Upward Basketball at Trinity Baptist Church

by | Mar 5, 2026 | Churchwide, Recreation

For 21 years, Trinity Baptist Church’s Upward Ministry has filled the ROC gym with energy, community, and faith. Each winter, hundreds of basketball players and cheerleaders gather for eight exciting Saturdays of games, encouragement, and Bible stories. As the 2025–2026 season concludes, we reflect on the impact of this outreach ministry and look ahead to the next season of leadership and service.
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Upward Basketball Ministry at Trinity Baptist Church has served families in our community for more than 21 years.

The Saturday Stillness Before Game Day

Upward.  The Saturday stillness before the excitement begins for 8 consecutive Saturdays in January and February. Trinity Member Doug Vineyard built the wooden benches in 2004 or 2005. They have been so supportive of our community members while they sat and watched their athlete, basketball player or cheerleader, for 21 years.

The Impact of Upward Basketball at Trinity

Our community highly values the Upward Ministry, which attracts a maximum of 320 basketball players every year.  Saturday games begin at 8:30am and end at 4:30pm!  Then add 5-6 cheerleading squads and their parents to the Saturday mix and the ROC gym is packed!  So much ENERGY every hour on Saturdays!

Volunteers Who Make Upward Possible

Trinity has been so supportive of this significant community outreach ministry over all these years!  Multiple TBC adult members have assumed various  leadership roles, such as Upward Director,  referee commissioner, basketball coach commissioner, cheer commissioner, prayer commissioner, devotion commissioner and game day commissioner.
 These roles have been vital to the success of our Upward Ministry over the last 21 years. Many help teach sport skills but, more importantly, share Bible stories every week to help the 400+ children in Upward learn about Jesus.

Looking Ahead to the Next Season

Now that the 2025-2026 season has closed and the ROC now resumes its Saturday stillness, the 2026-2027 season already begins with an evaluation of the 2025-2026 season.
I would love to have your support in a leadership role for the 2026-2027 season!  Let’s chat while the ROC is still.

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Laury – ROC Director

Blog Provided By:

Mrs. Laury Holley

Mrs. Laury Holley

Laury Holley serves as Recreation Outreach Director at Trinity, leading programs that foster connection, wellness, and community through sports and activities. A longtime member of Trinity, she began her recreation ministry journey in 2004 with Upward Basketball and has served in the role formally for over 20 years. Laury loves building relationships through recreation and also teaches water exercise with the City of Raleigh.