Athlete has passion for game, his faith

Daniel Hobbs is hanging on to a dream to play basketball on the college level.

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Although Daniel has yet to be accepted to any college, he will use his undergraduate work as a springboard for a career in ministry and hopes a basketball scholarship can pave the way.

"I'm planning on going into youth ministry," said Daniel, 17. "And I'm looking for a program that can lead me up to the seminary."

Marty Griffin, the head basketball coach at Augusta Christian, has watched his player grow on and off the court.

"I have coached Daniel for five years at ACS," said Griffin. "He has an outstanding work ethic and great passion for the game of basketball. He gives great effort on the court and is a very intense player."

While he has a passion for the game -- Daniel is also on the football and baseball teams at ACS -- he also has a desire to share the word of God with others.

For the past two summers, Daniel has been a member of the Warren Baptist Church mission team to Guadalajara, Mexico. Each time, the local group has ministered to the town's people through a drama about Christ.

"Guadalajara is the biggest marketplace," said Daniel, the son of Danny and Gwen Hobbs, of Evans. "There were tons of people and it was very crowded. We went into the middle of streets and performed a drama. As soon as the drama was over, we would minister to the people who saw the drama."

Daniel said an estimated 620 people were reached through the last mission trip earlier this year. It is that call to reach even more people that is drawing Daniel into the ministry.

Daniel, like a few of his classmates, has been a student at Augusta Christian since kindergarten. With graduation lingering in the wings, he knows he soon will leave the safe haven of ACS and venture into uncharted waters.

"My teachers; I absolutely love them," said Daniel, who participated in last year's Columbia County Youth Leadership Program. "They are all strong in Christ and so am I."

Daniel is most concerned about leaving his teachers -- nurturing Christians he has come to know as friends -- as he heads off to college.

"I guess I'm worried about not having professors that have the same Christian faith that I do," he said.

As far as Griffin sees it, Daniel will be well-prepared for his future.

"I have seen Daniel mature considerably over the past year and know that God will use him in a special way in the future," he said.