"How Sports Ministry is the Answer to Reaching Families in your Community"
Kyle Oakley | Recreational and Family Ministries Director, Lebanon Baptist Church - Greensboro, NC
For many churches, one of the biggest and most constant questions they face is “How do we reach families in our community?”. Sure, things like style of worship, sermon series, and kids’ ministry are constant topics of conversations among church staff, but all churches are challenged with the command of Jesus in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. This often leaves churches faced with how to best reach families in their communities.
What if I told you that Sports Ministry IS the answer to that question?! Here’s a fact: there are nearly 60 million kids in the United States registered to play youth sports. Want to know something even more shocking?! There are roughly 74 million kids in this country, meaning nearly 81% of all kids in the U.S. are registered to play sports. Though there have been varying degrees of participation rates since the pandemic, a staggering number of kids between the ages of 6-18 are still playing youth sports. What that means for your church is that regardless of location (huge city or small rural town) youth sports are likely a big part of what families are doing in your community.
Here are 5 reasons why Sports Ministry is the answer to reaching families in your community:
1. Your community is already playing sports
Whether it is with sports ministry at your church or another youth sports program in your area, kids are playing sports. We always say, “our community speaks the language of sports”. Meaning, if you build it, they will come (different context but you know what I mean). Do you have a gym that isn’t being used, a field that is sitting dormant, or a school nearby with either? If so, you can do sports ministry, and you can reach your community. Even if you don’t have these facilities, are there other churches in the area you could partner with to start a sports ministry (we are all on the same team, pun intended)? Since the pandemic, our church has seen our sports ministry explode, from roughly 250 participants a year to over 1,000.
2. With Sports Ministry, you don’t just reach the kids
Based on 1,000 participants, our church is able to share the gospel with a minimum of 2,000 people per year through sports ministry. When kids play sports, they bring their parents or guardians, their grandparents, their aunts and uncles, and even their neighbors. This means you have the opportunity to reach more than just the kids playing sports with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
3. Families are looking for a safe, fun, competitive environment, and cost-friendly way for their kids to try new sports
Many recreational programs around the country have turned into competitive sports environments, which is fine if that is what you are looking for. But there is still a large portion of the youth sports market that just wants recreational sports. In addition, families are looking for more affordable options. In 2022, the average family paid $883 a year for youth sports! It’s okay to be an affordable, truly introductory recreational program.
4. Families are looking for family-friendly practice and game schedules
There is no denying the explosion of travel sports in our country. From basketball to baseball or soccer to volleyball, nearly every sport has become a year-round commitment to multi-night weekly practices, tournaments out of town on the weekends, and money!! But the truth is, most of the families in your community are not looking for that, at least not until kids reach middle school. Roughly 58% of youth athletes play community-based sports, significantly more than the 27% that play travel or club ball. That’s still 35 million kids who play recreational sports each year!
5. Families are more willing to walk through the gym doors or out on to the soccer field than through the front doors of your church
A 2023 Gallup poll shows that 45% of people report being a member of a church or synagogue, down from 70% as recently as 1999. The fact is that the majority of people in the U.S. are no longer members of a church. The BEST way to introduce them to your church and its people is through sports ministry. Coincidentally, it is also the best way to get your own church members involved in serving the community!
The truth is you can start a youth sports ministry on your own. But my question to you is, why would you?!
Why we chose to partner with Upward Sports...
- Upward Sports does ALL the leg work for you! From uniforms and schedules to team creation and collecting payments, there is not one thing Upward does not do to make it as easy as possible for their church partners.
- Practice and game devotions are done and ready for you. No more wondering about what you should have the coaches talk about during practice devotions, or what a halftime speaker should (and might) say. Upward develops new practice devotions for each sport and each season, tailor-made for different age groups.
- The uniform designs are FIRE!! For the cost, there is not a better uniform for youth sports on the market. Designed after professional or national team uniforms for your specific sport, the kids will love them!
- You can customize how much you want to include each season. Do the full package and deliver a top-of-the-line sports program, or scale back to keep participant costs low. Upward has so many different options to fit what your church is looking for.
- The staff at Upward Sports will know you and do everything they can to help you. There’s no guesswork. Anything you need they are there.
- Best customer service experience I have personally ever had. Whether it is a technology issue, shipping issue, or a mistake to correct, the Upward Support Team is on top of it and will get the issue resolved. involved in serving the community!
If your church is asking the question, “How do we effectively reach families in our community?”, I urge you to consider sports ministry. There is no better way to reach your community, and there is no better sports ministry programming than Upward Sports.
Learn more at https://www.upward.org/church-leaders/
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