What I’ve come to realize is that the only reason that I’ve been granted the lifestyle and fame that I have is so that I can use this platform to reach out and give to others.
My wife and I used to host different events for different people and organizations as we were looking for our passion. We didn’t know what our calling was so we kept our ears and eyes open to see what God would show us. Eventually, what became so glaringly obvious to us was that we had a great passion to provide others with the basic needs: food, water and shelter — the things people can’t live without.
With this mission in mind, we searched for good, strong, Christian ministries already in place that we could partner with to meet the basic needs of those around the world. Since then we’ve been able to partner with Crisis Aid to feed kids in Ethiopia who are days from death. We’ve also had the privilege to work with Water Mission International, which supplies clean drinking water to millions of people across the world. Through Water Mission, Jenny and I have been able to provide clean water to people in Africa, Honduras, Haiti, Mexico and all throughout the world. It’s so empowering and rewarding to know that we are able to give water to people, many of whom have never had one glass of clean water in their whole lives.
A few years ago I had the privilege of going to Honduras to meet the people who are running this ministry as well as the people who were benefitting from it. Seeing the impact this mission made in their lives — experiencing firsthand the power and healing that was taking place — the impact was dramatic. Not only was the impact dramatic for the people of this village, it was dramatic for me too. Jenny and I don’t want to just be a textbook resource, we want to be a part of the lives of those that we are able to serve.
“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” — Acts 20:35
In addition to partnering with these organizations, Jenny and I have a two charities of our own. Through Major League Baseball, we have set up a charity called Big League Impact, where we play fantasy sports with fans from numerous different cities, raising money for charities in each individual city as well as for Water Mission International.
And our family charity organization is called 25:35, based off of the passage in Matthew which says:
“For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” — Matthew 25:35
That is our mission statement. By finding ways to reach out and use this platform of baseball to share the Gospel in real and practical ways with people around the world, I have really learned that it is so much greater to give than to receive.
— Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher
The Increase, part of the Sports Spectrum Network, is a community of Christian pro athletes sharing their personal stories of the decrease of self and the increase of Christ (John 3:30). Visit TheIncrease.com for more stories and videos.
