24 January 2017
A year of plenty for sport lovers
Posted in Sports Ministry
Building on last year’s successful foray into launching an SU QLD Sports’ Ministry, 2017 is set to be even better!
With 4 Community Cup events, the ‘Pray, Play, Say’ training in full swing, the Sports Ministry Network growing at an incredible rate, and upcoming Sport Day Camps for primary school aged children, 2017 will be bursting at the seams with sensational pursuits for sporting enthusiasts.
Sports Ministry Coordinator and Brisbane’s Regional Manager, Jeff Howard, is pumped for all of the exciting events planned for this year.
“The overwhelming response that our events have seen just encourages me to keep pushing it further. The feedback and opportunities [for growth] have been flowing in and it’s incredible,” Jeff explains.
Last year’s two Community Cup events were a huge success with many stories of communities coming together through a collective love of sport. Jeff heard one such story of a state school’s staff connecting in a way few thought possible.
“[The principal] brought a staff team along, organised and recruited by the school chaplain. They even trained beforehand and practised in preparation for the event, and they all bought matching jerseys. The principal said it was the first time that he’d he felt like his team had morale. It brought the team together,” Jeff says.
This year’s four Community Cup events will include Touch Football in March, Beach Volleyball in May, Indoor Netball in September, and six-a-side Soccer in November.
For sport lovers looking to approach their sport in a way that is consistent with their faith, Jeff facilitates the Pray, Play, Say training program.
“It’s a great, ongoing resource for Christians in sport. The training covers ‘Do we pray for our teammates?’, ‘Do we go out to honour God in the way we play?’, and finally ‘If an opportunity ever arose, would we take the opportunity to speak for God?’”
But the opportunities to get involved in Sports Ministry aren’t limited to fitness fanatics. As Jeff explains, there’s three different ways you can support the growth of this much-needed initiative.
“Please support each event. Come along and get involved in any way you can. Please promote these events too. Even when these events are promoted by normal means, they’re only really going to a small portion of our potential audience. It only really stays within SU QLD circles. But if you help us promote it outside of these circles, the sky’s the limit.
“We’re also looking for people to partner with us, so we can build up a team who can help run these sorts of events,” Jeff says.
For more information on any Sports Ministry events or to get involved, email jeffh@suqld.org.au or phone 0449 928 405.
