Say “hello” to Lawrence Lau and his beautiful family! This longtime volunteer has been serving with RBI Austin since 2012, and he and his family are an integral part of our organization.
From leading on the RBI League Board to having all four of their boys play Jr. RBI during the summer, Lawrence and his wife Judy have faithfully served the kids, families, and volunteers in our city for years.
First Getting Involved
I was volunteering with a sports ministry through The Austin Stone Community Church, when a friend told me someone from the church started a baseball program.
I didn’t know anything about RBI Austin other than:
- Its goal was to serve the underserved in our city,
- It involved baseball, and
- The guy in charge of the organization was a Christian.
I volunteered to coach the next year, and I’ve been with RBI Austin since 2012.
Currently, I am a Commissioner on the RBI League Board and my kids play in Jr. RBI. I am doubly blessed to be able to volunteer with RBI Austin and also have my kids participate in the program. My wife bears the burden of juggling schedules!
Why RBI Austin was a Fit to Volunteer
RBI Austin combines two things I love: baseball and Jesus.
I grew up loving and playing baseball.
My parents taught me to love God, but for a long time, I didn’t realize that I was basing my self-worth and value on who I was as a baseball player.
When God washed that unreliable foundation away, as He does to those He loves, He showed me what it meant to base my identity in Him as His child.
There are many things in this world that provide temporary happiness, but the truth is God created us to realize full joy when we are with Him.
Because of our sin, we are separated from God, but fortunately Jesus’s death and resurrection allow us to be reconciled to God through repentance and obedience to Jesus as king.
There is nothing in my life that has given me as much hope and joy as that. I want to share about it with whomever will listen!
How to “Make Volunteering Work”
With four boys, life is a little wild around the Lau house. However, being part of RBI Austin is simply a priority for our family.
Judy has had a heart specifically for the inner-city since college. Yet, since she knows as much about baseball as I do about elementary education – that is to say, not much – she supports RBI Austin by allowing me to actively volunteer. She understands the vision and finds the most effective way to support the ministry is by shouldering the burden of my everyday responsibilities so I can actively volunteer. Talk about a team effort!
Baseball Brings People Together
When I first started coaching I found myself getting anxious about how I’d connect to the kids.
Aside from baseball, we seemingly had nothing in common. We were from different generations and had different cultural experiences.
But baseball was enough.
Serving with People Who are Invested
Nine years later, I find the most consistently encouraging thing is serving alongside people who love Jesus. The people I serve alongside share the same motivation of speaking the gospel through baseball and softball. It’s one of the greatest gifts in my life.
Motivation to Volunteer
What gets me fired up to serve in this ministry? As great and wonderful God has been in my life, how can I feel anything other than wanting everyone else to feel the same way? I can’t!
“All the nations you have made will come and worship before you oh Lord, and bring glory to your name. For you are great and do wonderful things. You alone are God.”
Psalm 89:8-9
Get in the game! Want to learn more about how to volunteer with RBI Austin? We’d love for you to attend an upcoming Volunteer Orientation. More information can be found at rbiaustin.org/volunteer