By Matti Trimbath (MTS’27)
Update: As of March 1, 2026, the Hot Shots Dream Team was crowned the winner of the GoBeGreat Award. Full details can be found here.
A Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) alumnus has helped propel a Georgia Cheer Team to the top three national finalists of the NCA GoBeGreat Award which recognizes cheer teams going above and beyond in service. Georgia native Grant Magness (’25) has more than 25 years of youth development experience as a youth minister and cheer coach, and while earning his Doctor of Ministry (DMin) at BUSTH, wanted to merge youth development through community service with the transformational leadership focus of the degree. His DMin dissertation, titled “Mission Is Possible: A Team-Based Model For Youth Depth Development Through Transformative Servant Leadership,” argues that mission based service under four developmental pillars–youth-led, spirit-driven, mission-centered, kin(g)dom-bound–leads to individual, relational, and community development.
Immediately following Magness’ graduation, Mission Is Possible! partnered with Hot Shots Cheerleading Center to introduce the Hot Shots ‘Dream Team’ (all-star 12-18 year-old athletes) as a prototype for the “Cheer to Serve” initiative. The “Cheer to Serve” initiative reframes service as a team building essential with pillars of companionship, humility, and co-development. The Dream Team served as regular helpers at “The Birthday Club,” a free monthly open gym for special needs children and their siblings sponsored by the Mission Is Possible Foundation and hosted by Hot Shots Cheerleading. The goals are to offer respite for parents, to create authentic connections across ability, and to allow for peer development through youth-led activities.
Despite originally planning a more traditional education-based youth service route early on in his career, Magness realized through his doctoral studies that his calling would be fulfilled by adding a mission-based service component to the local cheer community he already knew. “The only expectation is that we’re going to show up and serve,” he says. “[W]e’re not going to serve to or for, we’re going to serve with.” With over 400 cumulative hours of service and more than 150 special needs families served from June 2025 through February 2026, “Cheer to Serve” is projected to impact more than 200 special needs families with 600 cumulative hours by June 2026.
To add an intentionally reflective component to this work, Dream Team members engage in a 60-90 minute debriefing following all acts of service (e.g. The Birthday Club). The goal of this praxis is to share content, experience, and integration: What did you see, what did you feel, and what will you take from your encounters today? Magness has seen leadership development since integrating the program, and the Dream Team captains explained they “noticed…team-wide changes in attitude.” Further, “[the Dream Team senior captains] believe these changes have come from the growth [they’ve] experienced through service with others, especially serving with others from the special needs community, because it demands patience and grace.”
The goal of this [reflective work] is to share content, experience, and integration: What did you see, what did you feel, and what will you take from your encounters today?
Although success is not always quantifiable, the response to the Cheer to Serve initiative shows growth, diversity, acceptance, and commitment. Moving forward, Magness expressed his plans to continue and grow Cheer to Serve. “I’m excited to incorporate the feedback and demonstrable results from this first-year prototype,” he says. “The ‘youth-led’ pillar from my time in traditional youth ministry is still important in this non-traditional approach to youth depth development [with further improvements] grounded in significant youth reflection and advice.”
The winner of the 2026 GoBeGreat Award will be announced the weekend of February 28 – March 2 during the NCA All Star National Championship in Houston, Texas.
