Written by: Shannon O'Brien

The context in which I minister is primarily in women's ministry-- specifically, with NCAA Division 1 college athletics. I have worked in sports ministry for twenty years, and in my experience, I have sat with many college athletes, professional athletes, and world class Olympic athletes. Here is what I have come to fully understand: we are all the same in our human condition regardless of our talent level achieved. We all want to do well, to be respected, to be known, and to feel like we matter. I believe this is part of our God-given design, desiring to feel like we have something to offer and that it will make a positive impact for the greater good. At the core of all humanity is identity and the question of significance. Identity can be defined by who or what a person is, and significance is regarding what it means to be worthy of attention and importance. In a world where there are multiple voices telling us what to think, there is a great need to help people discern and trust the narrative of God.  
 
From personal experience, I know that when we find our worth in Christ alone, based on what He did on the cross for us, and based on what He says is true about us and Himself, our feeling of significance does not have to wane like it does when we find our worth in our performance and what other people say about us. This can be extremely freeing and empowering to discern how to live into God's design and rest our significance in His narrative. Foundationally I have realized in sitting with athletes and pastorally listening to their stories, that most athletes have established their identity in what they do, above who they are, and most do not know that there is a difference. I believe this is the urgency in my field of ministry: inviting athletes, coaches, and parents to process their worth and identity, and to consider how the life of Christ reframes their value system and invites them to live into a greater story beyond sports achievements. This is urgent because we operate in a world where a lot of voices are available to tell us who we are, how liked we are, and if we are significant. For most athletes, this began at a young age with parents and coaches as they grew in sport, and over the course of their athletic career, they had messages reiterated that tied their significance and identity to their accomplishments in sports. This is challenging because when the athlete is done playing their sport, they graduate or retire into an identity crisis.^[1]
 
Why does the identity crisis happen?^[2] Because the student-athlete has been discipled to find and trust that their worth is in their performance, achievements, other people's opinion and praise from the time they began youth sports. Their first encounter with this was most likely with their parents or guardian at a young age. It was in the yard being taught how to play catch or to hit or kick a ball and receiving the affirming "atta boy," or "atta girl" they got from their successful performance. In addition, it was in the attention they were served when they performed well on the field, course, or court, and received praise and awards for achieving. It has also been cultivated in quality time and attention by sitting on the couch or in the stands and collectively praising and wearing their favorite team's jersey and representing the loyalty to their favorite team. These practices and investments communicated to young athletes who they were to be devoted to, how to gain attention which directed them on a pathway of devotion through sport--and encouraged them to find their worth and significance by participating in sports. Initially all this is innocent and uniting, and sport does have a beautiful way of gathering and uniting people; the challenge is when our worship orientation is about sports and their results, as opposed to just being a space to participate and grow in and through them. As the years go by in a child's life in sport, more time, dedication, and money are committed to the development of the child's game performance. I know this because this is the world I grew up in, it is the world my husband and I recruit from as college coaches, and it's the world we too are navigating in raising our own children. 
 
So how do we develop Christ followers through the conduit of sport? It's going to be done through discipleship first with the parents and coaches who desire to integrate spiritual formation through sport and then too with adolescent and young adult student-athletes. Training up an athlete involves both physical and psychological components to maximize an athlete's potential. Physically athletes are put through fitness and strength exercises to build muscle and stamina. Repetitions are in place to build muscle memory and build reactions. Tactics, film review, and playbooks are studied and put into practice--all of which are to develop both the individual and the team to operate in unity and effectiveness together. All of these components also cross over into spiritual formation. Christ followers are to develop both physically and psychologically; Jesus commands us in His greatest commandment to do just that: in loving God, we are to do so with all of our heart, soul, and mind. Loving God with our soul is to love God with our very breath. Physically Christ followers go through things in life that can develop endurance in our faith. Repetitions in our orthopraxy like prayer and taking our thoughts captive can help us build muscle memory and discern Christ-like reactions to situations in life; and tactically, when we study God's Word and review God's narrative, we can develop our minds for Christ and effectively live lives that bring glory to God and battle our enemy Satan.


Training Ground: To help us take our thoughts captive and begin to renew our minds in the truth of Christ and finding our worth in Him and what He declares true over us, see the list that follows. I encourage you to consider all of them, and identify 3-5 truths to soak in daily, weekly. Place the verses where you will see them regularly. For example, on a phone's home screen and screen saver, a bathroom mirror, the dashboard of your car and computer, in locker rooms, and on training equipment. Be intentional to allow God's Word to renew and remind both you and those that you are leading, coaching, and parenting to realize that our worth and identity is far greater in Christ.
 
 We Are in Christ:

We Are...
Loved by God	Jhn 3:16
Forgiven	Col 1:14
Confessing the Lordship of Jesus Over Our Lives	Phl 2:11
Saved by Grace through Faith	Eph 2:8
Loving God with All of our Hearts, Souls & Minds	Mat 22:37
Born Again Children of God	Rom 8:16
Delivered from the Powers of Darkness	Col 1:13
Redeemed from the Hands of the Enemy	Psa 107:2
Called with a Holy Calling	2Ti 1:9
Created in His Image	Rom 8:29
Not of This World	Jhn 17:16
Of God's Household of Faith	Gal 6:10
In Love with God	1Jo 4:19
Seeking First His Kingdom & Righteousness	Mat 6:33
Abiding in His Love	1Jo 4:16
Healed by His Stripes	1Pe 2:24
Free from Fear	1Jo 4:18
Crowned with His Loving Kindness & Tender Mercies	Psa 103
Redeemed from the Curse of the Law	Gal 3:13
Free from the Law of Sin & Death	Rom 8:32
Heirs of Eternal Life	1Jo 5:11-12
Heirs to the Blessings of Abraham	Gal 3:14
Heirs of God & Joint Heirs with Jesus	Rom 8:17
Blessed with All Spiritual Blessings	Eph 1:3
His Workmanship Created in Christ Jesus	Eph.2:10
Strong in the Grace That Is in Christ Jesus	2Ti 2:1
In Right-standing with God	2Co 5:21
Established in Righteousness	Isa 54:14
Living in His Kingdom	Col 1:13
Humbling Ourselves, Casting All Cares Upon Jesus	1Pe 5:6-7
Getting Our Needs Met by Jesus	Phl 4:19
Able to Be Partakers of the inheritance, Giving Thanks to the Father	Col 1:12
Studying to Show Ourselves Approved of God	2Ti 2:15
Awakening to Righteousness & Sinning Not	1Co 15:34
Commended to God & the Word of His Grace Which Is Able to Build Us Up	Act 20:32
Believing God's Word	Mar 13:31
Blessed Because We Hear the Word of God And Keep It	Luk 11:28
Abiding in Jesus & His Words Abide in Us	Jhn 15:7
Always Meditating on God's Word	Jos 1:8
Living by Every Word That Proceeds from God	Mat 4:4
Rooted & Built Up in Him & Established in the Faith	Col 2:6-7
Building Our House Upon the Rock	Mat 7:24-25
Being Transformed by the Renewing of Our Minds	Rom 12:2
Increasing in the Knowledge of God	Col 1:10
Letting His Truth Set Us Free	Jhn 8:32, 36
Covenanted to God	Hbr 8:6, 10
Filled with All Joy & Peace in Believing	Rom 15:13
Doers of the Word	Jam 1:22
Sons & Daughters of God	Gal 3:26
The Body of Christ	Eph 1:22-23
Laborers together with God	1Co 3:9
Servants of the Most High	Act 16:17
Having the Mind of Christ	Phl 2:5
Walking in Newness of Life	Rom 6:4
Led by His Spirit	Rom 8:14
Trusting in the Lord Acknowledging Him in All Our Ways	Pro 3:5-6
Putting on the Lord Jesus Christ	Gal 3:27
Partakers of His Divine Nature	2Pe 1:4
Walking with Love & Living by Faith	1Co 13 & Rom 1:17
Predestined to Be Conformed to His Image	Rom 8:29
Pressing on to His High Calling	Phl 3:14
Allowing the Greater One to Dwell in Us	1Jo 4:4
Letting Our Request Be Known to God	Phl 4:6
Asking in the Name of Jesus	Jhn 15:16
Receiving the Request We've Asked For	Mar 11:24
Receiving All the Promises of God	2Co 1:20
Fully Convinced That What God Has Promised He Is Able to Perform	Rom 4:21
Believers	Mar 9:23
Abiding in His Rest	Hbr 4:3
Walking & Acting Like the Word Is True	Jam 2:17-18
Holding Fast Our Confidence Which Has Great Reward	Hbr 10:35
The Elect of God	Col 3:12
Filled with the Holy Spirit	Act 2:4, 39
Complete in Him	Col 2:10
Going in His Name	Mar 16:15-18
Strong in the Lord & in the Power of His Might	Eph 6:10
Filled with the Knowledge of His Will in All Wisdom & Spiritual Understanding	Col 1:9
Not Moved by What We See	Rom 4:19
Strong in Faith, Giving Glory to God, Not Wavering with Doubt or Unbelief	Rom 4:20
Imitators of Jesus	Eph 5:1
Walking As He Walked	1Jo 2:6
Praying without Ceasing	1Th 5:17
Walking by Faith Not by Sight	2Co 5:7
Casting Down Vain Imaginations, Bringing Every Thought into Captivity to God's Word	2Co 10:4-5
Holding Fast Our Confession of Faith	Hbr 10:23
Fighting the Good Fight of Faith	1Ti 6:17
Reigning in Life	Rom 5:17
Exercising Our Faith & Patience	Hbr 6:12
Considering Jesus, the Apostle & High Priest of Our Confession	Hbr 3:1
Observing & Doing the Lords Commandments	Jhn 14:21
Putting on Love	Col 3:14
Loving Our Neighbors As Ourselves	Mat 22:39
Walking in the Wisdom of God	Jam 1:5
Kings & Priest	Rev 1:6
Givers	Luk 6:38
Intercessors	1Ti 2:1
Wearing God's Armour	Eph 6:10-18
Doing All Things through Christ Who Strengthens Us	Phl 4:13
Daily Overcoming the Devil	1Jo 4:4
More Than Conquerors	Rom 8:37
Overcoming by the Blood of the Lamb & the Word of Our Testimonies	Rev 12:11
Exercising Our Authority Over the Enemy	Luk 10:19
Destroying the Works of the Devil	1Jo 3:8
Convinced That Nothing Can Separate Us from the Love of God	Rom 8:35-39
In Everything Giving Thanks	1Th 5:18
Establishing God's Word Here on the Earth	Mat 16:19
Receiving Abundantly, Above All We Ask or Think	Eph 3:20
Walking Worthy of the Lord	Col 1:10
Telling Everyone about Jesus	Rom 16:25
Thinking on these Things	Phl 4:8
Giving God All the Glory	Rom 16:27
Blessing the Lord at All Times. Continually Praising the Lord with Our Mouths	Psa 34:1
Definitely Looking For His Soon Return	1Th 4:15-18