You probably have never been challenged to be creative in your sports ministry, right? Reach more people, pray more, disciple better, etc. These are the things you lay awake at night thinking about–and for good reason. I can say this confidently though: God wants you to be creative in your ministry.
When you think about God, what do you know of his character? You know that he is a loving God, a merciful God, a gracious God, a holy God, etc. These are probably the first things you thought of and rightfully so. Do you think of God as a creating God though? You should because that’s the first thing we learn about him in Scripture. “In the beginning, God…” did what? He created. He created the heavens and the earth and everything else. And since we were created (there’s that word again) in his image, that means we all have this creative bend in us.
Most people don’t feel creative. They will say, “I’m not an artist, I’m not a musician, I’m not a filmmaker, etc.” They are right, they probably are not any of those things. It doesn’t mean they are not creative though. It just means they haven’t found their arena for creativity.
Which leads me to another bold declaration: If you are in sports ministry, God wants you to be creative there.
The sports ministry world is a great environment to create. Allow me to explain. There was a man by the name of Dr. James Naismith who felt creative one day. He wanted to create a sport to reach young men for Christ and he created the sport of basketball. I think that went well, wouldn’t you? This game inspired another gentlemen at a YMCA nearby, William Morgan, to create an indoor sport that could be played by women and older folks. That sport became known as volleyball. The list goes on.
Just maybe I’ve convinced you to be creative in your ministry thus far. If so, maybe you’re wondering: How do I start? Where do I start? Let me offer some suggestions:
- Naismith and Morgan created new sports. So can you. New sports are being created all the time and catch on amazingly quick. It can be done.
- Somebody, somewhere came up with the idea of “micro” sports. This is the idea where younger kids play sports on smaller teams (3 vs. 3, 4 vs. 4). This allows for more manageable team sizes plus often serves as a better way to develop kids athletically (more time with the ball, more space, etc.). In light of this, think of the struggles you have with different sports and think through ways you can make changes for the better. Maybe it’s adding more rules, maybe it’s getting rid of rules. Think “outside of the box.”
- I mentioned above that you lie awake at night thinking about reaching people, discipleship, etc. How you reach people, how you disciple people–there are ways to be creative here. Think of innovative ways to do these things. Don’t just do what everyone else does, see if there’s a new and better way out there.
One last thing, anyone who has ever created anything (including God) has been criticized. It comes with the territory. If you are creative and innovative in your ministry, there will be critics. Just remember, your identity is not in your creation, it’s in Christ. Don’t let the critics discourage you. As Stephen Altrogge says, “If you are seeking to be creative for the glory of God, he will reward us.”
