Cedarville Basketball Ministry impacts lives beyond the game

By Emily Tuttle

On a Sunday afternoon, dozens of men gather in Cedarville University’s gymnasium, where there is a euphony of sounds: basketballs bouncing rhythmically, a ball swishing through the net, teammates communicating with each other. But after an hour, the sounds stop.

The men pause play to hear a message from the word of God. Competition collides with Christ-centered community at CU Basketball Ministry, an organization that leverages basketball to share the gospel, turning casual open gyms into a movement. 

Cam Arminio, Ministry Director, began this idea seven years ago as a way to use a sport he loved to connect with others, and at the time, about 15 men would show up to hoop. Now, they have a group chat of over 80 players who are invited to play on Sundays. 

Arminio grew up playing basketball but wasn’t saved until the summer before college. He played collegiate ball for three years at Otterbein University before stepping away from the team due to injuries. 

“Because of my faith, it was really neat how God used that to make me more like him, but also give me a passion to use a sport that I love for a different purpose than I ever expected,” Arminio said. 

When he started working as the Associate Director of Career Services at Cedarville, Arminio began open gyms on campus, as he did at Otterbein during his senior year. Then, two years ago, he went on a mission trip to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he was challenged: how could he think through the ways the Lord had gifted him and use them to serve Christ?

For Arminio, it was simple. His gift was basketball.

Instead of just playing open gyms on Sundays, Arminio dreamed of giving Sunday hoops a ministry-centered purpose.

CU Basketball Ministry was formed officially “to leverage basketball as a platform for building a Christ-centered community, nurturing spiritual growth  and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Last year, the ministry was officially registered through the Global Outreach Office. 

Their values are proclamation, relationships and competition. Guided by these pillars, they share messages at weekly open gyms while competing, ultimately forming lasting relationships. 

“God is using it to hopefully spread the Word in a way that is natural and giving interest for other people,” Arminio said. “Our goal is to be a light and be an example to others.”

They have reached this goal through the formation of a leadership team with different roles to help the ministry run smoothly. One thing all the members share in common: the desire to reach people outside of Cedarville’s community. 

Arminio has held open gyms in Xenia and Springfield and is working on building connections with Wittenberg University. He wants others to capture the heart posture of using their sport as a ministry.

The ministry’s Instagram account and word of mouth are its main advertising means. God has been using basketball in large ways in the surrounding area, producing fruit and starting gospel conversations. 

Over the past couple of weeks, God brought two men from inner-city Dayton to Sunday’s open gym. One, an atheist from Germany and the other, growing up in a Muslim home, both heard a halftime gospel message from ministry leader, Ondrej Plasil. Plasil shared from the end of Luke 16 about the reality of hell. The student from Germany, starting to grasp the gospel, asked Plasil, “If I don’t believe in God, I will go to hell?” 

Arminio also had a connection through his church to a man with a Jehovah’s Witness background. After inviting him to open gyms over the past year, Arminio has had multiple gospel conversations as the man listens to sermons and grapples with the truth. The man and his mother have been attending church with Arminio as well.

Open gyms have led to connections, connections lead to gospel conversations and ministry. 

“It’s one of those things that you look at and it’s like, that’s only because of God,” Arminio said. 

Arminio has the special opportunity as the ministry director to guide his leadership team of four Cedarville students. He tries to encourage them to take what they’re learning in the classroom or at chapel and apply it to their lives.

“The opportunity to lead other men is such a joy, to see them grow and step up as leaders,” Arminio said. 

Plasil, serving as Mission Trip Coordinator on the discipleship team, came to Cedarville from the Czech Republic to play varsity basketball for the Jackets, his story intertwining with Arminio’s.

Plasil grew up in the Czech Republic in a non-believing household and had never heard of Cedarville, Ohio. Through a basketball camp, he and his family were saved. At the camp, he mentioned to a Cedarville student that he wanted to play college basketball, and soon Dr. White received a text that Plasil loved Jesus and wanted to play basketball at Cedarville.

When he came to campus for a visit, Plasil met Arminio, who presented what Cedarville was about. Through their similar upbringing and shared love of basketball, they connected immediately.

“Little did I know that eventually we would end up running a basketball ministry together,” Plasil said.

Plasil stepped away from the varsity team this year as the Lord was changing his desires and future path. He saw many opportunities to get involved at Cedarville and did not want to spend five to six hours a day in the gym. 

“I just want to steward my time differently,” Plasil said. “I want to maximize my time here. I want to go as much as possible and be prepared as much as possible to hopefully go back to Czech and share the gospel there.”

Plasil has the chance to do just that this summer, helping Arminio lead a mission trip with the basketball ministry to his hometown, Pelhrimov, Czech Republic. His role entails communicating with the local church in Pelhrimov and working with Christian Basketball Academy, which his dad established.

Those who go on the trip will ultimately do the same work they do at Cedarville—use basketball as a tool to share the gospel. To Plasil, returning to his hometown to have the opportunity to minister at a basketball camp, just like the one he got saved at, is “incredible.”

“God just reached the Czech Republic, picked me up and put me into this amazing school, and I’m just a vestle,” Plasil said. “I just want to be used, and I’m so happy God is using me because I love my country, I love my people, I love my hometown.”

Arminio, Plasil and many others partner together for a greater purpose than basketball—pursuing discipleship within the ministry, allowing lives to be transformed. It’s about more than basketball; it’s about eternity.

“A sport that I idolized my whole life, then God saved me, then started transforming this sport into a ministry,” Arminio said. “That’s kind of the goal for everybody: the things that we idolize to change that.”

CU Basketball Ministry will further their gospel influence by hosting their annual fall tournament this Friday, October 10, at the outdoor courts, combining basketball with community.

Emily Tuttle is a junior Journalism major and the sports editor of Cedars. She is passionate about Philly sports, exercise and all things silly.