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The Effectiveness of Sports

By Bruce W. McDonald, International Director of Sports

Sports interest drives much of the US economy. For example, I recently read that the contractual agreement between the TV networks and professional football (the NFL) was set for 3.735 billion dollars per year. Americans spend more than 630 million dollars a year just on golf balls! Dollar figures like these are so high due to the sheer number of sport’s enthusiasts and participants. According to a recent Gallup Poll, ninety-four percent of Americans follow or participate in sports. Even NASCAR (motor car racing) now has a fan base exceeding 400 million. Out of the top grossing industries, sports brings in 231 billion dollars, right behind transportation (256 billion) and banking (266 billion). If “money talks,” the world’s interest in sports is shouting!

Though in America, sports interest is truly great, it is even bigger internationally. At the last soccer World Cup, the live TV viewing audience was 1.1 billion, and cricket’s World Cup had another billion. What does this universal attraction mean for missions? Since many sports have rightly been called “the universal language,” missionaries who have always sought to learn the culture and find effective ways to reach the lost for Christ can use sports as an effective tool in removing barriers, bridging gaps, and giving credibility.

Any casual reading of the New Testament letters reveals not only an audience awareness of sports, but a practice on the part of the apostle Paul to use this familiarity. He uses analogies of running, fighting (boxing), wrestling, and archery. Paul was a man who knew how to use the pathways of culture to present the unchanging truths of Scripture. This is probably best captured in 1 Corinthians 9:22: “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” One translation puts it this way; “I try to find common ground with everyone so that I might bring them to Christ.”

ABWE missionaries have been using sports as common ground for quite some time. Seeking to advance their work, many missionaries have hosted sports teams from colleges and churches. Sometimes teams have come to play local teams, drawing a crowd who can hear an athlete or athletes share their faith. These games give exposure and opportunity for our local ministries. On some occasions, a professional athlete has traveled to one of our fields to share his faith and give a clinic displaying his abilities. A number of our missionaries have used coaches and teams from the United States to come over and hold camps and clinics. This has proved effective in bringing many people into contact with our missionaries and their churches.

But the use of sports is not confined to help coming from the States. In an ongoing way, many missionaries are implementing sports as a regular outreach on their field. It has proved valuable in evangelism, discipleship, and opportunities for church members to serve in low-level entry ways. Some missionaries start leagues, conduct clinics themselves, and use special sporting events as an opportunity to run something similar. For example, in an Olympics year, a missionary may take advantage and plan Olympics-type events at his church.

Though the numbers would be too great to list in this article, here are several of our missionaries who are or have used sports effectively on their fields:

Others have used running, baseball, volleyball, and Tai Kwon Do. It is not unusual for missionaries to report that their greatest effectiveness has come through the use of sports.

In recent years, ABWE has focused on taking advantage of the international interest in sports by sending teams to minister during the Olympics. Though we at ABWE have had individuals going to the Olympics for a number of years, we began to send teams starting with the Sydney Olympics. A team was at the Athens Games last summer, and will be ministering in the Winter Olympics next February in Torin, Italy. Missionaries there are spearheading the team’s efforts, particularly Dave Weaver and Jim Spoto. We seek to enlist ABWE missionaries from around the world to come and assist with this outreach.

Sports is a tool, and we at ABWE want to use it effectively for God’s glory.