Soul Training - 7 Keys to Coaching the Faith of Elite Sportspeople - Part 11

For the next number of weeks, I will be sharing excerpts from my new book, Soul Training - 7 Keys to Coaching the Faith of Elite Sportspeople. https://www.crosstrainingpublishing.com/shop/soul-training

Faith Development Exercises for Elite Sportspeople

Since 1980 I have been engaged in the process of making disciples and since 1985, I have been using the same approach to this process. I learned it from my mentor, Fred Bishop of No Greater Love Ministries. This approach is very simple but allows for tremendous depth and flexibility for both the faith development leader, and the disciple.

Having now served people in the sporting world since 1994, and continuing to make disciples along the way, this approach has proven to be quite effective. Please consider using this model or modifying it to suit your purposes. It can be used in one-to-one settings, with small groups, or even large groups.

If you are an elite level person of sport, I believe this process and its exercises will serve you well. Please look through the diagrams and descriptions of the processes to choose a point for beginning. As your faith develops, simply work your way around the four points of the cross to develop your faith completely. These exercises can help you continually grow across your lifetime, in sport and beyond it.

If you are someone serving the men and women of the elite sporting world, I believe this process and its exercises can be of great value to you. This model can provide a simple framework upon which you can add your own favorite exercises and resources for making disciples of Christ Jesus. Simply use this model as a starting point and systematically aid the sportspeople in the development of their faith.

The process I use is pictured here. It focuses on four areas of development of Christian life. Prayer – Study – Christian Community – Sharing One’s Faith. With sportspeople, I often call these exercises or drills that we practice developing our lives in Christ. I will explain, demonstrate, and assign a process or a resource for exercising, and in succeeding sessions we will review their discoveries, insights, and answer their questions. I always emphasize that Christian discipleship is a life-long process of growth and development.