| aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaSharing
Christ Through Sports and Recreation!
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People in your community might come to church, but
they will play ball and recreate…somewhere.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaYou've
got to reach them to teach them!
Recreation is a vital ministry because it is both
evangelistic in its appeal and nurturing in its essence.
The first responsibility of any ministry is evangelism. Evangelism
begins when you get someone's attention and recreation will get almost
everyone's attention because it appeals to their personal interests.
When Jesus said to a band of fisherman that He sought, "I will
make you fishers of men," He was appealing to their interests.
The second responsibility of a ministry is to nurture the children
of God and to provide the stimuli for their growth in Christ. What
better way is there for people to learn to apply these virtues than
through sports and recreational activities?
In Galatians, Paul speaks of the fruits of the spirit as being: love,
joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, and temperance.
Recreation can indeed be a vineyard in which such fruit can be cultivated,
nurtured, and ultimately harvested! Recreation now can become a ministry
used as a tool for the implementing of the gospel and the uplifting
of Christ.
People may readily leave their communities and drive across town to
participate in a church sports or recreation program but will be less
likely to become active in that church if it is not close to where
they live. Participating in a church recreation program is great,
but the goal is for the people to be plugged into a church home where
they will be regularly fed by the Holy Spirit. The number of people
being touched by the gospel of Jesus Christ would increase by thousands
if smaller churches could reach out to their communities through sports
and recreation. The reason they don't may simply be the lack of recreational
training, staff, and funds.
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