Aurora church reaches out to help community with food, hoops

“Pastor Thompson has a great vision for the church. Part of the mission of the church is to feed the hungry,” Rodgers said.

One of the bonuses of the mobile food pantry event was a chance to meet a few of the members of the newly-formed Aurora Knights basketball team, a professional Christian basketball team.

The team is part of the Height International Basketball Association. Thompson, who started the Aurora Knights, said there already is an eastern conference and the goal is to expand into the Midwest region to include Waukegan, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Joliet.

“We wanted to start a basketball team but we wanted a Christian team. Anyone can play basketball. Anything I am involved in has to have God at the forefront,” the pastor said.  The roster has 10 members ages 18 to 30.                                                                                             

“It doesn’t mean everyone on your team is a born-again Christian. It means our events involve a level of integrity, morality and family atmosphere,” Thompson said. “These players aren’t going to be on the court quoting Bible scripture. They’ve got to put the ball in the basket. We want to make sure the atmosphere is Godly.”

The team’s first game is 6 p.m. Aug. 4 at the Prisco Community Center in Aurora.