By Avery Ballmann | Staff Writer
George W. Truett Theological Seminary offers a graduate certificate in sports ministry as an add-on to a master’s in divinity. By connecting sports with faith in the form of worship, this program reaches far beyond the world of athletics.
Baylor alumna and retreat ministry coordinator Abby Lee works in the Faith & Sports Institute within Truett Seminary. Lee graduated in May — completing her master’s in divinity with a concentration in sports ministry — and was hired in August.
“I just fell in love with their mission and vision and the idea of thinking about how we exist as Christians in our sports — whether you’re an athlete, or a coach, or a sports chaplain, or just a fan or a parent of someone who plays sports,” Lee said.
The coursework for the program includes Intro to Sports Ministry, Sports Chaplaincy, Theological Ethics of Sports and Integration of Faith and Sports.
Missoula, Mont., graduate student Jonathan Taylor said the sports ministry program as a whole is trying to figure out how the puzzle of faith and culture fits together. He said this plays a role in how his passions for faith and sports can intertwine and find harmony in his everyday life.
“I think worship is, at its simplest, adoration toward God,” Taylor said. “Then, God’s given me these gifts. Then, by using these gifts, I think puts a smile on His face and brings adoration to who God is.”
Taylor has been playing soccer since he was 3 years old. He now coaches a sports ministry program called Warrior Way; this training and discipleship group allows children and teenagers to train for soccer and integrate their faith into practice.
“I would say what I’ve learned most is that the way Warrior Way approaches soccer is the way I want to approach life — that it’s not just an on-the-field thing, but putting on the mind of Christ is a component of my life,” Taylor said.
Warrior Way is one of the many programs Lee said Truett Seminary students get involved with. Others include Highland Baptist Church’s basketball league and Truett Seminary’s own youth sports camp retreat. Lee said this retreat is for high school athletes who are serious about their sport and faith; the students come to Baylor’s campus every June to listen to speakers, play sports and learn more about their faith.
“Hopefully, it will be transformative for them going into the rest of their life as athletes,” Lee said. “Or even if they’re not organized sports, even if they run for fun or whatever exercise they’re doing later in life, they can take those things with them.”
Lee said the Sports & Faith Institute encourages students at Truett Seminary to get involved with the community somehow, although this looks different for each student. While Taylor is coaching at Warrior Way, Lee is coaching the junior varsity girls’ basketball team at Valor — a local preparatory academy.
Taylor said the sports ministry program talks about how sports is a part of culture and how faith fits into that. He said he has learned that worship is also found outside of Sunday service.
“When I play soccer, it’s where I meet God,” Taylor said. “It’s where I see God move and act in kids’ lives, and I think that’s ultimately what worship is: glorifying God and magnifying His name.”
Across the sports ministry program webpage is a quote: “One foot in the classroom and one foot in the locker room.” Lee said she believes viewing sports as a form of worship is an underdeveloped idea, but she sees it as a chance to worship God and to play freely.
“In sports, your whole body is worshiping God and being thankful for the ability to move, the ability to strategize in the game — that is worship to me,” Lee said. “As far as play, I think play is such a beautiful and free thing that we get to do, where we get to set aside the worries and anxieties and the stress of life and just get to play freely.”
