Christians in Sport, in partnership with other sports ministry organisations globally, is helping to pilot a new training journey specifically for young Christian leaders who are active in the world of competitive and elite sport.
As good as the many ministry training schemes in the UK are, they are often not best suited to the competitive and elite sports player. Mission and discipleship within this world is one of the most unique aspects of sport ministry. Working with athletes who compete at the highest levels, train intensively and often travel regularly, they are often on their own with few believers around them. Some of them are also in the public eye.
For such Christian leaders it has often proved a challenge to help them grow and develop in ministry. Regular ministry training programmes with study time commitments and residential courses are rarely a good fit for athletes. They need training that is not just biblically robust but also adapted specifically for the sporting world.
One key feature of the new programme is that each individual can remain in their home or training context, coaching and playing, whilst still learning as part of a global team of like-minded and like-‘gifted’ people. The whole programme is online, with a ‘study at your own pace’ learning pathway at the heart of it. There are live webinars, repeated for individuals from different timezones and recorded for those for whom attendance is a challenge. Everyone is assigned a senior Christian mentor from the world of sports ministry to care for and coach them through the programme.
The idea for the programme was conceived barely one year ago. However, lockdown conveniently gave time to not only plan, construct, build and recruit for the programme ready for the September 2020 start, but it also forced the adoption of the required digital resources required.
For the pilot year running from September 2020 to June 2021 there are 40 participants enrolled including current Olympic and Paralympic athletes, as well as an extraordinary array of professional and elite sports players representing 27 different countries.
Over the course of the year each participant will learn to better understand, handle and communicate God’s word within the world of competitive and elite sport through modules on Biblical studies, gospel communication and pastoral training. There will also be modules covering topics such as sport as vocation, body obsession, injury, retirement, and mental health in elite sport, all looked at through a Biblical lens so as to best interpret and engage with this subculture. Lastly, each participant will work through modules on leadership, strategic development and management, with the aim of equipping them to think and act effectively in the world of sport to build a Christian-minded work with strength and depth that lasts.
There are many challenges ahead, but we are immensely excited by the new venture and are entrusting it to the Lord’s leading!
