A sports ministry is a charity sponsored by religion and uses sports to create links between religions and society. Through such organizations, character development, cooperation, and fair play skills, and Biblical principles are shared among its members. The principles help harvest discipleship and create hope within society through the love of Jesus Christ. This paper discusses World Sport Ministries, its efforts, benefits of the efforts, and components of the ministry.
World Sports Ministries (WSM) champions the use of sports to represent Jesus in different ways. Its plan encourages and accommodates the children, youth, and adults hence expansive. With the large number, much effort is put to help acquire resources that can help an individual train and be in a position to implement ministry. The resources, in this case, include- ‘develop sports ministry,’ which helps an individual proclaim the gospel. Another resource is the ‘outreach strategies’ such as sports camps and youth sports leadership, which physically and mentally mentor the youths. Lastly, through WSM efforts, it is also possible to acquire free library materials on the ‘Ready Set Go Manual’.
The ministry efforts also bring together the children, youth, and adults into one pool to share different experiences and Biblical experiences. For example, the children are exposed to outreach programs such as holiday sports camp, which gives them an experience of a lifetime and teachings based on Christian values (Waller & Cottom, 2016). Through outreach programs such as school ministry, the children can also engage in sports and education, positively impacting them. On the other hand, the youths are engaged in youth sports leadership skills (YSL), which takes about 7 to 12 years and impacts one with character, faith, mission, and faith development.
The youth also have a chance to engage in tournaments such as touch rugby and 5-aside, which creates time for sharing the word of God. Lastly, the WSM also offers the youth a detached sports ministry, ensuring a connection between the disciples who can help with guidance and sharing. WSM also has adults who can engage in sports, exercise classes, sports event screening, and sport quiz. The events enable the adults to have significant experiences, such as having short talks and sharing testimonies.
WSM is divided into various components: outreach programs, resources, support, management, and Get Involved. The outreach programs enable members to grow in body and mind and utilize sport to spread the gospel. On the other hand, resources give more data about WSM and the great experiences when an individual becomes a team member. Support elaborates how one can help through donations and prayers to help the growing population and make the program successful. Lastly, the management is responsible for controlling the flow of operations by empowering the members through various skills, experiences, and the world of The Lord.
The ministry has made the components to be implemented by displaying their plan to the public. WSM operates as a charity that changes lives through sports hence easily convincing people to join. Their plan is genuine and has 120 teams onboard in over 15 countries, which means the program has helped thousands achieve their goals in life. Therefore, the components guide the general public on how the programs are run through the management. An individual can also use the resources to navigate some of the achievements and history of WSM. The components are therefore effective and give the public an idea of what is happening in WSM.
Reference
Waller, S. N., & Cottom, H. (2016). Reviving the shepherd in us: Pastoral theology and its relevance to sports chaplaincy in the twenty-first century. In Sports Chaplaincy (pp. 116–126). Routledge.