Discipleship Thru Soccer

Another dream I have had lately is using soccer to disciple others.

I've loved being involved with the kid's ministry at church. It's been awesome. And God has used it to grow my heart for the next generation.

I want to be part of raising up young men to pursue Jesus and love others out of an overflow of that pursuit. I also see Christ's command to 'go make disciples' as a serious one. I don't think Jesus is talking about solely converts here; He's talking about making disciples -- men who are in it for His Glory and Renown.

When Jesus gives the command to 'go make disciples', I think He says it in a way that translates more like 'as you are going (read: 'as you are living life'), make disciples'. In other words, as we are living our lives, doing whatever it is God would have us do (be that work, play, raise a family), we are to teach/train/raise up others to follow Jesus.

I gain a great sense of joy and thankfulness for this command. I see this command as allowing us the freedom to go pursue things we love to do, such as playing soccer, and make disciples in the process.

What that all comes down to is this: I'm asking God to raise up a group of young men who want to help coach a soccer team, with the intent of using this as an avenue to disciple the next generation of Christ-followers.

I am asking for a few other guys who are willing to help build a team of kids (probably from the church), teach them soccer, model Christ, and pour into these kids. I would love to use soccer as a way to build relationships with kids and their parents, as well as be the salt and light on the pitch.

This is me dreaming, I know. But it's a dream that's been on my heart for a while, and it's growing. Shall God will it, it will be.

If you want to be a part of it, let me know.

The Gospel Thru Soccer

Oh, hey there. It's nice to be back.

Been thinking a lot lately about putting together a soccer team with the purpose of being Jesus on the field. I've been thinking about what it would look like to have a team devoted to playing only for Jesus. I've been thinking what that team would look like. I think it would look a lot different than any other team; truly, if it didn't, we would be doing something wrong.

My dream is to assemble a team who plays hard, plays well, but most importantly reaches out to others. This team would live out Christ's command to 'love our neighbors' as we serve our opponents. It would be as simple as supplying water for our opponents, of being humble in victory and joyful in defeat. Instead of running up the score, we would seek to help our opponents succeed. We would give them opportunities to do well. To be first, we would be willing to be last. We would live the difference.

So I'm working on putting this team together. If you are interested, let me know. Games will be on Tuesday or Wednesday nights with the Austin Sports and Social Club. Talent (or lack of) isn't that important. Only requirements for the league are you are atleast 21 and have not played D-1 soccer in atleast two years.