SALEM, Ore. - The Corban University baseball team announced on Thursday that it will be traveling to Cuba for a Ministry trip from June 1 - June 8 following its 2015 campaign. The Missions Trip is set to take place in the province of Guantanamo, and the team will be doing testimonies and sharing the gospel in local churches in the evenings while playing local city baseball teams during the day.
"The uniqueness of this invite and opportunity is a gift from God," said Corban Head Baseball Coach Jeff McKay. "May we embrace totally His command - 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men'."
The Warriors will take 14 players as well as two coaches, Faculty Athletic Representative Bryce Bernard, and Sports Information Director Danny Day. The trip is being coordinated through Mike Silva International, while the trip is being led by Cuban native Pastor Glenn Wilson of the Reformation Worship Center in Howell, NJ.
"It is great to see that Corban is capitalizing on a once in a lifetime strategic opportunity to proclaim Jesus Christ in Cuba with us," stated Mike Silva.
"I am honored to partner with Coach McKay and the brothers from Corban University on our missions trip to Cuba in the month of June 2015," said Pastor Glenn Wilson. "I am looking forward to seeing the unfolding of God's plans for this trip."
Corban is the first-ever collegiate baseball team to travel to Cuba on a Missions Trip with the intent on sharing the gospel and playing baseball as well.
"I have been impressed and inspired by the reaction to the invite by many of our student-athletes on their interest in going and willingness to serve," said McKay. "For us to have the opportunity to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ using baseball in a country like Cuba where baseball is its national sport is very humbling. It appears we are ground-breaking in our trip as the first or one of very few to be invited to Cuba on a Missions Trip, combined with the chance to play baseball against the native Cubans in their home country."
The Warriors are coming off of their best year in program history in 2014 in which they finished tied for third place in the NAIA West standings and also third in the Conference Tournament. Corban returns five of its top-six pitchers and its top nine hitters from a year ago.
McKay took over as the head coach at Corban in 2011 and turned a struggling program around to now average nearly 25 wins a year. Prior to Corban, he spent 40 years in professional baseball as a player, coach, and scout with five different major league organizations.
"This is my first year with my own players on the roster that my coaching staff and I have recruited to Corban," commented McKay. "Although we play in a very tough conference, our program has grown to a point where our expectation is to compete nationally, but our most important goal is to bring glory to God in our efforts."
