I recently came across this article talking about the growing popularity of Lacrosse. Below are some stats from the article:
- Participation in U.S. high school lacrosse grew 528 percent between 1990 and 2008, as per the National Federation of State High School Associations.
- In 2007, it was estimated, by a survey authorized by the National Sporting Goods Association, that 1.2 million Americans older than age 7 had played lacrosse.
- By recent accounts, there are more than 240 men’s and more than 300 women’s college lacrosse teams playing in Division I, II and III.
- US Lacrosse reports suggested that in 2009, total lacrosse participation included more than 520,000 players, an increase of 8.4 percent from 2008 and more than double the 2001 number.
- An estimated 265,000 of those players were youths. US Lacrosse membership numbers (those players who are registered) hit 296,743 in 2008, a growth rate of 579 percent since the organization’s inception in 1998.
Obviously, lacrosse could be a great context for your church to serve your community and use as a tool to build relationships. Are there any churches out there doing lacrosse?