Denise (Dee) Hammons, AIA Staff

To God be all the glory!

God has used the ministry of Athletes in Action to expose me to Him, the One who made me and knows me intimately. While a freshman cross country and track athlete at the University of Dayton, my teammate Amanda had just returned from an AIA summer opportunity called the Colorado Project (where she began to pray for her teammates to be hungry to know Christ). After going to a Bible study that Amanda and another teammate Melissa invited me to, I began to think about God in a new way.

Soon after, Amanda invited me to lunch, and she told me that God desired to have a personal relationship with me. She said that I could begin that relationship by accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I still remember the day. It was on October 25, 1999, that God intersected my life in a real way. There were also many other girls on my team, including my twin sister, who made the decision to follow Jesus that year thanks to the boldness of my teammates!

My life has not been the same since. Before that day, I never knew that God was personal. I had always thought He was distant. One of the things that caused me to realize my need for Christ was that I tied my self-worth to the attention I got for doing well in school and sports. When I moved away to college, all of the attention I was used to receiving was gone. Thankfully, that is when God prompted my teammate to tell me about Christ. Looking back on all the details that led me to attend the University of Dayton and join the track/cross country team, I realize that God had His hand on my life, drawing me to Himself.

After beginning my relationship with Christ, I had the privilege of being mentored in my faith by my teammate Amanda for two years. In 2001, I attended the same AIA Colorado Summer Project that Amanda attended the summer before she talked with me about Jesus. That summer God caused me to consider full-time ministry as a profession.

I have now been on staff with Athletes in Action for 3 ½ years and now have the privilege of telling college athletes-who are often searching for contentment-about Jesus and the hope He gives. Because my life has been changed by Jesus, I count it a privilege to help others come to know Him.

Dee Hammons now serves as campus staff at the University of Michigan after completing her first two years at the AIA Training Center. While in Xenia, she served at Wilberforce and Central State Universities and Wilmington College.

Each month you will be introduced to a life changed through Athletes in Action. If your life (or someone you know) has been greatly touched through your involvement with AIA, please send an e-mail to communications@aia.com. 

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