Former NBA Top Draft Pick Speaks to Students about Teen Suicide

Addressing a group of elementary and middle-school students earlier this year at Grace Fellowship Christian Reformed Church in Pella, Iowa, former Chicago Bulls top draft pick and power forward Marcus Fizer had a lot to say about mental health issues and teen suicide.

No stranger to depression and other challenges, he told students about a friend named Anthony who played basketball with him when he was growing up in Detroit. One day Anthony didn’t show up at the court, and Fizer later learned he had hung himself. The memory still haunts him, he said.

Then, as he says in a news clip from a local TV station that covered the event attended by about 250 people, “A couple of months ago a close friend of mine chose to take her life, and it’s something that I’ve continuously been struggling with to this day, right now . . . so whatever it is that you’re going through, if you just speak with someone and just let them know what you’re going through, there’s got to be something that’s better than that alternative.”

Funded with the help of a *Sustaining Congregational Excellence grant, the event was hosted by Grace Fellowship CRC. The event was called “Never Alone” and, in addition to the presentation by Fizer, offered activities and a time of worship and prayer for young people.

On-site were mental health providers to share information with anyone present who might want it. Uniformed police also attended the event to support students.

“Our ‘Never Alone’ event was way bigger than we ever anticipated,” said Danielle DeRuiter, youth ministry coordinator for the church.

Not only did more young people than they anticipated from across Pella show up, but many youths also responded with enthusiasm.

“And that's where God plays his role in all things,” said DeRuiter. “The youth really engaged in the event. Three students gave their lives to Christ at this event. There were lots of tears and lots of prayers going up that night.”

The topic of teen suicide was selected for the event and other outreach and activities, said DeRuiter, because people across Pella “have suffered a couple of really difficult blows, with students losing their lives.”

DeRuiter met Fizer when they both attended Iowa State, where he was a star on the basketball team. She said she knew his story, including the many ups and downs of his pro basketball career, and believed he could reach students with a personal message.

In the application for the SCE grant, the church wrote that Fizer was once labeled by news outlets as “the biggest NBA draft bust,” amid claims that he was drafted high and never played to his potential, on various pro teams or in overseas leagues, largely because of injuries.

Given their intent to bring the topic of teen suicide into the open, DeRuiter said they invited Fizer because young people can relate to him and because “Marcus has certainly had to deal with rejection on a fairly public level. He has a strong testimony of his faith” and has served as a youth pastor.

As Fizer said and as others repeated during the event, mental illness is real. Suicide is real. Addiction is real.

“We simply cannot continue to be silent about these things because it's a sticky conversation topic. . . . We've got too much to lose,” said DeRuiter. “Kids today have to know that it's OK to not be OK . . . and there's help to get through it . . . there's other people out there going through the same stuff. You are not alone.”

DeRuiter said Grace Fellowship is beginning some morning events at schools in the community to connect with youth. Plans are also being made to hold another “Never Alone” event in October.

Joining in this project has been good for the entire congregation, which had been in talks last year with two other churches to merge into one congregation.

All three churches, however, decided to stop discussions, which encouraged Grace Fellowship to focus on its own ministry to the community, said DeRuiter.

“‘Never Alone’ has given us hope that we are still able to make an impact on our community with the message of the gospel in a positive way,” said DeRuiter. “This project has also given us the opportunity to get our name out in the community.”

Overall, she said, this project is giving the church “a sense of purpose . . . a sense of who we want to be as a church in this community. We want to be a safe place for people to talk about difficult things. [Through this event] we also got the chance . . . to be the hands and feet of Jesus.”

* The Sustaining Congregational Excellence program, which for several years awarded grants to smaller churches for creative projects and programs, came to an end on June 30, 2018. If your church would like to apply for a similar grant to fund a ministry idea, check out the Ignite program.