Charisma Magazine

Born with a hearing problem—in addition to having speech issues and wearing glasses and braces—Olympic Gold Medalist and WNBA All-Star Tamika Catchings was made fun of for most of her childhood. That is, until she realized she had a knack for playing sports. 

“No matter what sport it was, no one could make fun of me,” says Catchings, who eventually decided to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a professional basketball player. She dedicated her life to achieving that dream. 

Over time, however, Catchings says basketball “became my god.” It wasn’t until she damaged her ACL during a college game that she realized it was time to recommit herself to Christ. Only then did she begin living her dream.

A four-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Catchings plays for the Indiana Fever and has been highly successful over the years both on and off the court. While she has a passion for basketball, she also enjoys helping youth to establish goals for their own lives. 

In 2004 Catchings started the Catch the Stars Foundation, which provides academic and sports-related programs for underprivileged youth in Indianapolis. About 1,500 youth, ages 9 to 16, have been affected by her organization. “Everything is achievable by goals,” says Catchings, who believes she can help students follow their dreams. 

Catch the Stars is “focused around the goal-setting principle,” she says. Catchings would like to expand her organization, but in the meantime, she’ll continue being a role model. “For me, it’s about being a witness for Him.”

Jesus prayed in John 17 that the world would know His followers by their love. Yet nearly half of evangelicals recently polled in America cite a lack of love as one of the primary contributions U.S. Christians have made to society.

Some 48 percent listed a lack of love for others, as well as violence, hatred, bigotry and intolerance as Christians' greatest negative contributions, according to a nationwide survey of American adults released Monday by The Barna Group. By comparison, only about 25 percent of the nation listed those same items as the most negative.

The difference reflected the survey's findings that evangelicals are even more likely than many other Americans to acknowledge the faults of believers. They were "the single, most critical subgroup of all," according to the report, and least likely of all respondents to say they were unable to identify any negative contributions by Christians.