Over the years, I’ve encountered three different types of people in sports ministry. Below is each type followed by a brief description:
The Sports Minister of Sports: The Sports Minister of Sports loves sports…and thinks Jesus is ok to. In most cases, they were a high level athlete that just can’t quite let go of the centrality of sports in their lives. They have a high sports I.Q. but a low ministry I.Q. At the end of the day, ministry is a good thing but the sports part of the job is paramount. This can be clearly seen in how they spend their work time and what they are passionate about.
The Christian, Sports Minister: The Christian, Sports Minister is a follower of Christ who knows his/her sports. They love Jesus but struggle knowing how to integrate sports and ministry. As a result, they focus on what they know: logistics, administration, organizing, rules, etc. All of these are important and they do these things well. They operate a good clinic/league but feel like there’s more to sports ministry than just running a good program.
The Gospel Centered Sports Minister: The Gospel Centered Sports Minister loves sports and loves Jesus. More importantly though, they have a desire and a knowledge in how to integrate the two. They use sports as a bridge to reach their community and as a laboratory to develop them. They see how the gospel applies to every area of their life. They are humble, gracious, and wise followers of Christ who desire to make much of Jesus through sports.
So, which one are you? If you asked your friends and peers to label you, what would they say?
If I’m honest, when I started as a sports minister, I was the Christian, Sports Minister. I loved Jesus and I loved sports but I didn’t really know what I was doing when it came to marrying the two. Through God’s grace and the work of CSO though, I believe I’m now a Gospel Centered Sports Minister.
Regardless of what you are, the CSO Network can be a great resource. Please, if you haven’t done so already, check it out. If you’d like to learn more, check out our About page, read this post or watch this webinar to learn more about our ministry. The CSO Network is the primary way we accomplish our mission of “redeeming the idol of sports and the people who play them by leading a global movement of gospel centered sports ministries in local churches.”
