the CPPA

In the early 1990's, as I was getting back into the sport heavily (I started in the early '80's when it began, but was too expensive untill the water soluable mass produced paintballs came out - but this is another story), I noticed a trend that I didn't much care for.

That trend was that it was seemingly "kewl" to be "bad". I sought fellow "Christians" that would play paintball with me locally. Unfortunately, what I found was that there were none.

Actually, later I found out that there were some, but they didn't want to admit being "Christian" at the paintball field! This enfuriated me. It was more important to them to be "bad" and play paintball, than it was for them to even admit "Christianity" and be "good" with me, and be paintballers too.

I was praying during these months that this was not so at a more regional and national level than was shown here, locally. As an avid Internet user, I then began to read the news groups, websites and email lists about paintball even more, and especially directed my attention if there was any mention of religion and "Christianity".

After a couple years of searching in my spare time and also visiting many fields accross the midwest, I decided to do something about it.

in late 1995 or so, God laid a plan on my heart to create a "Christian" association for paintballers. The CPPA was born.

Using mostly the Internet, I began to try to recruite players around the globe, at least that was what God's plan was for me to do at the time. The CPPA was to be a catholic orginization, in that it was to be church/denomination inspecific, as long as Christ was center. I had a basic 3 point guideline:

1. The Deity of Christ
Jesus is God in flesh. The Doctrine of the deity of Christ includes: The Trinity - There is one God who exists in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are all coeternal, and of the same nature. Monotheism - There is only one God in all existence. The Hypostatic Union - That Jesus is both God and man.
2. Salvation by Grace
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast"

3. The Resurrection of Christ
"And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith" (1 Cor. 15:14). "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins" (1 Cor. 15:17). To deny the physical resurrection is to deny Jesus' work, sacrifice, and our resurrection.

In any case, what I found was that even the anonyminity of the Internet provided was not much to help the cause from 1996 untill 1999, there was not more than 20 members at any given time.
I had a website at my pentestone.com at the time and even though the member list was only made available to the members themselves, it was a struggle getting anyone to be listed.

My charter was very slim at the time. I only wanted to be able to have an organization that would be able to have impact on the paintball world so that being "bad" didn't hav eto be good.

During those years, it was apparent that being bad, wasn't good enough and bad turned to worse, when it was kewl to start being "evil". This really jerked my frustration level when I saw people at fields talking to each other in ways that they would never do on the street, let alone if their parents were there with them.

The advertising was starting to really bother me and starting in about '98, '99 or so, I began to be an active paintball advocate. Still in it's infancy, paintball was looked upon by the general public as people learning to shoot eachother, adn very paramilitary in nature.

I wrote articles. I took pictures. I wrote my state reps and congresspersons. I did whatever I could to help the sport grow. It was then that I started my equipment giveaways, in attempts to reach to the paintball community to show that you didn't have to be evil/bad to be good.

sometime in late '98, I basicaly gave up the Idea that anyone would even want to be a CPPA member and prayed alot. I didn't wnat to shut it down, but I didn't know what else to do. The market was inundated with evil and not very positive images of paintball. the fields seemed to be all "filthy", and the players seemed to care more for fitting in, than their relationship with God.

I contacted the remaining 12 or so of the CPPA members and asked them to pray that God would make plain His intent for this ministry and what He wanted to do with me. I recieved no responses from any of them.

I was sure I had heard from God and I was sure I KNEW that there was to be a CPPA. I was just failing horribly at making it go. I didn't know what to do, and just prayed more about it. THere was NO WAY ugly was going to win. even if I was the only member, I would do whatever it took to make sure that the "Christian" perspective was somehting to be reconed with in teh paintball community and industry.

I don't remember for sure How I met Chris, but that next year, in 1999, he asked me about the CPPA. Being discouraged and semi-embittered toward "Christian"-paintballers, I talked with him hesitantly.

He was (and still is) a bold "Christian" and even seemed to want to show that in his paintball play! this was AMAZING to me. he not only didn't like certain advertising, and products named after dark/evil, he told me that he wouldn't even purchase them, even if that meant that he couldn't play at the time!

Woot, woot, God lead a "brother" in Christ and Paintball to me!

After some initial emails, and conversations, he was talking about the CPPA as if it was a huge ministry and that it was an impactful group. I didn't want to discourage him, but I was honest with the currnet state of the association (one member, myself).

That didn't seem to matter to him, there was a fire and it was BLAZING. he then popped the question. Knowing that I was essentially just keeping it alive and not doing much else with it for well over a year, he asked to be President and take it over. Talking of plans on how to make it grow, plans for the future of paintball and plans for the future of Christian Paintball.

I was revived. I had just started my own company and didn't have time to do much work on it. So I agreed that he would take it over and I would remain the founder and be part of the national "board". The plans and vision refresh he brought was simply astounding to me. He was talking and I heard myself. it was exactly what God had spoken to me, those years ago.

The rest, as they say, is history...