Guest post by Scott Tyson
On Thursday I attended the Unleash Conference in Anderson, SC at NewSpring Church. I was reminded of the following things:
- “Church” conferences fail to recognize sports ministry activities. There are always breakout sessions for youth, children, worship, production, senior pastors (and their wives), and more. But rarely is there a breakout session that focuses on sports ministry. NewSpring even has a gym and a “football” field but I guess they have not caught the vision of sports outreach ministry yet.
- Real life change is a “process”. CSO continually talks about how relational outreach is the best approach in the sports ministry arena to reach people. But as you all know, it takes time and effort to building lasting, trusting, and deep relationships to allow for God’s word to penetrate the heart. During the process, the little things matter. Everything we do in the “daily grind” has an impact on those we are trying to reach. By eliminating distractions (like poor communication, bad coaching, scheduling conflicts, trashed facilities) and doing the everything with excellence, we are creating the best opportunity for our participants to hear the “real” message of Christ we are attempting to communicate in various ways.
- The Lead Pastor is constantly under attack and needs his staff and church leaders to rally around him and “get his back”. It often feels like a daily stoning and becomes almost unbearable when his own staff is throwing the rocks. Do you have your Lead Pastor’s back?
