Ministry with a Virtual Coaches Convention

Here amidst the chaos of COVID-19 and political noise, we sought a way to love, to serve, to engage, equip, and empower coaches during the 2021 American Football Coaches Association convention – this time 100% virtual in nature. Normally we would be meeting with these 6,000 coaches in person, but not this time. This year would require creativity, tenacity, and comfort with risk.

Our ministry’s senior leadership understands the value of ministry at such events and strongly supported our continuing sponsorship of the event, our plans for virtual forms of ministry, and encouraged us along the way.

A team of my colleagues designed our ministry efforts through a series of Zoom meetings, emails, and text messages. They submitted videos from coaches in their networks as well as encouragement for coaches from their own hearts. These videos were collected and posted to a playlist on YouTube at - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBmzpllyhtqwzfGD0h291iV0Ns2ab48Og

As the event approached, we began tweeting information about our ministry efforts, inviting coaches to our Zoom Coaches Huddle, and sought to drive traffic to the video playlist for the convention. A couple of those tweets are shown below.

 

 

Our colleague from Texas Christian University, Chauncey Franks, is the team chaplain for TCU Football, and he welcomed coaches into our Zoom Huddle meeting while I admitted them, one by one. A discussion of questions re: faith, challenges, opportunities, and joys in this oddest of seasons followed. We alternated between the group being all together, and gathered in breakout rooms for discussions. The breakout rooms were excellent in that they enabled more participation in the same timeframe. A recording of that Coaches Huddle is posted at - https://youtu.be/hfabtMHpICM.

Over the years of serving at this convention, I have arrived at a strong conviction re: what coaches want from such a meeting. It is fellowship. More than anything else, they want to talk to each other, to be encouraged, and to encourage others by simply being together. Rather than think we’re serving them by delivering a talk or a presentation, we simply get them together and give them time to talk to each other.

Normally, following the late Sunday night Coaches Huddle, we would be up early on Monday for the FCA Coaches Breakfast. 400+ football coaches would be up early and would join us for breakfast, encouragement from FCA staffers, coaches, and the announcement of the annual FCA Grant Taeff Coach of the Year Award. Without a breakfast for making the announcement we had to be more creative about the award process.

As per usual, we received nominations from FCA staff around the nation, gathered them and sent them out to our convention ministry team, and then discussed the nominees via Zoom meeting. As everything else is upside-down this year, and as we had two stellar nominees, we decided to give awards to two coaches.

Coach Jamey Chadwell of Coastal Carolina University and Coach Tom Allen of Indiana University. The videos of their receiving the awards are at – https://youtu.be/OVbiRuOMI2w and - https://youtu.be/r17CLi5EuG4, respectively.

I am so very thankful for faithful colleagues, a supportive executive team, encouraging coaches, and technology that enables us to continue to serve coaches and their families in spite of challenges. Let’s all love extravagantly and serve selflessly, even if our normal avenues of ministry are shut down.