God Sports

10 Jun 2010

Every week thousands of Cantabrians don sneakers and track pants, limber up, and take part in some variety of sporting code or social team. Anglican Life caught up with three Christian sports enthusiasts in our diocese to see how faith impacts there lives on and off the field.

Max Joines, Croquet (club) St Chad’s – Linwood

"I enjoy chatting to my Croquet Colleagues about my Christian belief. They’re always interested in my values and are sometimes even shocked that I enjoy a Guinness and having a good time. They know I’m someone they can trust and have had the privilege to meet with some to chat about a difficult situation in their lives. In the clubhouse all my colleagues know that I’m an active Christian, often chatting to me and asking questions about my belief. They all know I’m not available to play on a Sunday morning. I have a wooden hand cross that I was given a few years ago and I always have it in my pocket, so when I’m in a tight spot playing a Croquet game, I squeeze it & tell myself with help I can relax & play better – it certainly helps me!"

Angela Wightman, Netball (social) St Barnabas – Fendalton

"Being a Christian impacts my attitude, as it’s important to me that I play fairly and don’t swear and mistreat people on court if something goes wrong. Team sports are a great way to get people to not only socialise together, but work together towards a common goal. It would be great to see more of these skills applied within churches when it comes to worshiping and spreading the gospel message. Perhaps we could force everyone to play team sports together? Just kidding! But team sports could be a good way to involve people who otherwise would not have had any contact with churches or exposure to Christianity."

Simon Woodlock, Cricket (premier) St Christopher’s - Avonhead

"The sports field is one of the many mission fields in life, so the church can play a useful part in encouraging and equipping Christian sports people to live out and share their faith with those they play with. Sometimes it can be hard not to take part in the banter that goes on in a sports team, so keeping my integrity at all times is one of the greatest challenges for me. I believe God has called me to reach my potential in cricket so I train and play hard to honor Him knowing that He has prepared the way for me to play at this level."