Training coaches is an integral and expanding part of SIM’s Sports Friends ministry and now hundreds of coaches across the globe can be trained at the click of a button.
More than 20 years ago, Serving In Mission knew that in most countries they served, populations were very young, and they didn’t have many youth-focused ministries; nor did their local church partners.
SIM needed to develop ideas that worked on the ground, and God provided the answer in the shape of two men, from opposite corners of the world. He gave them the vision to start a global movement of churches using sport to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
Sports Friends began in Ethiopia in 2002 and today, more than 14,000 godly volunteer coaches serve more than 280,000 young people in 19 countries.
In some places where Sports Friends works, churches and coaches are frequently threatened, cheated, or attacked. Yet, despite this persecution, God’s church is growing and our teams in these areas draw strength from God’s faithfulness and from knowing other Christians are praying for them and standing with them from afar.
Here in the UK, SIM workers Somchai and Cat Tongkao – who are sent by Holcombe Brook Methodist Church, Bury – are training and equipping churches across Manchester to replicate the Sports Friends model in their local communities.
One of those is Bridge Community Church in Radcliffe – a town grappling with the weight of fractured families, poverty, and crime. As their pastor, Tom King, observes, “Jesus shared life with people where they are. And if you want to know where people are in Manchester, they’re in sport; they’re in football.”
When asked what they loved most about the church’s football coaching the kids responded: “Some adults can be a bit mad and
scream at you when you do something wrong, but Tom tells you in a really kind way.”
“I like that Somchai is always in a happy mood and is very welcoming. When people start messing around, he just tells them, ‘Come on, let’s keep going’ and they just do it.”
“Every time when we’re playing football and we do training, we always have a talk and Tom tells us about Jesus.”
“I’m really grateful they spend all their free time with us being kind when they could be on their phones or laptops.”
This year, the ministry has launched a new online training programme to help coaches as they invest in their team technically, physically, socially,
psychologically, and spiritually. Here, Communications Intern DK Roy, shares her conversation with SIM UK’s Ben Wildman, who works to enhance the training and equipping of Sports Friends coaches.
Ben Wildman is full of energy, an insightful communicator, and a bold bringer of new ideas. I had the chance to chat with him about how he’s
implementing innovation in the training of Sports Friends’ coaches – what he calls the “bread and butter” of the ministry.
Innovation is starting with something you already have and improving it. For more than 20 years, coaches from local churches have been trained to use sports as the platform to share the gospel with young people in their communities.
In his role as Sports Friends Director of Training, Ben is using new technology to take this to the next level. What was previously done through manuals is now communicated online and available to coaches anywhere in the world.
The online training platform has various levels and types of training: Level One is all about the coach and how to start a church-centred sports ministry and the new Level Two is directed toward the player, with a
deeper focus on ministry.
Ben, who is sent by Holy Trinity Jesmond Church in Newcastle Upon Tyne, is hoping to initiate Level Three soon, which will focus on the community and the local church.
One positive of this plunge deeper into the digital world is that language becomes less of a barrier. Ben shares that at a recent global conference, a Sports Friend’s worker told him, “Because of this online translation option, you have saved me nine months of translation work!” and he can now share this training with coaches in their heart language.
While Ben reminds me that face-to-face training will always play a vital part in the Sports Friends ministry, he says it must also make the most of the online tools and platforms at its disposal.
“We’re excited about what the future holds. The world is ever-changing with AI and various other developments. We’re open to seeing how we can, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, leverage the ever-changing world of technology to continue to make disciples and advance God’s kingdom.” he adds.
Please pray
- Praise God for how he has moved powerfully through the Sports Friends ministry for more than 20 years.
- Pray God will open doors for Sports Friends to move into new areas that are least reached with the gospel.
- Pray for coaches where sharing the gospel message could mean putting their lives, homes, and families at risk.