Plenary Speaker for REACHgathering Dr. Greg Linville Bio

Dr. Greg Linville is a Sports Outreach Ministry Visionary, a leading Theologian, Apologist for Sports Ministry, and a tireless Advocate for the Local Church Sports Outreach Movement.

Linville’s Sports Ministry Career began as an Urban Director for the YMCA and Young Life ministries with inner-city kids and gangs and continued as a highly successful High School and College Basketball Coach including receiving two Coach of the year awards for the state of Ohio athletic association.  Linville’s local church sports ministry included 15 years as the Director of Sports & Recreation Outreach at an Evangelical Friends Church where he supervised the efforts of over 500 volunteers and a dozen staff and interns reaching over 2,000 people per week. Dr. Greg has served as CSRM’s Executive Director since 1999.

Linville has long been regarded as a leading Academician in the Sports Outreach Ministry field including being awarded the world’s first Honorary Doctorate of Divinity in Sports Ministry from Briercrest Seminary as well as completing the first earned Doctorate with a concentration in Sports Outreach.  His other Academic roles include many years as a Tenure-track, Assistant Professor of Ministry and as an adjunct Professor at various Seminaries, Universities and Colleges in three different countries.  He currently serves as the Dean of The AGON Institute of Sports Ministry and as an adjunct Professor for South African Theological Seminary (SATS) and Talbot Seminary.  

In addition to being an author of many articles, an editor for numerous sports ministry manuals, a contributor of chapters to various Sports Ministry books and hosting a regular CSRM blog he was chosen to write the insert/commentary for the official Olympic Bible given to all Salt Lake City Olympic athletes.  His seminal book Christmanship: A Theology of Competition and Sport was published in 2014 by Oliver House Publishing and considered by many the definitive theological foundation for the Sports Outreach Movement.  Dr. Greg is currently serving as the General Editor for the CSRM twelve book series: The Institutes of Local Church Sports Outreach. 

Linville is a Licensed Christian Worker through the Evangelical Friends – Eastern Region and preaches on the average of 25 Sundays per year in various churches.  One little known fact about Dr. Greg is that he had a Black Bear join him one night as he rowed a boat on Lake Saranac in the Adirondack Mountains. 

Married since 1982 he and his wife reside in Ohio, have two married children and enjoy a growing number of Grandchildren.