By Warren L. Grover Horseshoe Bend, Idaho
Approximately 850 men and women from throughout the Treasure Valley and surrounding area in southwestern Idaho have signed up to receive emails to participate in the events offered by a unique Christian organization known as the Treasure Valley Links Fellowship. This non-profit organization began in February of 2016 when three men were discussing how they could link together two of their favorite things—their love of Jesus Christ and their love of golf. These three, Michael Gee, Tom Purdy, and Donnie Gregerson formed the nucleus of the group that has grown to its present state with chapters at seven courses in Idaho and conducting ten or more events at golf courses around the state. Interestingly, LINKS is an acronym which stands for: Love God and others, Integrate Christ’s reign and integrity into all life, Network friends together in Christ, Kindle compassion for the poor and needy, and Share Christ through the great game of life. The written mission of TVLF is to encourage Christian golfers to use this great game as a mission field to share their love of Jesus with other golfers (Christian and non-Christian) through on course fellowship and prayerfully, by encouraging others to join us as we study the Word of God. So exactly how does TVLF achieve these goals? According to Tom Purdy, president of the organization, “We try to reach out to other golfers who wish to share their love of God while acknowledging that, while golf is a great game and allows us to get out and enjoy God’s creation, it is not the primary reason we get together. Our seven chapters conduct Bible studies to enable us to learn more about how to incorporate the Word of God into our daily lives. Most of the chapters hold these studies on a weekly basis, even in the off season, as we find the members become friends and do not want to wait until golfing weather returns. In fact, with the advent of golf simulator, we are even able to practice our games over the winter. Members come from all denominations and churches throughout the region and it is great to see the love and fellowship that develops among them. I like to point out that we even have members who are not golfers, but who just enjoy the fellowship and study of the Word. While we encourage all members to join one of the chapters to get the full benefit of our organization, it is not required, so feel free to join with us for our golf events in 2021 just by signing up to get our emails at our website.” As to showing compassion for the poor and needy, Gerald Johnson, a member of the current board of directors, noted “we are all about using our fellowship to support Christian organizations. Each chapter choses a Christian charity to support with donations throughout the year and members are only asked to give what they can; there are no membership fees or dues. Some of the charities supported in 2020 included the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Boise Rescue Mission, Love Inc. Nampa, Love Inc. Boise, and Mission Aviation Fellowship. In addition, TFLV has supported five other Christian organizations hosting their own golfing events: Boise Bible College, Cole Valley Christian schools, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Mission Aviation Fellowship, and Chrysalis by direct donations and by hole sponsorships.” Johnson added, “If you prefer to play golf with like-minded people, we have Christians meeting and playing golf (indoors in inclement weather) every day of the week, except Sunday, and you are always welcome to join in the fun. Simply go to the TVLF web site, www.LINKSFellowship.net, click on the day you want to play, and an email will be created to send you the details. Also, our website is where you can sign up to receive email notification of our ten golf events and the five annual Christian charity sponsored events we support each year. This is an excellent way to get notification of Treasure Valley Christian Golf opportunities throughout the 2021 golf season.”
