Here in the USA schools are starting after the summer vacation and fall sports are gearing up as well. Soccer (football), American football, volleyball, golf, tennis, and even some baseball is played in the months of August through November. This time of year is always exciting because it’s full of anticipation and hope for success.

For sports chaplains and character coaches, this season of the year also presents some unique opportunities for effective ministry. Below is a brief, certainly not exhaustive, list of opportunities and ideas for your ministry with teams or individuals in this new season.

Prior to the season’s beginning, visit practices. Obtain a roster and memorize names, uniform numbers, and other details that seem helpful.

At preseason practices, speak with the coaching staff, support staff, and players as you can. Build relationships, they are central to everything we do.

Look for opportunities to assist the coaching staff in any way possible. Serve, serve, serve, and serve some more.

If you are able, attend team meetings and observe the team’s culture, their interaction, the tone of the coaching staff, their expectations, their goals, etc…

Look ahead at the schedule to see where ministry opportunities may be for yourself and for others.

Speak with the head coach about the possibilities of team chapels, Bible studies, team dinners, a study for the coaches, or other opportunities for ministry. Plan and execute them well.

Be sure, if you are serving in a university, to meet with the NCAA compliance officer and make him/her your friend. This person makes a better ally than an enemy. Build a relationship of trust with him or her and it will make your service easier and you won’t have to look over your shoulder constantly worrying about violating a rule.

Consider writing a journal of all your interactions with the team. It will sometimes feel rather mundane, but when a whole season’s story is told, it can be quite insightful for yourself and whoever else you allow to read it. I often do this and give it to the head coach after the season so he can see the season from my perspective.

Pray, seek favor, pray, build relationships, pray, memorize names, pray, watch your attitude, pray, serve selflessly, pray, and love extravagantly.

Have a wonderful season. God bless, Psalm 90:12-17

Submitted By Roger Lipe, Sport Chaplain / Character Coach / Sport Mentor

Southern Illinois FCA

What makes this story especially interesting is that Cameron Tringale asked to be DQ’d 6 days after the PGA, and, the move cost him $53,000!

Put yourself in his shoes.  It is the final round of the year’s final major – the PGA Championship.  You are not in contention to win but you want to finish well.  You are on the 11th hole and a little frustrated at not making par.  You go to tap in your bogey putt.  It is only 3 inches.  As you move toward the ball, your not thinking.  You just move to tap it and go right over the top of the ball.  You move again, reflexively, and tap it in.  On to the 12th hole, where you grind out the first of five pars before birding the 18th for a final round 69.  You tie for 33rd and earn $53,000. Not bad but you had hoped for more.  You were hitting the ball so well all week.  The thought even came to your mind that maybe this was your week to win.  Just couldn’t get the putts to fall.

Later that day, as you reflect on the round, something starts gnawing at you.  Did you actually make a stroke and whiff that putt on 11?  You try to remember but it happened so fast.  Because you were acting on reflex, you can’t really remember.  You dismiss it, “No, if I would have whiffed it outright I would remember that.

Imagine this scenario.  Your team wins a state title, something you have been striving for all year.  With the victory comes great celebration, joy, satisfaction, honor.  However, something is wrong.  Later, in reviewing the results, you realize there was a error in the calculations.  It wasn’t your error but the error of those responsible to tally the results.  Yet, the mistake means you actually finished third not first.

What would you do?

This is not so fictional fantasy but an actually event for North Attleboro High School and their track coach, Derek Herber.  To see how the coach responded and why, take a minute and watch the following video.

To find out more of the story, go here

The line that stood out to me from the video – “Ultimately, we need to make sure we maintain the integrity of the sport and North Attleton Athletics.

We like to say at The Sports Outreach Group that we are one ministry with two passions.  Our passion at CSO is to work with local churches to help them utilize the tool of sports to reach and redeem people and sports.  Churches that do this have what we call Gospel-centered Sports Ministries.

At The Sports Outreach Group, our other passion is sports chaplaincy.  The piece of the Sports Outreach Group that leads us in that passion is the Sports Chaplain Network (SCN), headed by Ken Cross.

In the following video, Bob Dyar, President of The Sports Outreach Group and Lead Chaplain at Joe Gibbs Racing, outlines the  chaplain ministry at Joe Gibbs Racing.  In addition, several of the employees of Joe Gibbs Racing talk about the impact of this ministry in their lives.

This story is another example of the incredible tool of sports – when they are placed in the hand of God.  He is using the sport of racing to connect with men and women at Joe Gibbs Racing in a moving way.  To read more about this movement, click here.

Let me ask you – What might it look like for you to place your sports into God’s hands?  How might he use your in and through those sports to reach and redeem people?  How might he use those sports to reveal your own heart and deepen your walk with him?