FOOTBALL-SIZED

How Elim churches can be really good news in the sporting community

Don’t pray for victory when taking the kids to football club, says Warren Evans

INTRO by Mark Greenwood
I’m 16 years old and I am playing in goal for Fairfax Community School. He is 16 years old and he is playing in goal for Tong School. I am 5ft 5in and he’s about 6ft 5in – but I was the better goalkeeper! He may differ in his opinion of course. His name? Warren Evans. We didn’t know each other at the time but in a matter of a few years we would become close friends and part of an accountability group. My dear friend Warren Evans is the CEO of Sports Chaplaincy UK which is thriving under his leadership. Warren is a pastor’s kid and also pastored a church himself, as do two of his brothers.

He understands well the realities of localised mission and so is well placed to help Elim churches discover how they can become Really Good News in their local sporting communities.

Warren Evans

Warren Evans

The community of sport presents an incredible opportunity for outreach for all Elim churches, writes Warren Evans, CEO of Sports Chaplaincy.

I always believe the best vehicle for evangelism is via the local church, and Elim has a history and proven track record of reaching its communities with good news. Even in the world of sport… Daniel Caldwell, Paul Hallam, Paul Johnston and Robert Ginn are a few names that spring to mind of Elim people who are impacting sport.

Instead of assuming people will come to our churches, we have to go to them. It’s our job to be good news. The community of sport consists of up to 30 million people in Britain alone. We always say it’s the world’s largest untapped mission field.

When we equip chaplains, one of the most common mistakes is to assume we are just reaching professional athletes, but what about the coaches, admin staff, supporters and families that are linked to professional and amateur clubs? There are so many avenues and opportunities through sport!

We need to see differently, think differently and respond differently. Billy Graham is attributed as saying that, “It’s God’s job to judge, the Holy Spirit’s job to convict and our job to love.” A paradigm shift needs to take place; rather than judging we are called to love. The truth is we are called to be Good News, and we are called to be carriers of God’s presence, speaking and bringing hope and life to our communities. How can we be Good News? One idea is to get to know people in our local sports clubs. There’s nothing in the Bible about meeting at 10.30am or 6pm on Sundays.

Church can take place any time on any day! Can we send a youth worker to the kid’s football club? Can we invite or run a barbecue? Can we send a bag of oranges to the team? We want church members to look at people through God’s eyes of compassion and be Good News.

Maybe if you are a parent, instead of praying for a win when dropping kids off at sport, you can pray for their friends and families.

Instead of shouting at the referee, why not ask God to make us a witness of his love and glory? We, the church, are called to be culturally different. Let’s join in where the Lord is working and see through his eyes!

National Sports Sunday

Sports Chaplaincy UK is urging Christians to think about how they can pray for their sports teams and clubs and do more together on National Sports Sunday, taking place on May 12 this year. National Sports Sunday is simply an initiative to encourage the church to look at the community of sport differently. Rather than feeling that they’re simply an activity, a commodity or even competition for getting kids into church, let’s look at it through the eyes of a compassionate God. And when we do that, we respond differently.

Check out sportschaplaincy.org.uk for details.


OUTRO
If you would like to explore more about being good news in the sporting community, why not check out a podcast I did with Warren on the REACH podcast? Connect with Warren and see if you and your church can be Really Good News amongst this community. Why not make May 12 National Sports Sunday in your church.


This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

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