Each November through March on Saturday evenings at Cresskill’s Northern Valley EFC gymnasium, six teams of approximately 10 boys each do battle on the basketball court. The Church Basketball League has been around in its current form since 1990. Many of the boys that play in the league would never step into a church of any kind without having a ministry like this one in place. All of the churches involved with the league have a requirement that all the players have to attend one service of theirs each week of the season.

Zach Guyton pastor at Bethany EFC in West Orange brings two teams since so many young high school men try out for the team. Guyton said, "The league is great. It gives us leverage with at-risk young men to invite them to play in a real league. It raises the bar for us."

Since basketball is the biggest winter sport, particularly in Northern New Jersey, its draw is a tremendous outreach to the community. Probably the best aspect of the league besides the high level of play is the fact that it is a fully integrated league with players from all nationalities participating from both suburban and urban communities. That is the beauty of sports in general. It brings together all races into an arena of intense fellowship on a basketball court. The games are played under High School rules and officiated by NJSIAA certified officials.

Pastor Zach said, "Many of our teens do not come from Christian homes and have no concept of a healthy male role model." When a player tries out, Pastor Zach has them sign a contract that they will study the Bible together before playing the game and that they will be respectful. "Before the first game we have the boys come to the gym dressed up. We also ask that out of appreciation for sponsoring the team that they come out to church during the season. It is encouraging to a smaller congregation to see these young men come out to church. We have decided to use our limited resources to reach out to kids in the neighborhood through basketball. Some have accepted Christ and then discipleship is offered. Even after they have graduated, a few continue to come to church and even a few parents have begun to come regularly."

Hansen wrote, "Also, each church brings almost 100 fans to these events so the gym is usually packed each and every Saturday night during the season. Most of the churches involved with the league are EFCA but the league has branched out to non-denominational churches as well. The league has never had to recruit any new churches into it because word gets around how effective the league is in bringing boys into churches through this ministry. Many youth ministries have been strengthened by this ministry as the result of teens having something constructive to do on Saturday nights. Since Northern New Jersey high schools do not play games on Saturday nights, there is no competition from any other high school athletics that the students are involved with."

The league has been instrumental in giving credibility to Bethany EFC in the community and the school. The mayor and police chief have both stopped by Bethany Church to thank Pastor Zach and his congregation for their involvement in the community. Not every teen that plays made the cut for the varsity squad at high school, but the team has become so well respected in West Orange that a few students who made the cut to play at school have decided that they would rather play for Bethany. It is becoming cool to wear the Bethany jersey in the halls at school. Truly the EDA theme of "Churches without Walls" is clearly demonstrated by the NVEFC Basketball league!

David Hansen can be reached at pastordave@northenvalleyefc.org
Zach Guyton can be reached at zachreen@yahoo.com