Frontline Athletics asked its leaders to answer the following question…

How do you want God to use you this year in the Athletics Ministry?

Here is my answer…

God is already using me in the Athletics Ministry to tell my already-established friends and contacts in the Vienna kickball division about Frontline, its ministry, and my personal faith.

I played kickball last fall and became friends with many of my teammates, including the president of the division and one of the founding members of WAKA (World Adult Kickball Association). We hung out and had a good time before and after games, as well as socially on the weekends, etc. I built a rapport with these folks, establishing myself as a decent and fun friend of the group.

Now that I’m captaining the new Frontline team in the Vienna division, my friends/former teammates ask me why I left their team, what Frontline is, etc. Since I’m on the Vienna division Board, everyone in leadership positions is aware that I am a Christian and that Frontline is a team made up of Christians from McLean Bible Church. So, the Frontline kickball team has taken on a mantle of being “the Christians” in the division. It’s a heavy mantle to carry, because our actions & words will be viewed by the other teams as an example of Christianity. It is my goal this year to honor God by playing kickball, and by leading a team of Christians by example and exhortation to play hard, while always honoring God with our actions on and off the field.

Not only is it my goal to represent Christ well to those around us, but to also minister to the team. Many Frontliners joined the team in hopes of meeting other Christians. That is not an unworthy goal, and it is my duty as the captain to foster an environment suitable for meeting these needs. Someone new to Frontline, who has joined the kickball team, will instantly have 25 new Christian friends. The team provides an instant social circle for Christians, in which we can hang out and have fun, as well as bare each other’s burdens.

The spring season is just the first step. My goal is to equip 3 or 4 members of my team with the skills & desire to become captains of new kickball teams in other divisions in the fall (Reston, Arlington, D.C., etc.). There are many Frontliners interested in kickball, but none who have prior experience playing or leading a team. If we could raise up leaders, it will allow more Frontliners to participate in this ministry—and hence more people will be exposed to Christianity. I anticipate the spring season being so successful (in terms of enjoyment), that word will spread and interest in kickball at Frontline will grow rapidly. Kickball offers the perfect opportunity for athletic ministry. It’s a low-skill sport with a high-social/fun factor.

I believe God will use me to jumpstart the Frontline kickball league this year. I will lead it, promote it, and eventually hand it off to a team of captains, who will take it to every division in the metro-D.C. area.