Dear Friends,
A new year is upon us. As I Iook back not only on 2024, but on my 32 years of Face to Face interviews, I am reminded of some of the people I met early in my career and where they are now. In 2002, I met a young outfielder during spring training at Dodgertown in Vero Beach Florida. Dave Roberts was in his first year with the Los Angeles Dodgers after minor league stints with the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians. He was excited to be in the majors, and in the interview, he hoped he could have an impact on the team.
This past year Dave Roberts was the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and led them to a world championship.
In the 2002 interview, he talked about becoming a Christian in 1996 while he was a minor leaguer with the Detroit Tigers. He had accepted Christ through the ministry of the Tigers chaplain at their spring training home in Lakeland, Florida.
Born in Okinawa, raised in Oceanside, California, Roberts was the son of a Marine Corp veteran and his Japanese wife. Baseball meant everything to him, but as he told me at that time, “Baseball has now fallen to third behind knowing the Lord and my family.”
I haven’t talked to Dave in years, but even though you will hear nothing about it in the mainstream media, Roberts’ faith is still foremost in his life. And talk about impact. In a recent podcast for Sports Spectrum ministries, Roberts said, “My faith has impacted the clubhouse because I live my life a certain way. I think that people see Christ through me, and that’s sort of what we want to create in the clubhouse.”
As I work with a lot of high school athletes now, I wonder what they will become. Most will never experience the roar of the crowd as a professional ballplayer, but they can experience the same peace that Dave Roberts has in knowing Jesus Christ. And I am experiencing the excitement of seeing kids’ desire to know Christ.
One of my long time friends is Devon McDonald. Devon played on the last Notre Dame team to win a national championship in 1988. He also spent some time playing for the Indianapolis Colts. Every year for the past few years, Devon has come to Columbus North to speak in one of our football and basketball chapels. Chapel is voluntary, but at a recent North basketball chapel, which involves both girls’ and boy’s teams all of the players from the teams came to hear Devon talk about his experiences and his faith in Christ. Currently Devon is with Athletes in Action and supervises the ministry of several chaplains in the National Football League.
Its an exciting time for me. In 2025, we hope to partner with several ministries to athletes around the country. Though I may not be doing as many interviews like I did with Dave Roberts in 2002, the Face to Face ministry will continue to spread the gospel through sports.
Thank you for your part in making this happen with your prayers and donations. By the way, I dug out my old cassette player that I used in 2002 and the complete Dave Roberts interview from back then is now on our website at www.facetofaceradio.com. Be sure and listen.
I hope 2025 is a blessed year for you.
Sincerely in Christ,
Tom Rust
