GTS Update July 2008

ESPN and the BCA Trade Show

 Mike Martin and Steve Lillis with the help of GTS supporters, sponsors, and the Hawthorne Gospel Church were able to minister for one solid week in Charlotte, NC at one of the biggest billiard events of the year.  First up was the annual BCA invitational tournament called the GenerationPool.Com 9 Ball Championships which was taped for ESPN and will begin airing this month on July 19th from Noon until 6 P.M. Steve is scheduled to appear twice on the broadcast and it is truly a miracle of God.  Steve was not originally invited as he was asked to fill in for another player that could not make it to the 32 man invitational event. Mike Martin also received the funds last minute to enable him to go as well. Steve drew the number one player of the past two decades in Johnny Archer who is the “Tiger Woods” of pool.  Steve managed to go down to the final shot of the final game before losing. It turned out to be the closest match for Archer before his TV appearance. Only the final 4 players are televised. As a result the ESPN crew asked Steve for an interview to review that exciting first round match with Johnny Archer.  After the interview Steve returned to his seat to watch the TV match but God was not through yet! In between the TV matches a top pro player was scheduled to do some trick shots for TV.  He inadvertently went out to dinner with his sponsor and apparently was not aware of some time changes and also turned off his cell phone. The TV crew waited for his return and could not contact him by cell phone. Sam Howell of Minneapolis, MN who is Steve’s part time coach and a GTS volunteer, was helping the ESPN crew.  He overheard the crew and their need for a trick shot artist.  With five minutes to go before lights, camera, and action Sam suggested Steve and with no time to prepare Steve was mic’d up and out on the floor.  Of course Steve went right into his familiar Gospel Trick Shot routine and the TV audience was very attentive. Praise the Lord! However, this was not the end of the story.  Upon the conclusion of the 9 ball tournament the BCA Trade Show began.  This show is where key billiard industry people share their products and ideas in a convention setting. It seems that there were some very interest billiard business people in that TV crowd days before who heard Steve share his love for Jesus.  Some of those key industry billiard people ended up inviting Steve and GTS to places like Oregon, Michigan, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Ohio to work with youth, charities, and churches.  Additionally one interested party is working on putting together a GTS Tour for Mike Massey and Steve Lillis to once again partner to share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who could have planned all this? Of course God had it planned all along and that is why HE allowed us to unexpectantly be there in Charlotte, NC.  Please pray for these exciting future opportunities!      

Other Exciting Monthly News and Updates

 Steve had a wonderful opportunity to minister to seniors at the Holland Christian Home in North Haledon, NJ. He did two GTS shows on their new pool table and had the privilege to share the love of Jesus and the game of pool.  Steve also played in two local pool events in the New York City area called the Predator 9 Ball Tour. Steve shared the Lord with some of the local players and one of them ended up going to church and Daily Vacation Bible School with Steve at the Hawthorne Gospel Church.

 FAMILY UPDATE—Please check the GTS calendar on back or the GTS website for time and location of Amanda Lillis and Tim Dumont wedding and the due date for the birth of Sarah Lillis baby.

 Albania and Philippines Update— We are excited about the donation of pool tables to various churches in Albania and the start of Christian Pool Leagues .  The GTS Team in Albania is patiently waiting for the tables to arrive this winter.  In the Philippines it is our goal to repeat the Albanian GTS model. PRAY!

Dr. Cue and RACK

The picture on the left was taken in January 2008 at the Dr. Cue Classic Artistic Cup tournament in Louisville, KY.  We had a RACK Room with a Sunday morning worship service and a GTS/RACK booth complete with Christian tapes, literature, and much more. The event fielded the largest turnout in the brief 8 year history of artistic pool. Plans are now underway to continue to reach out to the billiard industry using the “gift” of artistic pool competition the brainchild of Tom and Marty Rossman. Please keep them in prayer as they make contacts and plans for the new 2008 season.  

Go to www.cbn.com/700club and click on the "Media Center" tab on the left side of homepage. Then when the "Media Center" page opens type in the white textbox area "Steve Lillis". Then click on the "video" button and enjoy the broadcast.

Steve Lillis was featured in a news article written by the Billiard Congress of America in October 2006. Please go to the following link to read more about his life as a pool player, educator, and minister:
http://www.bca-pool.com/industry/membership/06updates/update_v3n19.shtml