The congregation with a heart for sport
Church and sport get people moving
Church and sport, do they go together? Sport as mission and outreach opportunity? Most certainly, because sports and games offer all sorts of possibilities for contacts and encounters. In the Netherlands sport is the number one leisure activity. The sporty congregation recognises this and uses it as a means to make contacts.
The church can be present in places where there are many opportunities for recreation and sport. That can be achieved in a number of different ways, by taking part in local sports clubs but also by organising a sports week or sport activity.
What can the church do in cooperation with the sports club to make sure that there is a good atmosphere in the neighbourhood?
Many people will remember the Christian youth camps where they sailed, played football or went horse riding. There are a number of Christian organisations that organise such activity camps. But you can organise something yourselves, and encourage the children and teens invite their friends. Sometimes a congregation has sporty people among its members. How can they make use of their interest in the church and with the church as point of departure for mission through sport?
“In an old quarter of Rotterdam the children’s club is not going very well, there are very few children. The leaders say to each other: Let’s go out into the street to kick a ball around then the children will come. With a ball under their arm they go to a little square and half an hour later they return with ten children, ready to have a drink of lemonade and a chat; in this way they make sure they have some contacts for the following week.”
A number of suggestions
How is the church present at sporting events?
- If a sports person delivers a wonderful achievement: send congratulations on behalf of the church.
- Organise a sport week or sporting activity. Sometimes churches look down on sports. Paul wrote to Timothy: ‘Physical exercise has some value’. But a healthy lifestyle is important for all people including Christians.
- Many people enjoy riding bikes. How about organising a cycle trip after the Sunday service. Ask your congregation members to bring their children and neighbours along. Halfway through the trip have a coffee stop and some reflections together. Be sure to make certain that those invited know about all that is involved.
- Organise a cycle trip from one village to the next to look at a number of churches.
- Get the sports enthusiasts in your congregation together and invite them to make a plan. Begin with just one activity - don’t be too ambitious to start with.
- Organise a sponsored walk for charity.
- Many people regard riding their motorbike as a sport. Organise a trip starting at the church and ask the enthusiasts to organise it; then invite some motorbike riders who are not church members to join you on the tour. Don’t forget to invite the press to get some nice pictures when you set off.
- Organise a charity match between the church leaders and young people or between neighbouring congregations.
- During Lent each Sunday morning at 7.00 a long walk; during the walk a liturgical moment (hymn, text or poem) or a point for discussion. To finish with a healthy breakfast in the church hall. Invite enthusiastic walkers from your network who are not church members to join in.
- Organise a sports week in the summer, for the neighbourhood or the village. In the evening there would be an opportunity for meetings and discussion with follow-up activity in the neighbourhood.
- Invite a famous Christian sports person: how do they regard sport? Everybody is welcome of course. Then there is the film ‘Chariots of fire’ about an athlete who refused to run on Sundays during the Olympic games.
- Look out for resources and ideas on www.morethangold.org which is the UK churches response and involvement with the 2012 London Olympics.
- A lecture about how Christians regard our body and fitness culture can also be interesting for outsiders.
Possible approach for the church
- As church make a list of the ‘sporting opportunities’ there are in your environment.
- If sport is important to your neighbourhood, if you see that sport offers good opportunities to make contact with people around you and together with others to be of importance to the neighbourhood, then carry out a targeted search for these opportunities. Which sports are people involved in? How can we become involved? What can we organise ourselves?
- Ask yourself the question: What skills and abilities do we have within the church? Which congregation members might be interested in this and how can we involve them? Don’t forget the children and young people!
- Cooperate with other churches, in particular when a sports event is involved!
