The following contribution was written by Steven Chang, one of the participant at the ISLT Level 1 training at Harvest Haven, Perak @ 25-28 February 2009.
In this camp, we were taught on the topic sports ministry.
A very interesting one indeed. Sports is a beautiful thing. Just throw a ball into the field and you could have around 20 kids chasing for it. If we have 10 balls and 10 fields, then we could probably have 200 kids at least. You could find kids from different skin colour playing together. They will play together as a team and will never see each other differently. Even if they do not understand each other background or languages, they will still have a good time playing together. This is how strong sports ministry could be. Like what Uncle Philip said, " Not just that you think out of the box but get out of the box as well, get of the walls of the box... ". Don't just think of the number of people in your church, if you could minister to the people that play on the field, it would be even better and greater.
God is Love. Love is God. It is through your actions and not just by words that you could touch the hearts of the people on the field. Show that you care and show that you love not just your own teammates but your opponents as well. Play with good sportsmanship and show God's love during the game. Never curse, argue or get into a fight. Always be forgiving and be humble. We are all made in the image of God. So the way we play and the way we potray ourselves should be the way how a Christian play. When the other people sees the way you play, you would be a very good example of a Christian and they would just come forward and ask you more about God. And that's the time when you could share the gospel. It may sounds real tough doing it, but with God, everything is possible. Never you would know, the way you play on the field and the image that you potrayed might changes someone's life. You could be a living testimony to them.
I love this question that was discussed during the camp :
Is winning everything ?
A very tough question. No doubts in mind that everyone loves to win, so am I. But for me, playing the game is not just for the sake of winning the game. I would prefer to enjoy the process of the game and not the outcome. Sports is not like Physics. In Physics, there's a theory stating that when there is no changes, there's no work done. For example, no matter how hard you try to move a big giant stone, even if you tried pushing it for the whole day, but if the big giant stone didn't move even a centimetre, there is no work done. But in sports, it is different. Winning is not everything. Didn't win doesn't means that there's no work done. Like football, it is not just all about the 90 minutes. I believe that the process of getting into the game and playing the game would be far more important. The time spent together in training, the hardwork that everyone endures, and of course the never-say-die attitude on the field that made everyone to play their best on the field would be more important. The friendship and the bond among the players that was made would be more important than winning. Not winning would not mean the end of the day for the team. Every defeat could only make us stronger and every trial could only make us better. Everytime you fell, stand back up on your feet, and do better next time. Winning is not everything.
Matthew 28 : 19
" Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. "
Sports ministry is definitely one of the best ways to spread the gospel to the people from all the corners of the Earth. Again, with God, everything is possible. Never you would know, the way you play on the field and the image that you potrayed might changes someone's life. The action that you shown, a small act that does wonders.
And this is the reason why all of us came to this camp, to learn how to minister through sports and how sports ministry could share the gospel with the people !
I have been to a lot of camps before and this is my first time coming to camp where I could meet so many people from so many different countries. Different people, different culture and different background. Throughout the whole camp, all of us managed to share so much about our own respective countries. We had a wonderful time talking and asking each other about the cultures back home. 4 days 3 nights, never a day that we never share anything. The number of people in this camp is not huge and therefore, we managed to know each other very well. We had lots of fun and laughter together. A strong bond of friendship was built within us in this camp and hopefully it will last.
Till then, shall we see each other in ISLT Camp Level 2 ???