Dear Friends of CCU Basketball,

On behalf of CCU Basketball, I want to officially update you about the changes that the larger Chinese Christian Union is making to CCU Basketball and CCU Sports.

The 2010 Summer League Application is being released soon.  Please visit www.CCUSports.com for updates.

Starting 2010, there will be a new policy that states all teams in any CCU league must be church-sponsored and have a letter of support signed by the pastor.  There might be an avenue in applying for an exception, but this has yet to be decided.  Many teams without a church sponsorship may wonder if we are singling them out for exclusion, but CCU is trying very hard to explain the basis for the policy.  As an ecumenical and evangelistic organization, CCU believes that church sponsorship would place responsibility on the churches for proper follow-up, encouragement, and accountability within an established Christian body, namely a home or sponsoring church.  This would mean greater connection between the players and churches, and also stronger accountability in the relationships if liability were to occur.  Ultimately, this is an opportunity and a call to strengthen the implementation of our mission and the purpose of the Chinese Christian Union and CCU Sports.

Please remember that ANYONE can still play in CCU Sports, as long as they are part of an officially church-sponsored team.

For teams and individuals without a church connection, this is a great opportunity to connect formally with a Christian body, and to seek and grow mutual support within a church family. 

For churches and church leaders, this is a call to welcome players and teams seeking these connections.

I hope this is not disheartening.  We believe this is a great opportunity for increasing outreach and for building a stronger community.  CCU and I appreciate your support of CCU and CCU Basketball.

Thank you again.  I hope we can find a solution that will continue to meet all our needs.  If you have questions or concerns specific to the church-sponsorship policy, please contact our CCU Sports Minister, Pastor Don Ng (revdonng@fcbc-sf.org or 415-717-8941).  Please feel free to contact me at floobee@alum.calberkeley.org or 415-706-7815 if you have league questions.

Take care and God bless,

Peter