{"id":2303,"date":"2013-02-14T07:03:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-14T07:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/basketball-pros-to-become-catholic-campus-missionaries\/"},"modified":"2013-02-14T07:03:00","modified_gmt":"2013-02-14T07:03:00","slug":"basketball-pros-to-become-catholic-campus-missionaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/02\/basketball-pros-to-become-catholic-campus-missionaries\/","title":{"rendered":"Basketball pros to become Catholic campus missionaries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Denver, Colo., Feb 14, 2013 \/ 12:03 am (CNA<\/a>).- Best friends Jennifer Risper and Christina Wirth have given up professional basketball to become Catholic missionaries with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students' outreach to student athletes.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIt is always a wonderful consolation to see young people of such caliber decide to serve the Lord and to have a heart for reaching other athletes,\u201d Thomas Wurtz, director of the FOCUS division Varsity Catholic, told CNA Feb. 13.<\/p>\n

\tThe two women became professional athletes with the WNBA and in Europe after award-winning careers playing basketball for Vanderbilt University. Now they will leave their professional basketball team in Romania to join Varsity Catholic. They will be the first professional athletes to serve as missionaries with the organization.<\/p>\n

\tWurtz said they will be \u201ca tremendous addition\u201d to FOCUS' campus missionaries.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThere is such a need for Catholics to serve and form athletes, and Christina and Jennifer will no doubt be a blessing for a number of women on campus,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\tBoth Risper and Wirth said their decision was based on a desire to share their faith.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI realized that God wanted to use me through sports. I know that I\u2019ve been successful through God\u2019s grace,\u201d Risper told FOCUS. \u201cI had to ask myself, \u2018do you think you\u2019ll be able to impact other athletes?\u2019 and thought, \u2018I really think I can, and I want to.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\tWirth said there are many Christian organizations for athletes but Varsity Catholic is specifically Catholic.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cAs much as I benefitted from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in college, I think this is really special and a great opportunity to take the Catholic faith to people, especially to athletes,\u201d she told FOCUS.<\/p>\n

\tVarsity Catholic launched in 2007 as a division of FOCUS to address the unique needs of college athletes, the Varsity Catholic website says. Twelve former college athletes and coaches presently serve as missionaries on 20 campuses through the program.<\/p>\n

\tThe program provides one-on-one mentoring, community service opportunities, and Bible studies that are consistent with Catholic teaching. Varsity Catholic also hosts mission camps to teach sports and the Catholic faith to impoverished youth.<\/p>\n

\tWNBA teams drafted both Risper and Wirth in 2009. Wirth\u2019s team, the Indiana Fever, played in the 2009 WNBA championship, while Risper played for the Chicago Sky. They have been roommates while playing on professional teams in Slovakia, Portugal and Romania.<\/p>\n

\tWurtz said that the two athletes\u2019 experience in sports gives them a different perspective.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThey will definitely command a high level of respect from the athletic world which will hopefully catapult their ability to build relationships with the athletes they will be serving,\u201d he said. \u201cWorking with athletes can be a very challenging task and having this new perspective should bring a great energy and dynamism that will add to the experiences of our dedicated staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tWirth said that American culture has expectations of athletes and puts pressure on them, but this also gives athletes a platform \u201cthat can be used to spread the Gospel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI think it\u2019s important for those athletes to have an influence in their lives that can help them personally grow, but also show them what a great opportunity they have to lead other people to Christ,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\tRisper and Wirth became friends when the met in college in 2005. Wirth said the two have been \u201cjust trying to grow in our Catholic faith and holiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe always say, \u2018let\u2019s be saints together\u2019 and I think that has been the coolest thing \u2013 to have God give me the grace in opening my eyes to what He has for me \u2013 and even more special, having a best friend to encourage me in that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tRisper said Wirth helped her rediscover her Catholic faith after years in which she identified as a non-denominational Christian.<\/p>\n

\tBoth said they are anxious about their work as missionaries, but they are trusting in God and asking others to pray for them.<\/p>\n

\tThe Varsity Catholic website is www.varsitycatholic.org.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Denver, Colo., Feb 14, 2013 \/ 12:03 am (CNA).- Best friends Jennifer Risper and Christina Wirth have given up professional basketball to become Catholic missionaries with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students' outreach to student athletes….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nBasketball pros to become Catholic campus missionaries<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Denver, Colo., Feb 14, 2013 \/ 12:03 am (CNA).- Best friends Jennifer Risper and Christina Wirth have given up professional basketball to become Catholic missionaries with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students' outreach to student athletes....\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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