ST. PAUL, Minn. - Service is one of the core pillars of both Christianity and the University of Northwestern, so when UNW Head Tennis Coach Matt Swigart, whose day job is in ministry, was approached by his captains about doing more service/ministry projects as a team, he had plenty of options for them to choose from. When Swigart caught wind that the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) was running a Community Service Challenge where teams from all divisions could compete to make the biggest impact, it only increased his and the teams' desires to serve. "While we've done a couple projects each year, this year some of the captains came to me to ask to do more," the 14-year coaching veteran said. "Since serving together creates an even deeper bond we were all excited about that!"

The ITA press release about the challenge can be found here.

While the Eagles knew that the final standings of the challenge were far from the ultimate prize of advancing God's kingdom, they certainly put up an impressive showing. The men's team finished in fourth place, while the women took ninth in the two-month initiative (October-November). In total, Northwestern participated in eight different service projects with five different organizations, including Godtown, Hearts & Hammers, Good in the Hood, Source Ministries and CHAP Thrift Store. Both Swigart and Men's Tennis captain Caleb Jergenson (Livingston, Mont./Park) said the experience at Godtown was the most memorable, with Swigart calling it "easily the most out of our comfort zone" stop.

"We got to actually walk through the homeless camp and talk to people and bring them food," Jergenson elaborated. "We met one girl in particular and found out that she was pregnant. We got to connect with her and pray with her, and the women's team even followed up and put together a care package with clothes and supplies for her."

Not only did current Eagles take part in the mission, but future ones as well. Part of the program's fall recruiting overnight event included serving with Source Ministries in Minneapolis. The tennis teams and high school recruits teamed up to clean out the basement of a new building Source had just acquired, which Swigart called by far the dirtiest project of them all. Jergenson noted the benefit in team bonding that the projects provided: "I think one of the best ways to get to know someone is to work with them," said the junior from Livingston, Montana. "I could mention all the very practical ways that it brought us closer such as common experiences--sharing a meal together before or after the project, or even just riding in the car and having time to talk. Beyond that, though, there is some connection that forms when you get to sacrifice your time and energy to do Kingdom work in a community. After doing everything this fall, we now have had that experience of sacrificing in the same way for the same reasons."

Swigart was effusive in his praise for Jergenson, who spearheaded much of the operation. "Caleb won't like that I'm saying this, but his role and influence in this quest was a true highlight for me," he remarked. "He showed humble and effective leadership, which made this a success in both the competition and in advancing the Kingdom of God."

Jergenson hopes there is a lasting impact from this initiative, felt by both the UNW student-athletes and the people they served. "I pray that (those who were served) would be grateful for our sacrifice, but ultimately that they may see what was behind that--the love of Christ--and be drawn to him." He continued, "I pray in thankfulness for these opportunities, and that God would continue to use us and grow us as we continue our personal journeys with him. Finally, I pray for future teams and people who hear about this. I pray that they would be inspired to volunteer in some way themselves and that this may start a legacy of unprecedented sacrifice throughout UNW communities."

Swigart shared a similar sentiment and vision. "We pray that the ripple effects of each of our projects continue throughout eternity," the Eagles' coach stated. "We pray that the ministries we served with are able to accomplish more because we helped, and we eagerly desire that as we served, the Lord was at work in us, was growing us into men and women who have an eye on service and ministry opportunities, and are willing to detour our time to meet those needs. Finally, we hope that as people see or hear about this story, it adorns the Gospel and helps continue to advance the name and mission of the University of Northwestern."