Discussion Thread: Sport Outreach Evangelism and Discipleship

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Connection Sports: Evangelism and Discipleship

Conner J. McCullen

Liberty University

SMGT 504: Foundations of Sport Outreach

Dr. Kevin Heisey

14 SEP 2024

Authors note

I have no known conflicts of interest to disclose

Questions, comments, or concerns should be sent to Conner McCullen:

[email protected]

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Abstract

Connection Sports aims to create a sports program that revolves around evangelism and

discipleship. Utilizing sports is a unique way to spread the Gospel but must be done correctly.

Planning and executing practices and scrimmages need to revolve around the Gospel in order to

develop disciples instead of developing “elite” athletes. Connection Sports wants to multiply its

disciples in order to reach more people in the community and beyond. Just as the Mission

statement says: We exist to make disciples through sports in our community.

Keywords: development, Gospel, discipleship, faith

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Evangelism

Connection Sports wants to prioritize the Gospel in its sports program. It is easy to let

sports media and sports behavior consume practices and games, however, Connection Sports

plans on turning these examples into lessons that highlight the Gospel. The Gospel highlights the

life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It also teaches how to help others grow in their faith

through discipleship and mentoring. The theology of evangelism should be rooted firmly in the

biblical theology of mission and shaped by the gospel it is proclaiming (Coetzee et al., 2023).

Evangelism is the first step to leading people to Christ and creating a foundation for them to go

forward in spreading the Gospel. For Connection Sports to do this, the program needs to stand

firm on its belief and stay in the light to progress participants' faith to the next level.

The three sports that Connection Sports will be offering to kick off the program are flag

football, baseball, and soccer. All have very similar outlines when it comes to practices and

games. Each week that these programs are in season, the goal of each sport will have two

practices a week, and a game on the weekend. The goal for each practice is a 2-hour time

window, and games will have 1 to 2 hours depending on the sport. It is crucial to know the

timing of practicing to create not only a structured practice but also a structured fellowship.

Fellowship is looked at as a group of people who share a common interest; sports and the

Gospel.

Within the 2-hour window, Connection Sports plans on starting each practice with prayer.

From there, the first 20 to 30 minutes of practice will be dedicated to a written plan of Bible

study. This is to help the athletes take and understand the Word to not only apply it to the

upcoming practice but to their everyday lives. The next hour will be the standard practice for

whatever sport is being conducted. The practice will be led by the coach, assistant coach, and a

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volunteer with drills dedicated to sport development. After an hour has gone by, the practice will

end with the study they started with. The last 20 to 30 min the team will discuss how the

participants applied it to their practice, what they learned from it, and how they can implement it

into their life. Lastly, every practice will close out with another prayer. The following practice in

the week will be another lesson built on the previous one. As stated before, fellowship and Bible

study will be structured with a lesson plan to keep pushing through the sport season. On game

day, before competing, Connection Sports leaders will review what studies were the week

leading up to the game, reiterate the importance of the studies, and put it all together in a prayer.

Following the game, leaders will discuss again how the participants added the lessons to their

gameplay and look to shape their hearts and minds around the Gospel instead of the sport they

played.

Discipleship

Discipleship is probably one of the most important steps to creating leaders in order to

spread the Gospel. Discipling and mentoring are very similar in regard to development. Both

focus on personal growth but with discipleship, there is more emphasis on faith driven actions

and growing to be more like Jesus. Discipleship for the kingdom of God is at the heart of the

entire discipleship process (Pardede, 2022). Discipleship highlights walking with people and

nurturing their relationship with God so that they may help others do the same. Connection

Church, where Connection Sports is based out of, really strives to create disciples through

discipleship. This is extremely important because the discipleship starts at the top with the

coaches of the sports teams. The coaches of Connection Sports teams need to be discipled in

order to disciple others. Their walk with Christ is just as important as the athletes and should not

be overlooked. Coaches carry the image of the team and program, and they need to stand firm in

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their faith to keep the integrity of the program's values. As the coaches learn and grow through

discipleship, they are able to go and disciple participants in the program.

Connection Sports long to create disciples within their program, especially when they are

at an age to influence. The goal is to offer discipleship to teenagers in the program so they are

well-equipped with the Gospel and continue to prosper in faith. In the off-season of the sport

they participate in, Connection Sports wants to get more involved with the teenagers’ life and

offer discipleship once a week with a leader that comes from the church or within the sports

program, such as the coach. This way, Connection Sports will be able to build them up for the

next sports season and give them a platform to be a leader for their peers. Since Connection

Sports’ mission statement highlights creating disciples within our community of sports, it is

important to understand that they are being equipped and ready to serve Connection Church.

Connection Church's mission statement reads: We exist to make disciples and multiply churches

among all nations. The strength and influence of the church is wholly dependent upon its

commitment to true discipleship; producing transformed lives and seeing those lives reproduced

in others (Onyinah, 2017). Onyinah (2017) goes on to say that discipleship is the means to

fulfilling the Great Commission. Connection Sports’ mission is purposely wrapped around

creating disciples in the sports community to teach and prepare them for a service much larger

than sports itself.

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References

Coetzee, F. R., Nel, M., & Knoetze, J. J. (2023). Evangelism as an invitation to missional

discipleship in the Kingdom of God. Verbum et Ecclesia, 44(1).

https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v44i1.2708

Onyinah, O. (2017). The meaning of discipleship. International Review of Mission, 106(2),

216–227. https://doi.org/10.1111/irom.12181

Pardede, L. (2022). The relationship between evangelism and discipleship according to Matthew

28:18-20. QALAMUNA: Jurnal Pendidikan, Sosial, Dan Agama, 14(1), 629–648.

https://doi.org/10.37680/qalamuna.v14i1.4639