Tomorrow I’ll make a four
hour drive to Indianapolis, Indiana to attend the American Football Coaches
Association’s (AFCA) annual convention. This is a gathering of thousands of
high school and college coaches from all across the USA and even some from
abroad. The event is full of training sessions, discussions, dinners, lunches
and our ministry hosts a worship service on Sunday morning, a fellowship time
on Sunday night, and a breakfast on Monday morning (free of charge) for the
coaches. There will be lots of awards presented through the sweep of Saturday
through Wednesday and we will have a booth in the exhibition hall where we
greet coaches who are either curious about our ministry or are being drawn by
the Lord to Himself. Our being there is the key.
In the USA, much of the
Church’s way of doing ministry is “come and see.” We hold our special events,
our worship services, our dinners, or whatever else we think will be attractive
to people looking for a church. In almost twenty years of ministry in sport, I
much prefer “go and tell” ministry methods. I would much rather attend a
coaching convention or clinic where I know coaches of all sorts will be than
host one which will only draw coaches who are already committed to our Lord
and/or our mission.
By simply standing at our
booth, greeting coaches who wander by in the expansive exhibition hall,
offering information or directions, chatting informally, and offering the
simple resources we distribute, we open doors to relationship for ourselves and
for our colleagues in the communities where the coaches live. We regularly
network these coaches to our ministry partners and many times open new doors
for ministry that may not have opened had we not been there.
This will be the ninth such
AFCA convention for me and it’s always worthwhile, even if I have to drive
hours or fly across the country to Texas, Florida, or California. This is where
the coaches are and it’s where they are most who they want to be. To be sure,
many are posing, many are simply hunting a job, many are secure and puffed up,
many are hunting for free beers and available women, but some are actually
spiritually hungry, but not sure for what. If we are there, engaged, and alert,
we can be the ones who speak real life to their hearts and can awaken their
need for a life transforming relationship with Christ Jesus.
For many others, they’ve just
been fired, their head coach has been fired and they also are dispatched, while
still others are in transitions of other sorts. Our presence in that culture is
a point of constancy and emblematic of the Lord Jesus’ faithfulness; simply by
showing up.
May I challenge you to do
similarly in your sporting environment? Whether it’s a national, regional,
state or even local coaches event; be there. Engage. Love the coaches. Watch
for hungry hearts and attentive ears. Be the Lord’s presence in this place like
you are in the life of your own team. You may find that your reach into coaches’
lives extends far beyond your local team, club, or community. You may find your
phone’s contact list becomes populated by hundreds of coaches’ names and
numbers as mine has. Your face to face interaction at the convention keeps the
relationship warm and enables your text messages and phone calls throughout the
year to have their intended results. You can speak to their hearts in any
circumstance, anytime, and from anywhere.
