday of each week of camp was Decision Day, where the soccer counselors offered a time of prayer and decisions to ask Christ into their hearts. In the beginning of the summer, Josh struggled with the concept of telling a seven year old that he was saved based on what the camper learned in one week at soccer camp.

“It was a growing experience for me. By the end of the summer I learned to emphasize that salvation is a life-long process but it begins with a decision like the kids first made at camp. Praying for Christ to come into their hearts was a good starting point, but it takes so much more and I tried to stress that.”

While Josh forever influenced campers lives through his soccer skills and faith, he also was greatly impacted himself because of the internship. Josh had the unique opportunity to train with the Charlotte Eagles over the summer and develop his soccer skills.

“The team took me in as a player and a friend. They helped to take my play to the next level because I was playing with a professional team. I became much quicker and cleaned up my game. My success this year at Milligan with making First Team All-Conference was a direct result of playing with the Eagles this past summer.”

More importantly than developing his soccer skills though, Josh was able to deepen his faith by being surrounded by fellow Christian soccer players.

“The players set powerful examples of what it means to follow Christ. It really challenged me to look at why I play soccer. In the past, it had always been a selfish pursuit for me. However, the Eagles helped me to reject that thought and realize that I can use my God given abilities to honor God.

Josh still has one more season to look forward to with Milligan College, and following graduation he hopes to play professional soccer. He also wants to do ministry through coaching soccer and eventually become an ordained pastor.

“Soccer is a form of worship. If you give yourself fully to God like worship at Church, God is praised through it.”

Josh's internship were made possible in part by the Institute for Servant Leadership, a spiritual program at Milligan College, helping students to discover their call in servant leadership and to discern their own vocation path through leadership, service, and faith.

Josh Stephens is known at Milligan College for his unusual speed on the soccer field as a striker, his amazing ability to score seemingly impossible goals, and his long, brown curls blowing in the wind as he runs down the field. Josh is a very talented soccer player at Milligan who has been a huge asset to the Milligan Buffs over the past three years. However, he sees his talents not as simple skills, but at gifts from God, and he spent his college summer break in 2007 glorifying God with his soccer skills.

As a Bible major, Josh was required to do a summer internship in the ministry. His mentor, Dr. Roberts, encouraged him to do something that he would like to do in the next fiver years. While Josh wants to be a pastor eventually, he wants the opportunity to use his soccer skills for a ministry first, therefore Josh searched for an internship involving both soccer and the ministry. Josh thought back to a promotional video of the Charlotte soccer team that he had watched in high school and decided to pursue an internship with the organization.

“I wanted to use something I love to honor God.”

Josh landed an incredible summer internship with the Charlotte Eagles Soccer Team out of North Carolina, a non-profit Christian professional team. The Eagles soccer organization was started by Brian Davidson, a sports minister who believed in sharing the good news of Christ in relevant ways such as soccer. The Eagles do many evangelical ministries such as sending their players to help set up teams in Africa, and by running children camps in America.

“The whole purpose of the team is to spread the gospel and share with kids. The team represents Christ by playing fairly.”

Josh performed various tasks throughout the summer including office administration work and game day operations, but his main task of the internship was working with the Christian youth soccer camps sponsored by the Eagles.

Josh helped out with the Eagles youth camps not only in Charlotte, but also in South Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. Josh was assigned to a group of kids in the beginning of each week, normally twelve year olds, and he remained with his group for the duration of the camp.

In the morning, Josh and the other soccer counselors would teach various soccer skills to the campers. Following lunch, the teams had to perform a skit for one another, and then they would go to Bible time. At Bible time, Josh shared with his team about the Prodigal Son, which was the theme of each week at camp. During the afternoons the teams would play in an organized World Cup tournament and compete against one another until a winning team was decided at the end of the week. Teaching soccer skills was fairly easy for Josh, but learning patience to share his faith with the campers was slightly more of a challenge.

“It was difficult to get everyone to pay attention at Bible time, but once that happened, I was able to really share the essential truths of Christianity.”

Friday of each week of camp was Decision Day, where the soccer counselors offered a time of prayer and decisions to ask Christ into their hearts. In the beginning of the summer, Josh struggled with the concept of telling a seven year old that he was saved based on what the camper learned in one week at soccer camp.

“It was a growing experience for me. By the end of the summer I learned to emphasize that salvation is a life-long process but it begins with a decision like the kids first made at camp. Praying for Christ to come into their hearts was a good starting point, but it takes so much more and I tried to stress that.”

While Josh forever influenced campers lives through his soccer skills and faith, he also was greatly impacted himself because of the internship. Josh had the unique opportunity to train with the Charlotte Eagles over the summer and develop his soccer skills.

“The team took me in as a player and a friend. They helped to take my play to the next level because I was playing with a professional team. I became much quicker and cleaned up my game. My success this year at Milligan with making First Team All-Conference was a direct result of playing with the Eagles this past summer.”

More importantly than developing his soccer skills though, Josh was able to deepen his faith by being surrounded by fellow Christian soccer players.

“The players set powerful examples of what it means to follow Christ. It really challenged me to look at why I play soccer. In the past, it had always been a selfish pursuit for me. However, the Eagles helped me to reject that thought and realize that I can use my God given abilities to honor God.

Josh still has one more season to look forward to with Milligan College, and following graduation he hopes to play professional soccer. He also wants to do ministry through coaching soccer and eventually become an ordained pastor.

“Soccer is a form of worship. If you give yourself fully to God like worship at Church, God is praised through it.”

Josh's internship were made possible in part by the Institute for Servant Leadership, a spiritual program at Milligan College, helping students to discover their call in servant leadership and to discern their own vocation path through leadership, service, and faith.

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