You love your sport and you love Jesus. You know that your sport can be worship as you use your gifts and talents for Him. But have you ever considered how you might share this news with your sports friends? Perhaps you already know this but are daunted by this prospect?

What does it look like to be a Christian in sport?

The instructions Paul gives to the church at Colossae in Colossians 4:2-6 are really helpful as we unpack what it looks like to be distinctive in your club and look to share Jesus with your sports friends. He gives us 4 simple steps:

1. Pray

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.”

Firstly, do you pray for your friends in sport? Prayer is vital in reaching your friends as it is God, and God alone, who will open their eyes to see Jesus for who He really is.

Pray for their lives, pray for opportunities to have conversations with them, pray for genuine friendships in which to share Jesus.

What does it look like for your to be committed to praying for them? Why don’t you write down the names of three of your friends who you want to commit to pray for this year and keep a card in your wallet or on your phone to remind you?

2. Play

“Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.”

The way we play our sport and how we live amongst our friends makes a real difference. As people see how we live, it creates opportunities for them to see God’s character through ours. On, and off the pitch, how we act can then lead to opportunities to explain why we behave as we do.

What might that look like for you? What situations could you be distinctive in how you compete, your reactions to officials, injury, loss?

3. Say

"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Simply say something of the gospel! They will not learn about Jesus if they never hear anything about Him. Let’s take those opportunities when they come, speaking about things with eternal value.

When Paul says our conversation is to be seasoned with salt, he means our chat is to be tasty and distinctive. Salt adds flavour to any meal, and it also used to be used as a preservative - does your conversation taste of Jesus?

4. Together

The world of sport needs the gospel, and we, as Christians in the world of sport, have an incredible opportunity to tell people the most amazing news in the world! But we don’t do this alone.

As we read the end of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we see him list the many people involved in his life who he worked and shared life with.

We too are better off together. Who else could you meet with for encouragement and prayer? What Christians could you introduce to your sports friends so they can know first hand another follower of Jesus?