Under the Helmet – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 5, 2005
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When many people think of summer, they often have fun memories of a family trip or vacation, but for junior defensive tackle Joel Penton, his summer trips have not included sand toys, souvenir stands and rolls of undeveloped film like most people. Instead Penton’s trips allowed him to take his faith and share it with people around the world. His summers between seventh grade and 11th grade were spent traveling around Ohio and into Canada working with church mission groups.
When Penton began attending Ohio State, he tried to further immerse himself in ministry opportunities by joining Athletes in Action, a religious organization which capitalizes on society’s love for sports and helps athletes reach the world for Jesus Christ. Penton became an active member in the group. Two summers ago, he took his faith to a new level going overseas on a two-week mission trip to an undisclosed area in east Asia.
“That trip showed me the power of the Gospel and the affect that truth has on people,” Penton said. “I met and talked with people who have never been exposed to Christianity, but when hearing the Gospel knew the truth.”
A typical day for Penton began by eating breakfast. Afterward, his mission group searched for people who knew a little English, eventually making contacts and hanging out. It took three different meetings with a person to be able to talk about Christianity because of the risk of being in a “closed” country.
While on the trip, Penton also attended a daily language class at a local university, where they were the first organization to bring in Christianity to that school.
“I’d meet people and ask about their life and beliefs,” Penton said. “Then I would offer my views on Christ. They’d ask questions and I’d answer as much as I could, telling them about the four spiritual laws and principles of the Bible.” Parallel Bibles, which contain two languages, were used to help the people follow along as the Athlete in Action members expressed their faith. If they indicated a commitment or belief, they provided a list of names and a person came to follow-up a few days afterward.
“I saw the need for mission work and any Christian should go into these parts of the world because the message is not out there yet,” Penton said. “Despite the language barrier and cultural differences you can watch somebody indicate a commitment to Christ.”
However, Penton was missing a part of him during the trip, his girlfriend, Bethany Groskopf, an Ohio State alum and a former gymnast.
The two met for the first time at an Athletes in Action meeting where she was the student leading the meeting.
“She was a good-looking girl who was leading the meeting and caught my eye,” Penton said. “Now the rest is history.”
“When I first met Joel I noticed his spirit for the Lord, which was especially different from most freshmen,” Bethany said. “I was attracted at first and knew he loved the Lord and wanted people to know it. I grew to respect and admire him. Our relationship turned into a friendship and then dating, where I saw his spiritual maturity.”
The day after Penton returned from his mission trip he proposed to Bethany and they were married March 19, 2005, just about two years after they had started dating.
“I thank God to be married to him,” Bethany said. “He never disappoints me and is so selfless and amazing.”
The Pentons use their faith as the foundation of their marriage and attend the Northwest Bible Church in Hilliard. The couple has thought about taking a mission trip overseas with Athletes in Action. Both would like to go to a similar “closed” country for a year or two, somewhere slightly dangerous, where Christianity is not well known and people do not know Jesus.
Until that time, the Pentons enjoy watching movies and riding together on their motorcycles, occasionally stopping to eat ice cream and being each others biggest fans.
“Wherever we feel God leads us is where we’ll go,” Penton said. “When most think of mission trips they think out of the state, city and country, but I try to make everyday a mission trip. I am Christ’s ambassador. Being a part of Ohio State football, the campus and Ohio is my mission field everyday.”
