One of the things I love to do is hear of ways that God uses the tool of sports for building his kingdom.
I was in Houston recently and met Ron Helton. He served as a missionary in Moldova. As we talked he related the following story. I was struck with this simple truth again – in the hands of God, sport is an amazing tool.
It was a beautiful, cool summer day in Moldova in 1993, shortly after the collapse of the Soviet empire and the arrival of our family as rookie missionaries in the capital city of Kishinev. We were still adjusting to the newness of it all, and my wife, Dorcas, and I were trying to help our three children – Brent, Tamara, and Misty who were ages 16, 13 and 13 at the time, transition as smoothly as possible to the vast cultural changes. Actually, I think the kids were trying to help their mom and dad transition on that summer afternoon. In the process we ended up at one of the local parks with a few of the kid’s new Moldovan friends, wearing baseball caps and with bat, ball, and gloves in hand prepared for a casual game of baseball.
It didn’t take long for a crowd to gather, and we immediately had an authentic American game of baseball underway complete with spectators! Tamara suggested that we invite the youthful spectators to play with us, and very soon we had two full teams. Our game of baseball actually turned into a baseball clinic, but it was a blast for everyone involved, and God was very much present. This was the beginning of a regular Saturday event that God used in His own powerful way to introduce many of those initial young spectators and their friends and families to Jesus Christ. God also used this event to reveal sports as a tool that He would continue to use even to this present day, twenty years later.
“As you are going, make disciples ….” this is what our family did on that Saturday afternoon so many years ago. Countless lives have been changed forever as a result, and what we used as our tool then is being used effectively all over the world in Sport related ministries today. It isn’t just a game …. It is a tool that attracts people to those who are eager to share their lives and their Savior with a lost world. Start where they are presently in something they can relate to, and take them where you know they need to be in a personal relationship with Jesus.
With this story in mind, how might you give your sports to Jesus like the disciples gave him the 5 loaves and 2 fish and watch him do amazing things?
