Making a Kingdom Impact
We have discussed the vision of the Elev8 Basketball league. In this section, we will give some specific ideas on making a kingdom impact.
Elev8 is a ministry to help you positively influence young men and women as they grow and mature. While some of your players may know Jesus Christ, others will not. Our devotions are designed to encourage and spiritually challenge players throughout the season. We also seek to develop character and honor in them, while offering them a hope found exclusively in Jesus Christ.
We don’t try to provide deep Bible study in the short devotion time. We rely on the ministry of the local church to provide deeper study for players and families. This doesn’t mean we can’t have life-on-life encounters with those players who already know and place their hope in Jesus Christ. As you already know, this ministry is designed to positively influence participants as we coaches and leaders seek to live out and share our faith in Jesus.
In fact, it’s very possible you may be the first Christian in their lives with whom they will have a close association. Therefore, it is critical that we make a strong first impression and model consistency in our actions. Realizing no one is perfect, we first and foremost rely on God's Holy Spirit for this rather than our own merit or abilities. With this in mind, one of the best ways we can make a kingdom impact is to make sure we, ourselves, are regularly in God's Word, in prayer, and in worship with a vibrant local church.
We will be spending over 3 months with our players and their families, so building relationships and getting to know them is critical. Having a parent/player meeting or just a parent meeting after your first practice can give team members an opportunity to get to know you and ask questions that may be on their minds. The first devotions planned for the players also allow for and promote “get to know you” type questions. This will greatly assist in breaking the ice. The sooner the kids and parents feel comfortable with you as their coach, the deeper the relationships can become.
Once relationships begin, it is equally important to maintain and deepen them. Here are some ideas you can use to build relationships throughout the season. This is not an exhaustive list but may be helpful:
Please speak to your commissioners and the Elev8 leadership team if you have more specific questions or wish to discuss some of these ideas more fully. Lastly, some helpful reminders about relationships in general are always useful. If a conflict arises, remember to be a good listener while trying to understand the other person’s view. Admit when you are wrong or make a mistake, and don't let conflicts fester or linger.
Months and years after the season, most players will not remember their season or how many games they won. They will remember that coach who befriended them, that coach who helped them fit in, that coach who shared about their relationship with Christ, or that coach who was there during a family crisis. We cannot predict the circumstances of the players we will have on our teams this year, but we can make building relationships for kingdom impact a priority of our coaching.
Elev8 is a ministry to help you positively influence young men and women as they grow and mature. While some of your players may know Jesus Christ, others will not. Our devotions are designed to encourage and spiritually challenge players throughout the season. We also seek to develop character and honor in them, while offering them a hope found exclusively in Jesus Christ.
We don’t try to provide deep Bible study in the short devotion time. We rely on the ministry of the local church to provide deeper study for players and families. This doesn’t mean we can’t have life-on-life encounters with those players who already know and place their hope in Jesus Christ. As you already know, this ministry is designed to positively influence participants as we coaches and leaders seek to live out and share our faith in Jesus.
In fact, it’s very possible you may be the first Christian in their lives with whom they will have a close association. Therefore, it is critical that we make a strong first impression and model consistency in our actions. Realizing no one is perfect, we first and foremost rely on God's Holy Spirit for this rather than our own merit or abilities. With this in mind, one of the best ways we can make a kingdom impact is to make sure we, ourselves, are regularly in God's Word, in prayer, and in worship with a vibrant local church.
We will be spending over 3 months with our players and their families, so building relationships and getting to know them is critical. Having a parent/player meeting or just a parent meeting after your first practice can give team members an opportunity to get to know you and ask questions that may be on their minds. The first devotions planned for the players also allow for and promote “get to know you” type questions. This will greatly assist in breaking the ice. The sooner the kids and parents feel comfortable with you as their coach, the deeper the relationships can become.
Once relationships begin, it is equally important to maintain and deepen them. Here are some ideas you can use to build relationships throughout the season. This is not an exhaustive list but may be helpful:
- Have a snack time after the game, during which you, as coach, can share positive things you observed about each player. You may also want to get a parent volunteer to set up a snack schedule.
- Have periodic parents’ meetings after practices to discuss what the kids did and what they learned. You can also do this by email, but doing so in person is always better.
- Consider going out to lunch or dinner as a team after some of your games. Pizza is inexpensive but a good meal. You will find that these activities often spark great conversation.
- Attend a local high school or college game with your team or (for the younger teams) come watch the ELEV8 high school games on Friday nights. This is a bigger commitment and may not be possible for many of you, but it is a good option for team building and seeing what the older Elev8 teams are like.
- Ask discussion questions in the devotion times and invite parents who are staying for practice to be involved in your devotion times.
- Try to arrive a bit early and chat with parents before your practice starts or hang around afterwards to socialize.
- Try to acknowledge birthdays before or after games. Encourage parents to bring cupcakes or some other celebratory food!
- Keep parents well informed during the week about team progress and schedule changes.
- When given the opportunity, share how knowing Jesus affects the way you live, coach, and make decisions.
- Consider having an end-of-season get together to celebrate the season. Invite the player's families to join in. Having the gathering as a "pot-luck" reduces cost and allows everyone to contribute.
Please speak to your commissioners and the Elev8 leadership team if you have more specific questions or wish to discuss some of these ideas more fully. Lastly, some helpful reminders about relationships in general are always useful. If a conflict arises, remember to be a good listener while trying to understand the other person’s view. Admit when you are wrong or make a mistake, and don't let conflicts fester or linger.
Months and years after the season, most players will not remember their season or how many games they won. They will remember that coach who befriended them, that coach who helped them fit in, that coach who shared about their relationship with Christ, or that coach who was there during a family crisis. We cannot predict the circumstances of the players we will have on our teams this year, but we can make building relationships for kingdom impact a priority of our coaching.