Meet Danielle Thomas, one of our newest full-time missionaries. After receiving her PhD in Sociology from Louisiana State University last May, Danielle officially joined the SportQuest Staff in the Fall of 2017. She gives leadership to SQ Baton Rouge, serves on the Global Facilitation Team, and is our Social Media Coordinator.
Tell a little bit about yourself and where you’re from.
I grew up in Kentucky. I fell in love with soccer as a kid and later also played softball. Sports were my main identity growing up, but, in college, life took a different direction when I was injured and couldn’t play anymore. I focused on my studies, eventually going all the way through a PhD program in sociology and started discovering new ways to be involved in sports beyond being on the field.
What made you choose to serve with SportQuest Ministries?
SportQuest became part of my life right as I was transitioning from being an athlete into becoming something else. I wasn’t sure what life would look like after building my entire identity around sports and then having my playing career abruptly ended. My first experience with SportQuest helped me understand sports as mission, not just something I was talented in. That was a radical shift in perspective, I was excited to begin working full-time with SportQuest and have opportunities to help other athletes understand their athletic gifts through the lens of the Gospel and the Great Commission.
What is your favorite thing about your ministry in Baton Rouge?
My favorite thing is spending time on the sidelines watching kids in our programs play and getting to know their parents. In high school, I remember feeling closest to God when I was on the soccer field. It just always felt like a sacred place to me. Now, the sidelines are still that sacred place where I love meeting with God and connecting with people at practices and games for our kids.
What has been your biggest challenge so far?
The biggest challenge so far has been stepping out in faith to join SportQuest full-time and trusting the Lord to build a team here in Baton Rouge to serve with. I have a lot of partners (churches and other organizations), but day-to-day ministry sometimes feels lonely because the Lord has asked me to step in an unexpected direction and things are still so new. We’ve had a summer project here for six years but figuring out what SQ Baton Rouge looks like year-round is pioneering work.
Prayer Requests
- Please pray for the Lord to raise up people to serve alongside me in the neighborhood and city that can become part of my team
- Pray that I will continue to be faithful to the Lord and grow in spiritual maturity — that I will not be afraid to step into the roles the Lord has for me because I am leaning on Him and His truth
- Pray for the kids in the Gardere community to come to know Jesus and to become disciple-makers in their neighborhood.
