Pastor John Salters has a love for baseball, as well as for helping people in need through GO Ministries.
Salters and his wife, Mae, are endeavoring to join the two in hopes of teaching faith, as well as life skills, through baseball on the diamond behind Thurgood Marshall Elementary, the home to GO Ministries.
“Pastor John loves baseball,” Marty Cole said. “Kids in the black communities don’t gravitate toward baseball. They don’t have the space, the equipment or the parents to teach them the game.
“If you go down to Cederquist Park (the home to Ashtabula Little League) and look around, it’s predominantly white. The kids don’t feel like they fit in. The goal is to get a program in and integrate the kids into Little League.”
Through baseball, the Salters plan to expand their reach within the boundaries of the ministry.
“The kids don’t know how to play,” Julie Cole said. “They’ve never been shown how. The Salters are there for the kids. A lot of the kids don’t have parents who are active in their lives.”
“Pastor John takes the full approach — mentally and physically — to reach the kids to whatever extent he can in order to teach them to love Jesus Christ. The Salters know they have to demonstrate that love themselves.
“The Idea is to bring families together and help them use their time, even it’s their recreation time, to make them better citizens.”
With community help from volunteers like Marty Cole, Jim Baker and Randy Cotton, the Salters are bringing the once-abandoned diamond, back to life.
“Andover Bank, Thomas Fence and Sports and Sports are sponsoring (the project). It’s also bringing the community together,” Julie Cole said. “There’s something about baseball. People have an affinity for it.
“You will be quite amazed at what has been accomplished at this field. I call it the field that love built.”
On June 23, a number of volunteers will gather at the diamond to scrape and paint the dugouts as well as plant a community garden.
“A lot of things are happening with GO Ministries,” Julie Cole said. “A lot of people are working hard to make this a success. The plants were donated and will be delivered on the 22nd and they will planted on the 23rd.
“Andover Bank is sending over two teams of employees to plant the garden and paint the dugouts.”
“I’m the president of Andover Bank,” Marty Cole said. “They would be there, anyway, but that’s not to say they don’t have a choice. A lot of good people (at the bank) are looking to help people.
“Nancy Cook, the vice president of Human Resources, is getting the teams together.”
Once the diamond’s makeover is complete, there will be a need for a person to teach the youngsters of the ministry the game of baseball.
“They would love for somebody to volunteer, even it’s just once a week, to teach baseball,” Julie Cole said. “They don’t have anybody who can take on a team of kids and help them out.”
The baseball diamond is just one of a myriad of ways the Salters are reaching out to the community.
“GO ministries is a non-profit organization,” Marty Cole said. “For the past 15 years, he’s been serving the community in basically one square mile from Station Avenue over to Lake Avenue.
“He has several programs he’s trying to institute. There’s a free clinic, a food bank, a clothing bank. They serve 85 to 100 people every day. There’s a sewing room, a game room and library. They are trying to get computers.”
John and Mae Salters’ son, Isaiah, was instrumental in at least one program being started.
“Isaiah was home from college and was in Kmart,” Marty Cole said. “He saw a woman he’d graduated with. She was picked up by the police for shoplifting. She had stolen diapers and formula for her baby. That upset him. He went home and told his parents about it.
“They started the Help for Independent Parents (HIP) program. (Isaiah) wants every parent to not ever have steal to support their children.
“They supply free diapers, formula, clothing and even some baby furniture.”
Despite all the good they are doing, few people really know who the Salters are or what their mission is. A fundraiser planned for August is designed to change that a bit.
“They don’t do a good job of getting the word out,” Marty Cole said. “We’re hoping they get a bit more exposure.”
Getting the word out to the area, in theory, should expand the volunteer base of the ministry.
“With greater awareness, the community will get behind it,” Marty Cole said. “People are going to see a real need. It’s amazing how people respond. When I talk about the community, I’m talking about all of Ashtabula. I think the area is real generous.”
Ettinger is a freelance writer from Ashtabula.
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