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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIt\u2019s a difficult job, but Sandoval jumped in without hesitation. Josiah Smith, the captain of St. Frances Cabrini\u2019s team, said that he was offered the responsibility at one point, but it was too much for him to accept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEveryone shows their gratitude toward him for keeping this league going and allowing the community to come together all around Wilson County and the area \u2014 to bring their churches together to play this awesome game, have fellowship, and get to know one another,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for him doing this and stepping up, we might not have that Wilson County church league [that] we have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s good that he did because the league has been a blessing to many people as a way to exercise, enjoy a sport people love, and simply be out in the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not in this to make a career out of it, so to see that people take time out of their Saturday to come and be committed to play this game and be a part of their community means a lot,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt\u2019s much more than just coming out here and getting your exercise and going home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many other league members are integral to the organization\u2019s success, like referees Keandre Bates, Macieo Gaines, and Nic Doak; bookkeepers John Presley and Alex Britt; and scorekeeper Julian Crutchfield. Crutchfield began as a scorekeeper simply to help out Sandoval, but his motivation soon grew into something more significant as the league continued to connect so many people in the community. Children, wives, grandmothers, cousins, and friends come out to see people play and, over time, form friendships with people from other churches that extend outside the league.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe all at the core of our beliefs believe in unity and love, and I think that sometimes we struggle in ways to express that,\u201d Crutchfield said. \u201cWe don\u2019t come up with a lot of opportunities that I\u2019m aware of to share that with people outside of who we go to church with on Sunday. I think that the church league does an amazing job of giving everybody in the community a chance to show that common belief of unity and love in the form of basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sports has always been a great unifier. As long as groups like the Lebanon Church Basketball League continue to unify Wilson County, the community will continue to do great things. GN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
EVERY SATURDAY in the spring, the gym of First Baptist Lebanon is filled with the sound of sneakers squeaking on glossy floors, balls swishing through hoops, and rousing cheers as members of Lebanon\u2019s many churches gather to play basketball. It\u2019s an afternoon of friendly rivalry and togetherness that has become a tradition for many congregations […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":21793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n