Baller 21

Athletics as Pre-Church

by Chris Harvey on 12/28/09

Read an interesting post from Ben Arment on the topic of pre-church, creating environments for people that built community and meet needs before they ever stepped foot into a church. Here are some thoughts from the post:

If you think of spiritual receptivity as a continuum –with hostility on one side and fanaticism on the other– our churches are positioned to reach people at only certain points on that continuum. Sometimes we dip into the red levels of receptivity, but most of the time, we’re just waiting for people to move into the black.

But what if there were something like pre-church?

I believe that people are converted to community before they’re converted to Christ. So what if there were a gathering that built community on a regular basis… drew people… cared for them… touched on spiritual issues… but didn’t function as a church?

What if there were more “pre-church planters” to help cultivate communities for Christ?

As a leader and participant in the sports industry, I could not help but transfer the concept of pre-church into the realm of athletics. With the term athletics, I am referring to general sports and recreation activity.

Athletics build community on a regular basis.
Athletics draw people.
Athletics provide environments for people to build relationships, to be cared for, and to touch on spiritual issues prior to ever entering the walls of a church.

The concept of athletics as pre-church is not a new one, per se. From the founding purposes of the YMCA, to organizations like Athletes in Action and Upward, or the local church out in the community, athletics have been used to influence culture for Christ.

The issue in the post is this: What types of environments best build community, touch on spiritual issues, and don’t function as a church?

What does that look like?

In one sense, if we are building community, investing in the needs of others, and dealing with spiritual issues, isn’t that operating as the church should anyway? Or is the concept of “pre-church planters” a strategic approach to going out to where people are and not flying our “ministry” banners high with us?

On the flip side, being secretive about intentions and hopes of cultivating people and communities for Christ and transitioning them into a local church should not be associated with our actions.

The point is to build real relationships with people, to live life with people, where ever they are at, and regardless if they embrace Christ or not.

The point, I believe, is to cultivate communities in new and creative ways that draw people, that care for them, and that meet spiritual needs, whether if people realize they have spiritual needs or not.

What does pre-church look like in the athletic realm? Sports teams as small groups? Leagues and camps that better cultivate community and life development? Or something different?

What is being done well and what can be done better?