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Chris and Amber Porter serve with Athletes in Action and are support partnersof New City. They also attend at SouthPark and are highly involved on volunteer teams. A few weeks ago, when he was volunteering as a seating host, Chris got to experience an Only God moment when his years of New City ministry and his years of Athletes in Action ministry came together right in the aisle between services. If you ever wonder if your support makes a difference, this is a story you want to read.

Chris wrote up the Only God moment for us to share.
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A day I won’t forget…

A few weeks ago, while I was seating folks at the 9:30 service on Sunday, I was stopped by fellow volunteer Herb Hautau. Although we had only exchanged occasional greetings over the years, this time Herb approached me with a question. He asked if I worked for Athletes in Action (AIA), and I replied, "Yes, my wife and I have been on staff for 30 years." Herb then shared that his son had been a diver at the University of North Carolina (UNC) in the mid-‘80s and was involved with AIA. This led me to ask if he knew Mike and Kim Echstenkamper, the couple who have faithfully led the athletic ministry at UNC since 1982. Herb lit up with recognition and explained that he and his late wife had been supporting them since 1985. Sadly, on January 9, Mike lost a two-year battle with cancer after decades of impact on everyone who knew him.

Just before seeing Herb, I had run into a visiting couple, Susannah and Nate, whose daughter and son-in-law attend New City. I have known this couple since college when Susannah played field hockey at UNC and was deeply involved in AIA. She later married Nate, who she met through AIA, and they served on staff with AIA for a few years. They now live in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where Nate pastors a small church and Susannah is an elementary school teacher.

After my conversation with Herb, I saw Ken Samuelson walk in. Ken hassupported our ministry for years and the Echstenkampers at UNC for decades. After the service ended, I got to witness an amazing thing. I got to bring Ken and Herb together and make the connection that they had both been supporting the Echstenkampers and the work they did for over four decades! They chuckled and shared a few stories.

As they chatted, I brought Susannah over and introduced her to Ken and Herb and shared that these two gentlemen had faithfully given to Athletes in Action at UNC for over 40 years. Through tears, Susanah looked at them and told the story of sitting down with Mike Echstenkamper in 1992 as he shared the gospel with her; she accepted Jesus, and her life was changed.

As if that were not enough, I brought Abbey, Susannah’s daughter into the conversation. Abbey not only attends New City but also played volleyball at Queens University with my daughter Ella. Those two girls had an amazing witness and impact and have left a legacy of believers who are still on the team.

Abbey was able to meet Ken and Herb, who faithfully supported Mike and Kim at UNC where her mom, Susannah, accepted Jesus. She and Nate raised Abbey in a Christian home where she too made that choice to follow Jesus and then live out her faith out on the volleyball team here in Charlotte at Queens with my daughter.

I looked at Ken and Herb. “If you’ve ever wondered if your giving has made a difference, you should look no further!”

God never ceases to amaze. Two men in Charlotte who have supported a sports ministry in Chapel Hill for 40+ years worshiping on the same day at the same hour, while visitors they had never seen before sat a couple rows over whose lives were changed 34 years ago by the ministry they supported. This continues through young people at Queens and now at NewCity.  What a moment it was!

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