Chris Singleton’s message hits it out of the park

At the age of 19, Chris Singleton was a talented baseball player at Charleston Southern University with his eye on a prized career playing for a professional league. To prepare for his biggest collegiate game of the season, Singleton searched for a scripture that would be a fitting representation to serve as source of motivation. He flipped through the Bible app on his phone, eventually landing on Proverbs 24:10 (NIV): “If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength!”

He wrote the verse on his wrist, glove, and his back, and Charleston Southern finished the day with a win over Clemson University for the first time in the school’s history. Singleton played the best game of his life that day.

On Dec. 3, about 350 Philip Simmons High School students and 150 Philip Simmons Middle School students had an opportunity to hear Singleton’s message during a presentation sponsored by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).

He admitted to the students that he once had a “Santa Claus” vision of God — “whatever I ask for, I will get,” was the way he said he approached prayer. Convinced that the scripture had helped the team in victory, he began to write Proverbs 24:10 everywhere before every game.

Singleton said that later he realized God gave him the scripture, not to achieve a win, but to prepare him for the worst day of his life. It gave him the perseverance to face an unimaginable day and the strength to relay horrific news to his younger brother and sister.

That fateful day was June 17, 2015. His mother, Sharonda Singleton, was one of the eight victims murdered during a Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. The perpetrator, Dylan Roof, was a white supremacist attempting to ignite a hate-filled, race related war.

In Singleton’s true faith journey after the murders, he learned to focus less on himself and to be the “salt and light of the world.” Remarkably, Singleton has been able to forgive Roof for his actions.

He said, “If I had grown up with my mother’s killer and had been his friend in middle school, went to class together, been on the same team … I think there is no way he would grow up to hate people that look like me.” He added that he felt that Roof was misinformed and misled to hate others based only on a chemical in their skin.

Singleton did realize his dream to play professional baseball for the Chicago Cubs organization, but now he travels across the country to speak to students and corporations to share his message that “love is stronger than hate.”

During his presentation, Singleton challenged the students to share love with others who may be different, to realize how much words truly matter, and to recognize the power of prayer. Closing with a statement to encourage students to think beyond themselves, he quoted baseball legend Jackie Robinson: “One life is not important, except for the impact it has on other lives.”

At the end of his presentation, Singleton offered some one-on-one encouragement with students who wanted to share their stories.

Brayden Jones said, “I thought Chris spoke with a lot of passion and heart. Right when he started speaking, you could see that he grabbed everyone’s attention and I think he definitely planted some spiritual seeds into a few people today. I think Chris’ story is going to stop someone from making a very bad decision one day. He just reminded everyone in the room that we all bleed red no matter what the color of our skin is or what we believe in, so why not be kind to each other?”

A junior at Philip Simmons High, Jones serves as one of four leaders for FCA who facilitates a small group huddle every Tuesday morning before class.

Josh Romine of Kings Cross Church and Cody Quinn of Daniel Island Fellowship served as volunteer coordinators for the event. Quinn, a youth pastor, said, “It was eye-opening to hear his perspective and to bring light from such a tragic event. He preached a life-giving message.”

Hardee’s on Clements Ferry Road and Chick-fil-A on Long Point Road in Mount Pleasant provided breakfast for the students. FCA meets weekly at Philip Simmons High for small group huddles, and monthly for presentations from guest speakers.