Leadership Guidelines for Small Group Discussions with People of Sport

Goals and Objectives:


• For men and women of sport to have their lives to accurately reflect the Spirit of Christ in all their ways.


(Proverbs 3:5-6, Colossians 3:23)


• To live with a heart of integrity. To live with one’s life in Christ Jesus fully integrated into all facets of life; family, church, athletics, leadership, academics, etc…


• To live with the understanding that as athletes and coaches, “…Christ in you, the hope of glory,” (Colossians 1:27) is as fitting for you as for the minister, priest or pastor.


• God would be most honored if our lives were consistently committed to Christ at church, in the classroom, at home, on the field of competition and in all areas of life.






Settings for meetings:


In meeting with people of sport for quality time of prayer, study, discussion and fellowship, the setting is best determined by the opportunity you’re afforded. This may mean a meeting with a team at the practice facility prior to practice or immediately thereafter. It may mean an early morning meeting at a restaurant including breakfast. It may mean a weekly study prior to team meetings. The opportunity with those whose lives you wish to impact determines the where, the when, the how long for your setting. There is plenty of flexibility within the forms listed as models.


As a rule, the best option is nearest the sports experience for the group. That could mean the right place to meet is at the stadium, arena or practice facility. It may mean meeting in the place where the team has meals together. It could mean the building where the players are housed. Make it as convenient as possible.


It is normally best to arrange chairs in a circle or to meet around a table. This way the leader can see everyone in the group face to face. This is also the best arrangement for discussion between members of the group. Chairs arranged in rows or classroom style allows for the leader to see everyone, but inhibits discussion between various other members.


It’s often wise to set a finite number of weeks or months for the group to meet together. This makes for a natural time to adjust details, to change subject matter, to add new people and for some people to gracefully leave the group. The group can then adjust and begin again with new focus, direction and energy.






Procedures for success:


What are the procedures that should be the core of our meeting together? How do we effective lead our group to study the Bible and have the Spirit of God impact their lives? The following is a simple list of instructions for leading such a group.






1. Prepare for the group study with personal study.


• Your preparation with each of the study questions is key to your leadership of the group.


• You may have insights or applications beyond those indicated by the study writer.


• Pray for the members of the group and take time to personally invite them to the first sessions.


• Prepare for the logistics of the meeting room, refreshments (if needed), Bibles, etc…


• Think through particular illustrations and applications of the study to the individuals in the group. The more you can apply the scripture to the experience of this team and its sport, the greater will be the impact of the study.






2. Take time for prayer in some form.


• Share requests aloud and pray for each other in the group.


Prayer builds team unity and helps them learn to pray for others.






3. Read the text for the study aloud.


• You or someone who can read well aloud should read the text. (Some people don’t read well aloud and are embarrassed when asked to do so.)






4. Read and discuss the study questions, one at a time.


• Leave time for them to think and express their ideas, tell their stories, share their feelings.


• Don’t worry about finishing the list of questions; your objective is to have them interact with each other and the Scripture.


• Don’t worry about times of silence, they might be thinking! If the question seems clumsy or confusing, rephrase it or shape it in a way that better fits your group. If it’s helpful, you may offer your ideas or experiences as an example.


• Encourage everyone to take part in the discussion and welcome all responses, especially the stories and experiences of the group.


• Judge wisely the responses to questions that relate to truth and error with respect to the Scripture. Be ready to correct or affirm such responses.


• Look for ways to take the questions to deeper levels of their hearts. The goal is to get to the fourth level and deal with matters of the heart.


1. Personal experience. These questions invite the group to share experiences they've had related to the themes in the text. These also invite everyone to participate and lead to later applications of scriptural principles.


2. Observation of text. These are mostly questions that are easily answered simply by observing the material in the text. These questions welcome everyone’s participation and invite all into the discussion.


3. Interpretation and application. The principles seen in the scripture will lead the group to grasp the moral implications and personal applications of the text. They are now wrestling with God’s will for them as Christian people of sport.


4. Matters of the heart. Some questions will probe deeply enough to challenge the members about their identity in Christ. They’ll be confronted with their tendency toward performance rather than unconditional acceptance in Christ Jesus. The motives and attitudes of the heart are uncovered by these probing questions.


• It is the role of the leader to ask the questions, to facilitate discussion and to ask follow up questions at the appropriate levels. Doing these things will result in your group being deeply impacted by the Spirit of God in all areas of life.






Evaluation of results:


How do we know if we’re doing well or if we’re doing poorly? How can we measure our effectiveness? There are a few things that are good indicators of our effectiveness in studies like this.


• Consistency. If the participants are consistently attending, are bringing their Bibles, are participating enthusiastically in the discussions, you’re doing well.


• Faithfulness. If you can see a growing faithfulness to Christ in the group members’ behavior, on and off the field of competition. If their lives become more reflective of Jesus’ character, day to day, you’re doing very well.


• Integrity of heart. If you see the participants growing more Christ-like in their on and off-field behavior, if their lives as Christians and lives as people of sport are beginning to overlap, then to become one… you’re watching God at work!






When and how to begin?


• Pray and watch for an opportunity.


• Personally recruit those who should be at the center of the group and pray. Ideally these would be coaches or players from the team. There will be a greater ownership of the group this way among the team and coaches.


• Arrange the details for time, day, location, duration, and subject matter and pray.


• Set the details for the first meeting and pray.


• Prepare for and execute the first meeting and pray.


• Continue the meetings, recruit, nurture, love and pray.






May your experience be one of great joy and excitement as you help men and women of sport form hearts of integrity in relationship with Christ Jesus our Lord.