7 Ways to Pray for Sports and Recreation Ministries [June Prayer Focus]

TEAM – The Evangelical Alliance Mission • May 31, 2017

There’s a reason your VBS program has a game time: Fun things attract people, even if you make them listen to a lesson first. But sports and recreation ministry is much more than getting people to sit down for a devotional.

When you coach a team, you get to teach discipline from a biblical perspective. When you counsel a camper, you get to pray with them about their struggles. When you organize kayaking trips, you get to spend hours talking about God. Recreation lets people bond in a non-threatening way, which opens incredible doors for the Gospel!

This month, will you pray with us for sports and recreation ministries around the world?

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Pray for safety and health.


Even careful planning and procedures can’t eliminate all risk from sports ministries. Please ask God to prevent injuries and sickness among ministry participants. Photo by TEAM


Some safety and health concerns are expected. If you coach a basketball team or lead campers on a riverside bike ride, you should probably make sure people have appropriate equipment, get proper rest and don’t goof off in a dangerous manner. But as summer weather picks up, missionaries in places like Taiwan are also praying against typhoons that could hit their camp.

Please pray for all of these concerns. Ask God to prevent injuries, even when people are careless. Ask Him to ward off sicknesses. And please pray that all bad weather will pass by recreational ministries without incident.

Pray for deep relationships to form.


zach harrod church planting team

The close bond between player and coach allows missionaries like Zach Harrod to create meaningful relationships that point to Christ. Please pray for these friendships to flourish. Photo courtesy of Lukas Machala


A lot of bonding can happen during a week of camp or regular sports practices. When a young player came to football practice with tears in his eyes, his coach , a TEAM missionary, was there to listen to him. The Czech boy shared about his father’s drunken rampage from the night before, and the missionary got to point him to Jesus.

Ask God to help missionaries build deep relationships so their players and campers feel comfortable opening up to them. Pray that this trust will extend to family members, too.

Pray for logistics to run smoothly.

The reason kayaking is such a good ministry for sharing Christ is it creates blocks of time. So I have just hours to talk to people.” – Steve Dresselhaus, TEAM missionary

TEAM missionary Steve Dresselhaus recently had everything perfectly planned for a three-day, Christ-centered, kayaking trip. But he didn’t plan for rain! Sometimes weeks or months of planning can be thrown off by just one detail — bad weather, a lack of staff or visas that don’t come through.

Please ask God to guide missionaries as they plan, so they’ll schedule events at good times and be able to take care of every detail. And pray that when things don’t go as planned, God will still open doors of ministry. Steve didn’t get his full kayaking trip, but his group still spent time together and got to talk about God!

Pray for high morale among staff and participants.


Workers in sports and recreation ministries ask us to pray for positive attitudes and good morale among volunteers and participants. Photo by TEAM


Staying peppy during hot, busy days of summer can be hard as it is. But what if you feel like the devotionals you share are hitting a wall instead of penetrating hearts? What if you’re a homesick camper who just wants to hug his mom? What if you’ve lost so many games this season that you wonder if it’s worth playing?

One of the most common prayer requests among sports and recreation ministries is for morale. Please ask God to give missionaries and those they serve the stamina, patience, joy and wisdom they need to make it through the summer with high spirits. And pray that they will know how to encourage each other when times get tough.

Pray for spiritual growth.


Please pray for the spiritual growth and development of young believers as they interact with recreation ministries this summer. Photo by TEAM


Years ago, TEAM missionary Ron Heinsman asked his Taiwanese camp interns what they would do if a friend asked how to be saved. Several raised their hands, but they all had the same answer: “I’d take them to talk to my pastor.”

Since then, Ron has made a point of teaching his volunteers how to use their personal testimonies to share the Gospel. And now, they’re leading campers to Christ! “Often, these young co-workers are completely surprised that it happened,” Ron says. “They didn’t believe it would.”

Please pray that young believers will grow in their faith as they attend recreational outreaches. Pray that missionaries will see where these believers need guidance and will know how to give it effectively.

Pray for the right staff members for each team.


The right short- and long-term workers can greatly affect a recreation ministry’s success. Please pray for God to call and send more missionaries to help in these ministries. Photo by TEAM


TEAM missionary AJ Westendorp is excited to see how God is working in his football players’ lives, but he doesn’t have time to disciple all of them and do the rest of his work. He prays God will provide a chaplain for this Guatemalan team so that each young man can come to know Christ.

Please ask God to send the right people to each ministry. Pray that short-term volunteers will bond quickly and understand their roles. Pray that long-term roles will be filled by people who are persistent and eager to build deep relationships.

Pray for people to be saved!


Ultimately, the point of any sports and recreation ministry is for people to come to know Jesus. Please pray that many will be saved through these ministries. Photo by TEAM


There’s no doubt that each missionary’s greatest hope is to see people come to know Jesus! Some missionaries have shared the Gospel with the same people many times, and they’re just waiting for a breakthrough. Others hope that after they’ve shared the Gospel with campers, they’ll get to share it with the kids’ parents.

Please pray for missionaries around the world as they share the Good News of Jesus. Pray that God’s Spirit will soften hearts and open eyes. Pray that this summer — and this year — many people will come to know Jesus as Lord!

By Suzanne Pearson 08 Mar, 2024
Through God-ordained partnerships and creative connections, TEAM worker Keith Moore sees the global Church advancing in amazing ways. In the global missions landscape, a phrase that comes up often is “from everywhere, to everywhere.” God is calling His global Church in literal new directions, as He raises up cross-cultural workers to be sent from places that were once on the receiving end of missions work. We call this movement “polycentric sending.” TEAM workers Dawn and Keith Moore have seen first-hand this transition taking place. Their story involves the unlikely but beautiful intersection of Charlotte, North Carolina; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Memphis, Tennessee...and beyond. The Path to Honduras Keith and Dawn joined TEAM in 1991 and served as church planters for nine years in Bogota, Colombia. After safety concerns precipitated their return to the States in 1999, they knew they wanted to continue serving in Latin America. The Moores felt called to Honduras but wanted to connect with a strong missional church to help send them. The Lord orchestrated a collaboration with Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. “Some people asked, ‘Why Honduras? Missionaries have been there for 100 years. It’s already reached,’” Keith says. “But there’s a whole section of Latin America that had not been reached - the upper crust.” Keith goes on to explain that he and Dawn felt called to reach college-educated professionals in Honduras – a ministry vision that resonated with the missional goals of Bellevue Baptist. Impact and Growth With the support of this new church partnership as well as another sending church in Birmingham, Alabama, the Moores embarked on their next adventure. Keith and Dawn started Impacto Honduras Church from scratch, and in less than 20 years, the church grew into four locations with 1600 total members. The Moores and other TEAM workers also created a “Bible school” type training program to help professionals who feel a call to ministry to make that transition. Throughout this period of explosive growth, church partnerships played an integral role. “It’s such a different vision when you have a church that says, ‘OK, this is our deal, we want to make this happen,’” Keith explains. “They helped us with everything. They took away every single obstacle to growth. Every time we needed something, they were there.” In 2017, the Moores once again found themselves on the verge of another decision. Was it time to leave Honduras? “I had no desire to leave,” Keith recalls. “People were coming to Christ every week! It was just so amazing.” However, back in the U.S., Keith and Dawn’s parents were in their 80s and would soon be in need of more care. “We realized that either we would leave in a crisis, or we would leave strategically,” says Keith. The couple began to implement a careful succession plan. By the time they left, the four churches were established with strong, Honduran leadership ready to carry on the work of the Gospel.
By Suzanne Pearson 23 Feb, 2024
Justin Burkholder, pictured here with his wife Jenny and their daughters Isabella, Olivia, and Zoey, has recently been named as TEAM’s next International Director. On February 19, 2024, with much excitement and gratitude to the Lord, TEAM announced that Justin Burkholder will become our organization’s new International Director, effective July 1, 2024. Justin, who is currently TEAM’s Executive Director of Global Ministry, will assume his new role upon the retirement of the current International Director, Dave Hall. ( Read the full press release here. ) We sat down recently with Justin to learn a little more about his background, his family, and the journey that has led him to TEAM. Q: Tell us a little bit about your “origin story” - Where did you grow up? What was your family like? A: I grew up in Mexico City as a missionary kid. My parents were focused on church planting. We were very close as a family. Both of my parents are still alive, and my dad serves as a pastor in southern Florida. I have one brother who is a pastor in Wisconsin, and the most special individual in my family is my sister, Amber. She was born with a very severe case of cerebral palsy and is entirely dependent on my mother...who is extraordinary! The three most impactful forces that have shaped who I am (outside of God’s grace) are growing up in Mexico, having parents who loved and planted churches, and sharing life with someone with a severe disability. My parents belonged at the time to a church and denomination that came with quite a bit of legalism and performance-oriented Christianity. Grace was a challenging concept to grasp. While I had an awareness of my sin and need for redemption, it wasn’t until I attended Moody Bible Institute that I began to grasp the fullness of God’s grace and His delight in His children. I have continued learning and trusting in the Gospel through formal education, like completing my M.Div., and through spiritual practices in community. Learning the Gospel and believing the Gospel has been a daily exercise. The Gospel is as beautiful and multi-faceted as a diamond! At an individual level, it is simple enough for us to live convinced that “Jesus loves me, this I know.” At a corporate level, it becomes the foundation that forms and informs our life as a spiritual family. At a cosmic level, it is redemption that reaches as far as the curse is found. It is hard to even grasp the multiplicity of goodness found in the Good News. Q: Share a little bit about your family life now. What does a typical day look like in the Burkholder household? A: My wife Jenny is my high-school sweetheart! She brings joy and kindness wherever she goes. She’s the best listener I’ve ever met, and we love spending time together. We have three daughters. Isabella is ten, Olivia is seven, and Zoey is four. Each of the girls is unique and has taught us a lot in our process of following Jesus together. We like to go out on walks and go to the park together. Once a month I try to get some alone time with each of my daughters which usually includes bowling or trampolines. A typical day in the Burkholder house starts around 5:00am. Because of traffic here in Guatemala City, we have to leave early for school. After school, the girls come home to different activities - sometimes swimming class, sometimes piano lessons. Four or five nights a week we have dinner together where we usually talk about our high and low moments of the day. On weekends, we enjoy time together, playing outside, or watching sports together. Go Cubs and Go Buckeyes! Q: What are your interests and hobbies? If you have the day off, what are you likely to be up to? A: I enjoy physical activity, running, strength-training and following sports. I also love music and, truth be told, am a bit snobby about my taste in music! I also am a very curious person and love reading just about anything that passes through my hands. A day off is usually an opportunity for time with family. Jenny and I like to cook something interesting together on our days off. Often there is time for some reading and watching some type of athletic event. Q: How did God lead you to TEAM? A: My wife and I were working in the Chicago suburbs. I was a youth pastor and she was a Spanish teacher. When we got married, we had already sensed God’s direction to serve cross-culturally, but it was a matter of discerning when and where. There was a driving desire in me to see a church deeply love the Scriptures and at the same time, be deeply engaged in loving and serving their city and the most vulnerable among them. As God directed our paths, we visited a variety of places and made some friends in Guatemala who opened up the path for us to serve here. While we were exploring, we knew that the International Director of an organization called TEAM happened to go to our church, so I decided I should probably invite him out for breakfast - his name was Charlie Davis. Charlie was extremely thoughtful, passionate about disciple-making, and very gracious in creating space for us as we stepped into this endeavor. Charlie connected me with Steve Dresselhaus, a fellow TEAM global worker who was at that time serving as the Senior Director for the Americas. I cannot express the debt that I owe Steve. He walked closely with me in the transition, encouraged courageous thinking about the church and her role in society, and blasted open the doors for us to serve in Guatemala. After meeting Steve, we spent some days praying about joining TEAM. One thing I will never forget – one night during the process, I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night. A peace like I have seldom experienced passed over me confirming that we should join TEAM. There is no doubt in my mind that God tied all of these pieces together to bring us into the TEAM family and community. Q: What roles have you held in TEAM? What have been the milestones in those roles? A: The most important role I have held in TEAM is that of a global worker. God in His grace has allowed us to help plant two churches here in Guatemala, serve in leadership development, counseling, and discipleship. Our greatest joy has been found walking with those who are learning to follow Christ more deeply. I served as the Ministry Area Leader in Guatemala from 2016 to 2019. We helped to establish and lead this ministry area as it grew from just four global workers to over 15. I then served as Senior Director for Mexico and Central America from 2019 to 2021, Regional Executive Director for the Americas in 2021 and 2022, and then transitioned to the role of Executive Director of Global Ministry which I’ll continue in until the end of June. Q: What do you love most about being a part of TEAM? Why TEAM rather than other organizations or job opportunities? A: The TEAM community is full of people who have faithfully served God’s mission and have given up a lot to do so. It is a privilege to know many of our global workers and be counted among them. I am also fascinated by the fact that TEAM has existed now for more than 130 years! There is something to be said about the resilience and faithfulness of an organization that has continued to impact the world for so long. The rest of our conversation with Justin will be coming soon on blog! We’ll hear more about how God called Justin to the role of International Director, and what Justin sees for the next chapter in TEAM’s work in the global Church.
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