Ministry To Sport or Through Sport?

During a recent conversation with Cameron Butler of Sports Chaplaincy Australia, I began to incubate some thoughts on the distinctives of ministry to the people of sport and ministry through the people of sport. How are they defined? How are they similar? How are the different? What are examples of each? What are wise values for each? Some of our collective thoughts are in the email notes for the next couple of weeks. Bless you.

We who are engaged in Sports Ministries would do well to ask ourselves some questions for evaluation and contemplation on a couple of important issues. Many of us would characterize our ministries as being to the people of sport. Others would say that their ministry extends through the people of sport to the world at large. Others would rightly say that they do some of both. I would like to challenge all of us with the same definitions and questions I regularly ask of myself as I analyze and adjust my ministry with people in sport; coaches and athletes alike.

Important Note: Ministry to Sportspeople and Ministry through Sportspeople are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Often they work together. This document examines the ‘primary’ driver of our sports ministry.

First, let’s define Ministry to Sportspeople in the simplest terms. It is selflessly serving the sportspeople and God's purposes in them with no ulterior motive, no matter how noble.

Below are some examples of such selfless service -
· Assisting in the whole-life development of the sportsperson.
· Offering help to players' and coaches' families when they are new to the community.
· Assisting support staff when they need help with a task.
· Visiting players who are injured, ill or are grieving a family loss.
· Helping a coach or player who wants to share his faith by training and encouraging him about it.
· Offering hospitality and community to these people often displaced from family and friends.
· Speaking privately with a player or a coach about his or her relationship with Christ.
· Maintaining confidentiality re: injuries, illness, family situations, contracts, etc...
· Protecting private information about players and coaches, such as phone numbers, email addresses, etc.
· Praying for a coach or athlete when a request is shared in confidence.
· Sending encouraging notes, emails, text messages and phone calls.