Playing for an Audience of One

“Great idea, Bob,” I said to the student president of InterVarsity. “Let’s go see the captain of the football team.” With a bit of prayer and prodding, Bob nervously agreed.

We waited for the football captain outside the locker room. Our friendly smiles masked our awkward feelings as Bob began his memorized proposal: “We were wondering—what would you think of offering a brief weekly chapel for the team? We’d like to start with an interest meeting at which—”

Before Bob could finish, the captain broke in saying, “Chapel? That’s a great idea! I’ll check with the team today.” The first chapel was held after practice five days later, just before the season opened. (A chapel is a short, optional 20-minute meeting, usually in a corner of the lockerroom before a game or in the dining hall right after the team dinner. We tell a short story from the New Testament and spend about five minutes praying for the needs of the team members. We use a special sports New Testament that has athlete photos and testimonies sprinkled throughout. It comes in various versions for different sports.)

Little did I realize that this idea, suggested by Bob, would lead to a sports ministry at the University of Delaware. As I followed my natural interest in sports and the athletes on our campus, I discovered two Christians on the men’s lacrosse team, and a chapel for them was begun also. During the next four years there were Christians who surfaced from other teams and among the sports trainers. Finally a student leadership team was formed to give shape and direction to this new ministry.

The commitment, prayers, and winsome invitations of these persistent leaders began to draw others out from various teams. They included some former athletes and a few non-athletic friends (who were passionate fans) to help lead the group. They started a weekly “huddle” (inter-team Bible discussion) and kept inviting their friends to church to meet the needs of individuals on teams not ready to have a chapel. They resisted making the group so broad that anyone wearing a sports jersey could come. Knowing that mostly athletes would be there was a drawing card.

Birth pangs occurred as the leaders struggled with the busy and erratic schedules of athletes. In addition, the question of affiliation with a national Christian athletic ministry came up, plus issues of elitism and separation from other Christians if a new group was formed.

Eventually, affiliation with InterVarsity was seen as the wisest choice, for several reasons. The IVCF movement has a fine reputation at U.D., providing strong biblical resources and staff help. The group benefited from specific athletic resources of other ministries (literature, summer camps, traveling teams and more).

The implications of starting another Christian group on campus had to be carefully thought through. It was easy to recognize the unique needs of an athlete affinity group, but was the group in danger of becoming elitist and separatist? Was linking with the three regular I-V chapters important? Most of the leaders didn’t think so. Finally, a key student leader admitted to the others, “Athletes tend to be proud and see themselves as very different from other students. We need to relate to other Christians—for our own good! This prepares us for being part of a church. The body of Christ is filled with ‘ordinary’ people. Why do we think we’re so special? God doesn’t love only sports nuts! Joining up with an existing group is also a good witness to others who are baffled by the proliferation of Christian campus groups. I-V has a good doctrinal statement and a proven constitution that we can use.” And so the Delaware Christian Athletes (DCA) Chapter of InterVarsity was born.

Are there applications to the campus at large? I think so. The campus mission field teems with subcultures: Greek organizations, student clubs, clubs for each major, internationals, faculty, administrators, and more. These affinity groupings are natural pathways along which the gospel can be carried. Doesn’t every Christian student have at least one common interest or cause with others in the campus community? Instead of starting a new evangelism program, why not just “be” a Christian in the setting most natural for you? Then you might find yourself actually doing something that’s fun and being a light for Jesus in your affinity group! You need to know the gospel backwards and forwards and have a biblical world view that enables you to integrate the unique interests of that group to the Christian faith. If you are an initiator, you can be a change agent in that group and you will “bloom where you are planted.”

As the sports ministry has expanded to touch athletes on more than ten teams, the main focus of DCA continues to be outreach to others. Being on a team creates a natural bond through time spent in training, travel and competition, often in emotionally-charged situations. There is a common purpose, and each person knows his or her part. A Christian can’t be invisible in such close-knit situations.

The awareness of prominent Christian athletes and chapels for national teams makes it culturally acceptable to have a student, I-V staff, or community volunteer as team chaplain. For most outside the Christian faith, a weekly chapel is the main entry point, combined with the genuine friendship of a Christian teammate. Opportunities abound for Christian teammates, sports trainers and coaches to show genuine care amidst fierce competition. Christians reach out to help new recruits, give tips about plays and coaches, and even encourage all the benchwarmers.

Christian athletes can be the first to care for an injured teammate. After injuries and other career setbacks, God often opens the door into an athlete’s life. Seek these people out. Help them to become God-conscious by reminding them that “God whispers to us in our everyday routine, speaks to us in our pleasures, and shouts to us in our tragedies” (C.S. Lewis). The one time when a student athlete has extra time and is sometimes humbled is during an injury rehabilitation. Go see them. Give them a copy of Sports Spectrum magazine (Discovery House), which gets the stories of Christian athletes into their hands. Read Scripture to them and then give them a copy of the Path to Victory Sports New Testament (International Bible Society). If you’re too fearful to do it in person, then write out some Bible verses and send a card. Even guys can do this! “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus . . . taking the very nature of a servant . . . he humbled himself” (Philippians 2:5-8, NIV).

Likewise, serve your fellow athletes. This is your calling on the team, even if you are never a starter! Your motivation is to be like God who seeks the lost. In Luke 15 there are three stories about a lost sheep, a lost coin, and two lost sons. The good Shepherd, the persistent Holy Spirit, and the grace-filled Father by their very nature are “seeking to bring others home.” Ask God to make this goal second-nature to you! People are often sending out signals of their lostness. Is your antenna up?

What about you? What’s your affinity group? Will you help your fellow students hear the voice of Jesus saying, “Come, follow me”? If they are athletes, will you invite them to join you in “playing for an audience of One”?

—Will Metzger is the IVCF staff for sports ministry at the University of Delaware. (These days he only plays shuffleboard and ping pong.) He is the author of the newly revised Tell the Truth (IVP), a plea for God-centered and grace-filled personal evangelism.