MULTIPLYING DISCIPLES AND TEAMS IN, THROUGH & TO SPORT, PLAY & FITNESS

Sports Ministry Movement in Australia

For over 65 years God has been envisioning, calling & equipping faithful people to penetrate our vast sport-loving nation for His Kingdom purposes.

1960s-70s

Sports-talented Christians made an impact through their successes & personal testimonies.

Local churches engaged in community sport programs in church halls, parks & playing fields... leading to developing teams & clubs to create a “safe space” for church people to play sport & invite their friends... leading to the establishment of Christian competitions, tournaments, carnivals, leagues & sports associations (regional, national, denominational).

1980s

Team sports & social tennis were common features for local churches.

A delegation of youth pastors (& other individuals) were invited to a conference gathering in Korea where they were exposed to a broad range of sports ministry projects & stories from around the world... leading to new ministry models & mindset being developed in Australia (including chaplaincy & surfing).

Church sports teams went overseas “on mission”.

1990s

Christian competitions & tournaments were strong features, so some local churches & denominations began building dedicated sports facilities which also hosted “official” leagues & clubs for the wider community.

In 1998 focus was given to sharing vision & equipping the Christian community to engage with the Sydney Olympics in 2000 as a catalyst for further sports ministry. This was across the east coast with international experts & locally involved advocates.

2000

The Sydney Olympics was held with many outreach activities implemented under the banner of “More Than Gold”. This included international mission teams alongside Australian volunteers & coaches in partnership with local churches delivering sports clinics & numerous other community outreach events (festivals, big screens, etc).

At the conclusion of the Olympics an international conference was held with the purpose of training, sharing stories & resources & partnering together to continue to develop the models & mission for impacting the world of sport with Jesus at the centre.

A delegation of Australians were involved – some representing the agencies they worked for (children’s ministry experts, denominations or staff of international ministries), & other individuals who were sports ministry practitioners in their local context.

This proved to be influential for gaining a bigger picture for the potential of ministry models, theological grounding, networks & partnering forward.

From this event, ongoing connection & service with the international movement was forged... leading to participating in various training programs & conferences with the express purpose of sharing & growing vision to develop opportunities relevant to the Australian context.

2001–2010

Sports leadership residential training programs (4x) were conducted in partnership with the Salvation Army.

KidsGames events became a feature for a number of local church/regional school holiday programs.

2006: Melbourne hosted the Commonwealth Games – event outreach was coordinated through the Salvation Army & included both local & international teams.

A networking gathering was held in Geelong to build a sense of “we together” as Australians impacting the sport world.

Partnering & training were the focus of developing relationships across the Pacific region to build wider vision, support & encouragement.

2011–2020

Efforts have continued to extend the connection & reach in the sports world... gyms, fitness, health & wellness are all effective models to reach the communities’ needs.

Conferences held in Sydney (under the title Active Faith Australia) to further promote connection & stimulate vision led to more regionalized gatherings for the same purpose.

An intentional sports coaching annual camp was established in WA to encourage sports talented athletes to pursue their sport with excellence & be discipled as followers of Jesus.

Professional sports clubs have developed at specialised centres.

Gatherings were held in Qld to stimulate further connection & support... especially with the opportunity for intensive growth of impact through the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

2020 – Present

God continues to call His workers into the ripe harvest field of the sport world... across Australia there are many people on the ground serving in special ways.

Online connection through national Zoom calls, regional gatherings & WhatsApp groups are all means to continue to envision, encourage & support each other.

The sport movement has a huge library of resources freely available to stimulate our thinking & be creative to meet our communities where we are placed – whether it be as a professional athlete, coach, official; a local volunteer or player at the club; a recreational player or even parent transporter... there is a mission field which is (fun!) hungry for the gospel.

We want to be committed to connect together & spur each other on for the sake of God’s purpose.