Become the athlete God made you to be
Athletes who follow Jesus often struggle with where faith fits in their sport. We create resources that give athletes clarity on God’s intention for sport so they can glorify God, enjoy competition, and utilize their sport as a platform for spiritual growth and impact.
Learn God’s Intention for Sport
Rediscover Joy in Competition
Glorify God in All Things
What does God want from Christian athletes?
Faith is widely present in sports, particularly in ritualistic pre-game prayers and chapels, religious tattoos and t-shirts, and calling on God’s blessing to accomplish athletic goals.
As a follower of Jesus, you find yourself uncomfortably discontent with limiting faith to these common expressions. You know God wants more for you, but what is it? There are questions that need to be answered, such as:
How do I apply the Bible to my sport?
How do I deal with injuries and missed expectations?
What does it mean to glorify God through sport?
I thought quoting a Bible verse would help me perform better.
I’m Brian Smith and as a cross-country athlete at Wake Forest University in the early 2000s, I recited the same Bible verse before every cross-country race thinking it would help me reach my goals. The truth is, I never fully understood what God wanted from me when it came to applying my faith to my sport. Praying before the competition seemed like a good start.
But what else did God want from and for me? I knew there had to be more.
Since 2008 I’ve worked with Athletes in Action, an international sports organization dedicated to helping athletes integrate their Christian faith with their sport. I’ve wrestled with this topic, guided college athletes, and written widely, including multiple published books. My life’s passion is helping athletes and coaches live biblically at the intersection of faith and sport.
God’s intention is clear in the Bible, so let’s put in the work to find some answers.
As I’ve wrestled over these questions, I’ve written widely on the topic and for specific audiences. Below are my latest blog posts, along with posts written specifically for athletes, coaches, and parents. Each post takes a few minutes to read and provides Scripture, thoughts, and practices to help the reader live biblically at the intersection of faith and sport.
God wants infinitely more for us.
Athletes desire—and deserve—a more substantive expression of the Christian faith in the context of sport, but they don’t know what it looks like or where to turn to learn more.
That’s why I wrote The Christian Athlete. The book helps athletes understand how to integrate faith and sport by:
Assisting those who want a wide-angled understanding of how to live the Christian faith in the context of sports
Walking through the many questions Christian athletes ask about winning, losing, injuries, practice, and everything in between
Moving Christian athletes from simply having clichéd spiritual sayings decorating their bodies or t-shirts to actually living out their faith through all the opportunities their sport offers them
The Christian Athlete will show readers how to live out a biblical perspective on athletics and urge them to engage in the gifts they are given to glorify God whether they are the team MVP or riding the bench.
You can integrate faith and sport and change how you compete—and live.
Imagine competing with freedom, knowing that win, lose, or draw, you are indeed bringing glory to God. Imagine enjoying competition and bringing out the best in your opponent so you both become something better. Imagine your sport not being an end to your own glory, but a platform to grow closer to God and impact others for God’s Kingdom. We believe all this is possible, and if you are willing, God can lead you on a journey to transforming how you integrate faith and sport.
You don’t have to use faith as a good luck charm to attempt to get what you want. Sport doesn’t have to end with you gaining the glory or living shame. Sport can be a powerful platform that God uses to draw you into a greater story where God is glorified and your joy is complete.
9 ways to use sports ministry as a tool for validation. And what it looks like to minister out of a place of freedom.