Tim Pitcher, AIA staff member since 1994

As a freshman runner at the University of Tennessee and over 500 miles away from my Monroe, Michigan, home I was a guppy in a sea of orange. While struggling with being away from home and not knowing very many people, my identity as a runner was shattered because I was not the "big fish" anymore. It was around this time that I was approached by AIA staff member Jamie Richards.

Jamie asked if we could talk in the dorm lounge and after some small talk he asked me a life changing question. "On a scale from 0 to 100%, how sure are you that if you died today you would go to heaven?" I told him about 80% because I was a Christian and knew that Jesus came to earth to die as payment for my sins. He told me that I was correct that Jesus did come for that reason and that if I had a personal relationship with him I could have 100% assurance that I would be in heaven. After that conversation, I realized that I was a "head Christian"-I knew all the facts of the Bible, but had not personally asked Jesus into my life. Soon after I became a "heart (or true) Christian" when I sincerely prayed to receive Christ.

I began to attend the weekly AIA large group meetings on campus and the Bible studies with other athletes which began a life transformation for me. I began to see who God created me to be and that my identity was not found in my performances on the track or what people thought of me. Instead my identity came from what God said was true about me. I quickly started to get involved as a student leader leading Bibles studies, outreaches and our weekly prayer times.

It was at one of these weekly meetings that I was introduced to a Lady Vol volleyball player, Wendy Dilworth, from Birmingham, Alabama. As we began to see our lives changed through the ministry of Athletes in Action we knew we wanted to help others experience the same transformation that we did and decided to become staff members soon after getting married. We knew that we were uniquely gifted with the platform of sport to reach people with the life-changing gospel. So in May 1994, we graduated from UT and then in June went to new staff training.

Since joining staff, I have traveled all over the world (17 countries on 4 continents) with the opportunity to tell others about my life-changing experience in my relationship with God and how they can have it as well.

As we finish our 13 year on staff with Athletes in Action, I am currently the Opportunities Director which means I give leadership to the many teams, camps and projects that AIA organizes for athletes. I also serve as our Communication Director, helping get the message to different media outlets of what God is doing around the world through AIA. On the side I also manage www.AIAGear.com, our outlet to provide people with ministry resources, products and apparel.

A few of the highlights I have had while on staff have been: developing the 2000 Olympic version of the JESUS film, recently creating www.beyondtheultimate.com ( AIA 's sports evangelistic Web site), being threatened with arrest while distributing JESUS films, representing AIA in the 1996 Olympic trials and knowing that I've helped 1000's of people participate with AIA each summer and grow in their walk with God.

There are many things Wendy and I could choose to do professionally but at the end of the day, we know that serving with AIA is God's best for our lives. There is no other place where we can combine two passions-God and sport-and know we're creating great impact for the sake of the gospel around the world.

Tim and Wendy Pitcher live in Mason, Ohio, and have two boys, Caleb (11) and Brendan (4).

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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