January 02nd, 2019

I am That Person in Your Program
 
It’s easy to get trapped in the numbers game. We want to have the most in worship. We want to have the most teams in the league. We want to have the most victories. It’s easy to get caught in thinking of success as large numbers. I wrote a book titled, Worship Wars, where I discuss the numbers game we play in church.
 
I sat and watched the men compare and contrast the previous day’s worship experiences — the first pastor who spoke shared the number of people they’d had in Sunday’s worship service. The second pastor followed with a figure slightly higher than the first. Several other pastors reported their Sunday attendance, with each number beating the previous one. My head was turning back and forth as if I had been watching a tennis match as pastor after pastor topped the one before. The whole ordeal reminded me of when my friends would try to outdo each other with stories about the number of hits in a baseball game or the number of fish caught. We would always say, “The first liar doesn’t stand a chance!”
   
It was no different in the recreation ministry. We would gather at the yearly recreation conferences and discuss how many teams we had in a particular sport or how many children attended our day camps. Perhaps those from smaller churches felt a bit intimidated as the larger churches competed for the glory.
 
It’s easy to forget the individual in our ministry when they just become a number. When we concentrate on an individual, I find a similarity with sports, recreation, and fitness volunteers and staff with a story about our time of judgment before God found in Matthew 25:31-46.
 
I’m the person in your youth basketball league. I’m not the most talented youngster. I’m timid and shy. I tend to embarrass myself when I play the game. You coached me as if I were your most valuable player. You spent time with me to improve my play. You shared with me how much Jesus loved me for whom I am and not for my ability to excel at a game.
 
I’m the person in your craft class. I don’t think of myself as a creative person. I just wanted to figure out how to make some gifts for people I love. You spent time with me in the class to make sure my project came out looking good. You shared with me about the reference in the Bible of a potter making a jar and how he formed the clay in the master’s hands and how that demonstrated God’s influence in my life.
 
I’m a single mom in your fitness class. The class is one of the few times I get to hang out with people my age. It’s nice to have adult conversations before and after class. You may not realize this, but I couldn’t take the course without childcare provided. You take care of my child with love and compassion. You shared with me how my body is a witness for Jesus in that it represents the “Temple” where people worship Jesus.
 
I’m the competitive athlete in your soccer program. Your church put a tournament team together, and I was chosen to be a part of it. The coach held my teammates and me to a high standard in games and practices. The coach also taught me about grace in Christ covering me when I am unable to live up to standards in life.
 
I’m the person that enjoys being in the theatrical performances the church conducts. I’m not an athlete at all. Your provision of dramatic programs allows me to use my acting gifts in a way that can tell others about Jesus and His love for the world.
 
The ministry staff or volunteer will look at Jesus and say, “When were you in our youth basketball league, craft classes, fitness classes, soccer program, or theater?”
 
Jesus will reply, “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” (Matthew 25:40 NLT)
 
Our goal in planning, conducting, and evaluating sports, recreation, and fitness programs must be to reach that one individual. There may be numerous incidents of reaching one person in a single program, but we must never forget the one that God brought to us for a particular need.
 
Thank you for providing a path to Christ through your efforts in offering sports, recreation, and fitness programs through your church. You can expect those same words of Jesus, “the least of these” being said to you someday too.
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David Waddell is the Executive Director of CSRM and Professor of Ole Miss and long time veteran of SR&F Outreach Ministry

This blog is an example of what David writes in his three excellent books which can all be ordered through the CSRM website...https://csrm.z2systems.com/np/clients/csrm/giftstore.jsp