The equipping of leaders for effective and sustainable sports ministry in the South African context

Abstract

Sports ministry can be defined as: seeking to glorify God in sport, thereby extending His Kingdom through sport. As sports ministry is a relatively new phenomenon in South Africa, it has received very little academic attention from theologians. In particular, there has been limited empirical research into the effectiveness of sports ministry leadership. The premise of this research is that the future strengthening and growth of sustainable sports ministry in South Africa is dependent upon equipping leaders with a foundation that will provide them with a strong scriptural and theological basis for ministry. The primary question that this research is therefore seeking to address is, how can leaders be equipped to implement effective and sustainable sports ministry in South African churches and communities? This study answers this question through following Osmer’s (2008) four tasks of theological interpretation. Through empirical research, the study describes how sports ministry leaders have been trained and equipped theologically and practically to implement sports ministry in the South African context. By way of a literature survey, interpretation is given to the situation facing sports ministry leaders through considering how the historical, socio-cultural, and leadership context in South Africa has shaped and influenced the current practice of sports ministry. The study presents an exegesis of five passages of Scripture resulting in the formulation of a Scriptural Manifesto, which, in turn, is then applied to evaluate six theological paradigms that influence sports ministry leaders. Finally, the culmination of the research proposes the PROXIMITY model, which makes a valuable contribution to the field of research by providing a robust scriptural, theological and practical foundation for the equipping of leaders for effective and sustainable sports ministry in the South African context. The PROXIMITY model is an acrostic, which aptly describes the nine contributions that sport ministry leaders should make in this regard, namely, their role should be Prophetic, Reconciliatory, Open-Hearted, and eXemplary; their approach should be Incarnational, Missional, and Integrational; and their focus should be Transformational and Youth-focused. The PROXIMITY model can typically be used to strengthen sports ministry leaders in their engagement with the church, communities, and the culture of sport in South Africa.