Club Sports student-athletes who have chosen or been chosen as Disciple Makers and members of the Holistic Development staff that supports them gathered at Thomas Road Outpost near the Peaks of Otter for a semester-opening retreat from Aug. 21-22.
Club Sports Disciple Making Team challenged, refreshed on annual retreat
9/3/2026 2:26:00 PM | General
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For the second summer in a row, the two-day getaway was hosted by Thomas Road Outpost in nearby Bedford.
Training disciples to make disciples is a primary goal of Liberty University's Club Sports Holistic Development staff, which led its annual retreat for 53 of its Disciple Making Team of student-athletes on Aug. 21-22 at Thomas Road Outpost near the Peaks of Otter.
According to its mission statement, "The Disciple Making Team exists to Train Champions for Christ through the teaching of God's Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and the equipping of leaders to shepherd their teammates (1 Peter 5), so that we may present everyone mature in Christ (Colossians 1:28)."
Reese Braband, Club Sports' Associate Athletic Director for Holistic Development, said the action-packed weekend furthered that mission.
"The purpose of the retreat was to get an opportunity to have fun as a group but also to spend a lot of time in the Word, thinking and praying about their own lives and how to balance and prioritize schedules," he said. "It was designed to help them focus on their walk with the Lord and building them and encouraging them in their spiritual journeys so they can pour into their teammates throughout the upcoming year."
He said the retreat facilitated chances for the staff and student-athletes to get acquainted with and learn to work together, noting three-quarters of this year's 76 Disciple Makers are new.
"It was a bunch of athletes from different teams who did not know each other, and a time for us as a staff to get to know them so we can disciple and mentor them," Braband said. "They had a good time hanging out, playing paintball, and tackling fun challenge courses, including zip lines and the power pole and jumps off a 30-foot tower in (TRO's Adventure Park). It was a fun way to see the athletes be vulnerable, and to get to know them quicker."
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Phil Moser, pastor of Fellowship Bible Church, addresses the 53 Disciple Makers at the Aug. 21-22 retreat at Thomas Road Outpost.
Phil Moser, founder of Biblical Strategies and senior pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in New Jersey, led sessions for the Disciple Makers based on Luke 2:52 on stewarding God-given talents with wise investments of time to be most effective in advancing His Kingdom through intellectual, physical, spiritual, and relational pursuits.
Moser was Jesse Castro's pastor before Castro returned to Liberty to serve as the men's wrestling team's head coach from 2005-25, when he became a Holistic Development assistant along with Corey Owens, who has also attended Fellowship Bible Church.
For the second year in a row, Castro led a devotion for the student-athletes on Saturday morning after the staff's newest member, Scott Campbell — who works jointly with the LU Shepherd office and as Club Sports Ministry Coordinator — shared his testimony during Friday night's bonfire.
Braband said the retreat followed the same format as previous years, and the student-athletes enjoyed and benefited from it tremendously.
"My goal in it is for TRO to handle the food, lodging, and activities, and we bring in a speaker, who is a pastor who has done a lot of retreats before, to lead the teaching time, so we can just show up and be relational," Braband said of his Holistic Development staff that includes former figure skating Head Coach Dawn Harter who counseled the female student-athletes. "That way, we can move around with the athletes and be present, get to know them and hear their hearts, and this retreat accomplished that."
The Disciple Making Team held its first monthly meeting on Monday night in the LaHaye Event Space, with Braband going over expectations and clarifying roles.
"At end of the day, we trust the coaches to make the right decisions for their teams, and we're here to support them," Braband said.
At the next DMT meeting set for Sept. 28 in the Jerry Falwell Library conference room, Liberty Chancellor and Thomas Road Baptist Church Senior Pastor Jonathan Falwell will give a short devotional message to encourage the staff and student-athletes to carry out their callings.
To start the spring semester, the DMT will organize a Convocation for all 600-plus Club Sports student-athletes, coaches, and staff, on Jan. 25, 2027, at 10:30 a.m., in the School of Music Concert Hall.
By Ted Allen/Staff WriterScott Campbell, the newest member of the Club Sports Holistic Development staff, shares his testimony at a bonfire on Sept. 21.
