Global Sports Chaplaincy Summit

A number of the leaders in Sports Chaplaincy from around the world were gathered in Charlotte, North Carolina for discussions on a number of topics and to coalesce their efforts toward continuing growth of this form of ministry across the globe. We were gathered by Richard Gamble of Cede Network (@CedeNetwork), formerly of Sports Chaplaincy United Kingdom. We were very graciously hosted by Bob Dyar of Cede Network (http://cedenetwork.org/) in conjunction with Joe Gibbs Racing.

The august list of attendees included these men:

Brad Barts  - Athletes in Action

Cameron Butler  - Sports Chaplaincy Australia

George Dansey – Hillsong Church – Sydney, Australia

Bob Dyar  - CedeNetwork

Warren Evans  - Sports Chaplaincy United Kingdom

Richard Gamble - CedeNetwork

Ross Georgiou - Sports Chaplaincy New Zealand

Landon Huffman - Johnson University - Knoxville, Tennessee

Brad Kenney - Cross Training - USA

Reid Lamphere - Athletes in Action

Roger Lipe - Fellowship of Christian Athletes

Larry Thompson - Athletes in Action

Stephen Waller – University of Tennessee - Knoxville Tennessee

Our discussions included such matters as: defining sports chaplaincy, outlining characteristics for the quality delivery of sports chaplaincy, and naming various models of sports chaplaincy service. The aim was to find agreement in such matters and to provide clarity as to what sports chaplaincy is. Many forms of ministry in and around sport are being called chaplaincy, but are far from these agreed to standards of sports chaplaincy.

Because of the global nature of our group and the presence of men from the academic community, we also discussed strategies and alliances for encouraging and growing sports chaplaincy as a form of ministry in non-Anglo regions of the world. We were most thrilled with the collegiality experienced by all of us.

One of the consistently strongest felt needs listed by sports chaplains is that of isolation. Most of us feel terribly remote from our colleagues. One of the ways we aim to address this issue is through a global registry of sports chaplains. Our teammates from Cede Network have the technical expertise to develop, to manage, and to lead such a network with state of the art security features to protect the data and identities of all concerned.

We left Charlotte for our respective homes with a great deal of momentum for the growth and development of sports chaplaincy around the globe and with a strong brotherhood between us. Please join us in praying for wisdom, favor, and vision as we pursue the Lord’s purposes for this form of ministry in the world of sport.