Steve Sorensen stepped into eternity on the afternoon of May 8, 2025.
Steve’s sudden departure came as a shock to many. His life and leadership left a deep and lasting impact on all who had the privilege to know him.
For over 40 years, Steve faithfully served as the Director of News Release Basketball, leading with unwavering passion, contagious energy, a servant’s heart, and an unforgettable laugh.
Under his leadership, NRB reached thousands of individuals and communities across the world through basketball camps and competitions.
Part of Steve’s greatest legacy lies in how he lived out the NRB motto: “In Christ, Through Hoops, To the World!”
He tirelessly demonstrated and shared the GOOD NEWS of salvation and eternal life through a vibrant, personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
We thank God for Steve’s life—his leadership, his friendship, and his bold witness. His Gospel-centered life influenced generations of players, coaches, and communities, leaving a mark that will not fade.
Even in our grief, we rejoice. Steve is now fully experiencing the glory of eternity that he so passionately proclaimed through his life and ministry with News Release.
In honor of Steve and in order to support the Sorensen family, we have set up a donation page for them. If would would like to show your support, any gifts from this link will go directly to the Sorensen family.⬇
The memorial service for Steve will be:
- Wednesday, May 21 at 3PM (mountain standard time)
- Boulder Valley Christian Church (7100 S Boulder Rd, Boulder, CO 80303)
(live-stream of the memorial service: https://www.youtube.com/@bouldervalleychristianchur6704).
We would love to hear stories of how Steve might have impacted your life in the comments below!
Also, if you have any pictures or videos you would like to share with Steve’s family, please email those to tim.bieri@nrbasketball.org.
In this time of grief, we desire to honor Christ through honoring Steve and the legacy he created.
Through Christ, Steve became the connection for so many of us, and for that we are eternally grateful.
As you go about your days, remember to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you and, like Steve, show and share the love of Christ to everyone you interact with.
Steve was my Hero, friend and mentor.
He can never be replaced.
Praying for the family,
Randy Kent
I got to work with NRB for a while in Germany and met Steve a few times on his crazy trips through Europe.
His heart and willingness to suffer through these trips, with cheap hotel rooms and public transportation, regularly amazed me.
Of course so did his desire to serve Jesus through Basketball.
Looking forward to see you in heaven!
Much Love to Gunilla and the Sorensen family
Beste Tim en sympathisanten van News Release ,
Deze ochtend vernam ik het droevige nieuws van Steve ‘s overlijden. 15 jaren geleden leerde ik Steve kennen toen hij met een groep Amerikaanse jongeren een week in Antwerpen (België) doorbracht. Ook in de volgende jaren kwam hij in augustus telkens naar Mercurius bbc. Met Steve had ik vaak interessante gesprekken over het leven in de USA en in België. Steve hield van Antwerpen en met zijn groep maakten we elk jaar mooie wandelingen in onze stad. Het is reeds enkele jaren geleden dat we mekaar nog gezien hadden, maar met de eindejaarsfeesten mailden we nog uitvoerig met mekaar. We blijven erg dankbaar voor de inzet van de News Release – jongeren die tijdens hun Antwerps verblijf ook training gaven aan de jeugdspelers van Mercurius bbc. Steve was een monument en zo zullen we hem in onze club blijven herinneren.
Veel sterkte aan zijn familie en de ganse News Release – beweging.
Lieven De Meyer Mercurius bbc Antwerpen- België
Steve was an exceptional leader and a close friend. Personally I have been blessed through him. The Basketballcamps in Munich we did with NRB would not have been possible without Steves faithful service and dedication even when ressources where short. Giving up was never an option for Steve. He is with Jesus now. May God bless His family, we pray for them.
Just last year my friend Ralph, my brother Joey and I got to meet up with Steve in Berlin again for one afternoon. As per usual, he was on the move between camps and home but he was always ready to put time aside and meet up with people from the camps and catch up.
He was delighted to hear about our life – new jobs, marriages, family – he was always genuinely grateful to hear from us. I’ve met him about 20 years ago so he’s basically seen us growing up despite living on a different continent.
His positivity and kindness will be truly missed over here. Steve is one of the most significant people who made me who I am today. I know this grief will accompany us all for a long time, and my thoughts are with his family in this difficult time.
RIP Coach Steve <3
STEVE!! So many life lessons in the times that we spent together. Steve taught me how to lead, how to encourage others, and how to stir up the gifts so that we could be and build the church. Job well done Steve. We’re here with you Gunilla and family.
I have known Steve for almost 50 years. I was on the first women’s NRB team in 1978. I met Steve on a basketball court at UCLA.
Steve had a passion for basketball and for Jesus. He was one of the kindest human I have known. It was so much fun to play pick up basketball with him at Pauley. We shared our faith and love for Jesus.
Steve was authentic. He loved people well. I saw him after 40 years at the NRB 50 year reunion. His smile, joy and laughter hadn’t changed.
Well done good and faithful servant. Steve, you have been an inspiration to me to live life fully and love others like Jesus. You will always hold a special place in my heart.
Steve was consistent and excellent in his pursuit of the mission “To Christ.Through Hoops.To the World.” Upon meeting up at training camp NRB 2013 he told us how he prayed over every application. And I believed him. My NRB family still plays an impact in my life and I always think of Steve when I give thanks to the great orchestration of it all. It has been beautiful to witness a person stay dedicated and enthusiastic throughout the years. He is a role model and an angel. We love you Steve.
From the first camp in Berlin, Germany in 2006 to a dozen camps in different Berlin schools – my 10 days in 2015 with Gunilla and Steve in Colorado. How Steve had tears in his eyes when I asked if he would baptize me.
The Final Four 2016 in Houston with the amazing final – Steve, who picked me up at the bus afterward and said with his unmistakable laugh and tone of voice, “I will never ever sell you my ticket again.”
So many deep talks about values and humanity, shared moments like that.
Steve hat such an impact on my sons‘ lives, on my life.
I am so thankful of all the times, all the moments with him. He was one of the best.
My thoughts and prayers are with Gunilla and the Sorenson family.
Rest in Peace my friend.
With love, Denise (Berlin, Germany)
Words will fall short of the ache I have in my heart. Steve was a dear friend for so many years. These pictures so emulate of how I envision him to this day. We shared a love for Christ, of basketball and reaching the lost. Please Lord help me be an example of you the way you used Steve. Miss you friend 🙁 🙁 🙁
I Met him when i was a Little Girl – my parents Hosting the NRB Camps. We spend Lots of camps together, Even got to visit him in CO when i had my Exchange year. He was always smiling, spreading this love, Passion and calmeness to the people around him. Steve, you will be missed from sooo many people around the world. Thanks for so many great memories!!! Best regards to his Family from Germany!!!
Dear Gunilla and Sorensen family
We, his family from Belgium -Joss, Lieve, Kim, and Jork- were hit hard by the news of Steve’s passing. We just saw him last year when he visited us in Aartselaar, it’s heartbreaking to know that was the last time we will ever see him.
Steve visited us every year, even if he only had one day to spare, he never missed an opportunity to come see us and share a moment with us. We loved him, and we know he loved us, and we also know he loved his family so much. We always heard every little bit of news about you, Gunilla, and the kids and his grandchild. The news and the memories we shared were always warm and genuine.
You and your family are in our thoughts as you grieve this loss.
All our love,
Joss Van den Bosch
Lieve, Kim, and Jork
Dear Gunilla and family,
Natalie and I are so very shocked and saddened to hear today of Steve’s passing. Your sudden loss is unimaginable – please know that our prayers are with you all for God’s comfort and peace. Steve was a fellow TRW employee and dear friend and mentor to me in the early 1980s, and was instrumental in my coming to Christ in the summer of 1980. In fact, that December Steve gifted me a bible, which I still have, that he received while studying at Talbot Seminary. As I’m sure you know, we were members of the “Light Unlimited” singles class at Community Baptist Church in Manhattan Beach, CA (now called Journey of Faith) where Steve occasionally led our bible studies. I remember one time Steve came to class having shaved only one side of his heavily bearded face. He had a big smile and wonderful sense of humor and I can still hear his laugh. Steve lived with my brother Stephen and I for a short time in our Redondo Beach townhouse, and we had some hilarious times joking around and playing games, including “chubby bunny”, which Steve easily won! It was Steve who helped Natalie and I to find a Christian church when we moved here to Ogden Utah in 1988 and we are still active members of that church today. Steve’s dedication to NRB and its evangelistic mission was always front and center in his life, and of course it was through that ministry that God blessed him with you, Gunilla as the love of his life. We can all be confident that God has welcomed Steve into heaven as His good and faithful servant.
Love and prayers,
David & Natalie Six
Guinilla and family-
I was stunned to hear of Steve’s sudden passing. What I am sure of is that he loved Christ and you all. Knowing Steve, I am sure that he surrounded you all with laughter, love and created a home where you all became the best you could be. I met him in my “younger” years and that is the way he was. Full of hope, laughter, and vision. I am sorry for your unimaginable loss. I do pray that you experience God’s loving presence as you travel with a part of him in each of you. He was indeed a good and faithful servant of Christ. He loved, laughed, made so many lives richer because of who he was. I am thankful for the gift of having known Steve as a friend. I bet he is playing basketball in heaven……
Steve was an incredible friend and co-laborer in Christ. The number of calls and emails shared over the years and the opportunity to work with him was such a blessing. No matter what time we would meet him at the train station in Germany, Hungary, or Belgium, he would always have a big smile and be ready to meet the hosts and team members. If it was at the end of the tour, it was a BOOST to the team to finish strong and if at the beginning of the tour – to take time and love on the kids. Getting time away-alone – (although he was never alone, because he cherished his time with the Lord) usually hiking in Mittenwald on the Karwendel… was a high priority for Steve. He knew how important it was to spend time with his Lord and Saviour. It recharged him because Steve ALWAYS seemed geared up and ready to go. Steve loved basketball and he loved NRB so it was such a natural combination for him and boy did he do it well. I am certain as he entered into the presence of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, he heard: Steve, Well done Good and Faithful Servant.
I met Steve in the 80s during basketball camps in Bruges (Belgium).
After that we lost contact a bit but we would send each other our New Year’s wishes every year.
From the 90s I started organizing BB camps myself and our contact was fully restored and intensified.
Steve came to Oedelem, Aalter, Zedelgem… (all near Bruges Belgium) with men and women teams.
They helped me at my camps and I arranged for shelter and basketball games.
In 2003 we went for the first time together to the NABC Convention and NCAA finals in New Orleans.
Steve gave me his tickets for the NCAA finals so I could go and watch the NCAA finals… he stayed at the hotel watching the finals on TV.
Every time he came to Europe in the spring he would come to my house.
Not for long, just for a few days because Steve was a busy man traveling all over Europe organizing his NRB tours for the NRB teams he would bring over in the summer.
Every year since 2016, we looked forward to early April.
That’s the period where Steve took it upon himself to book a hotel room so we could go to the NABC convention… together and experience the NCAA finals… together.
Wonderful, fun, friendly, I’ll-miss-them-deep, chatting times about basketball, faith, and today’s changing world.
The last 2 years he was very interested and he watched, so he said with admiration, now that I was retired, how I made choices to make my intensive basketball life more and more, less and less intensive.
So we talked a lot about growing older and how you deal with that.
What choice should/can you make for that insurmountable certain fact in function of your spouse and of course also family and your own capacities but also upcoming personal physical limitations.
After the finals in Phoenix last year he had me at his home.
I was warmly and lovingly received in his Colorado home.
A wonderful time together with his wife Gunilla and son Daniel, and son Carl even came by with granddaughter Ida.
This year, during the NABC conference in San Antonio 2025, I asked Steve if he would like to return with NRB to Bruges… where our lifelong friendship once began, more than 40 years ago.
Steve was immediately enthusiastic.
A few days before his passing, I received an lively email to further discuss and develop the idea of ‘Back to Bruges’.
Unfortunately, this will no longer be possible.
I will never, never, never ever forget his memory but will always cherish him deep in my heart.
My livelong friend Steve with his warm voice, his broad smile, his quick pace and his engaging personality.
He was, together with his wife Gunilla, one of the exceptional people who unequivocally and explicit took me as I was.
I was/am not nearly, not by a long shot, as deeply religious as they are.
Yet, in this respect, Steve never forced his faith, as he saw and lived it, on me, which I greatly appreciated and valued.
We talked about it a lot, exchanged ideas and had discussions.
The greatness of these two amazing people is that they take you as you are, with all the pros and cons, unconditionally and respectfully.
You had the right to be different.
And that feeling is eternally mutual.
Your FFL Hans and Chantal