In the modern world, the commitment to sports is actively gaining momentum. Now, even religious organizations are interested in sports, and some even promote sports for every person. There was a time in the past when the church was categorically against sports and any sporting events. I agree with my classmates that the combination of sports and church service is absolutely acceptable. For example, the Ministry of Sports called Push the Rock promotes sports activities, church service, and Worship. There are many such organizations, and they are all aimed at making people able to establish contacts, be active athletes and not forget about God.
Although some churches strongly opposed sports events and sports in general, as they believed that sports distracted them from worshipping God and prayers. Some churches refused because earlier marks were for the sake of the spectacle, and people died because of it. Spending time on sports could be regarded as inappropriate for true Christians. Heisey (2013) claims that Christianity was characterized by complete self-denial and did not allow recreation and sports. Later, another point of view began to form, which supported church service and sports events.
Nonetheless, there are organizations and new ones are being created that support the connection between sports and Christianity. The Scripture states: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). It follows from this that the church cannot be against sports, even for the sake of achievement, even for recreation. Religious figures used sports as a means of educating discipline and character (Adogame et al., 2018). Naturally, true Christians should not forget about God and replace prayer with sports. The combination of sports and worship can bring an exceptionally positive impact. This is because a person will be vital not only in spirit but also physically. As a result, even though there were previously oppositional opinions regarding the combination of sports and the church’s ministry, organizations that support this connection are successful.
References
Adogame, A., Watson, N. and Parker, A. (2018). Global perspectives on sports and Christianity. Routledge.
Heisey, K. (2013). Sport Outreach and Christian Ministry. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.