A 2002 study by The Barna Group revealed the following probabilities of people accepting Jesus Christ as their savior:
- Those between the ages of 5-13 have a 32% probability
- Individuals in the 14-18 age range have a 4% probability
- People between the ages of 19 and death have a 6% chance.
Thus the greatest opportunity to reach people with the gospel is before the teenage years.
These statistics had a profound impact on me. Read them again and look for the implications.
Many church based sports ministries consist largely of children between the ages of 5 – 13. This is the prime time for a person to make a decision to trust Jesus as savior! After age 13 the probability of a person coming to Christ radically declines. Sports ministries have the unique opportunity to teach the gospel to its participants with the highest probability of acceptance. Yet many ministries waste their opportunities and instead chooses to settle for activities and running programs versus transforming lives.
Taking these statistics seriously, the question becomes “What are you doing in sports ministry to make the most of this opportunity?”
