News / Education
RecLab focuses on ministry combining physical, spiritual
Activities explore how to makes sports part of church ministry
At least that’s what leaders at LifeWay’s RecLab training event wanted conference attendees to understand about sports and recreation ministry.
"The activity is secondary," said John Garner, longtime RecLab speaker and conference host. "Sharing the Gospel in an intentional way is the primary purpose. If you’re just there to play games, you can do that at the city park. Life is too short, and the Gospel is too important."
From Jan. 25-29, about 200 people from as far away as Albany, N.Y., gathered in San Antonio for RecLab, a conference LifeWay has been hosting annually since the mid-1960s. RecLab is a training event designed to offer tips, trends and networking opportunities to individuals who work in sports and recreation ministry, an area of ministry that encompasses everything from church softball leagues and sports camps to family festivals and father-son game nights.
Because the ministry is so diverse, RecLab attendees arrived in San Antonio with a variety of needs and hopes for the conference.
"The face of my church is older," said Stacey Smith, a first-time RecLab attendee and minister of recreation at First Baptist Church, Madison, Miss. "I’m really looking for activities that I could offer to senior adults."
Before he had even attended the "Senior adult 65+" breakout session, Smith learned about In His Grip, a golf ministry program founded by RecLab speaker Scott Lehman. After listening to Lehman’s presentation during the "In His Grip" breakout session, Smith said the program sounded promising since golf was an activity he could use as both a fellowship and an outreach opportunity at his church.
"I realize recreation ministry is probably one of the biggest front doors we have," Smith said. "The nature of the ministry means we can provide things the music minister can’t. We’re able to get out of the building and onto the field."
Like recreation ministry, the conference offered a wide range of seminars and topics. Organized into various tracks, including sports, outdoor and adventure recreation, men’s ministry, and many others, attendees chose to follow a particular subject throughout the 10 track times or learned a little something about everything.
Eddie Robertson is the minister of recreation at First Baptist Church, Spartanburg, S.C. He has lost count of how many RecLab events he has attended – he said it was "eight or so" – but that doesn’t mean the conferences haven’t made an impact.
"When I first came to RecLab, I felt kind of isolated and like I was out there on my own trying to make recreation ministry happen," Robertson said. "But I came and found other people who were turning sports into ministry. It was encouraging."
Robertson represented a significant group of RecLab veterans, but first-timers showed up as well. In fact, Garner said that first-time attendees make up a growing percentage of the total RecLab attendance each year.
"We live in a leisure-driven culture," Garner said, "and pastors are looking for a way to tap into that mentality. They see other churches having success with a recreation ministry and they send people [to RecLab] and tell them, ‘Go find out what this is all about.’"
During his breakout session "What is this work and how do I get started?" Garner told attendees that recreation ministry requires leaders who can work with anyone from preschoolers to senior adults.
More than that, it requires leaders who recognize the possibilities and potential importance of what they do.
"Recreation ministry provides a natural, non-threatening way to introduce God’s Word to the community," he said. "People may not know the church, and they may not know Jesus, but everyone knows sports. There’s nothing religious about a basketball; it’s what you do with it that matters."
But sometimes it’s a place, and not a piece of sports equipment, that opens the door.
Derrick Blaylock came to RecLab in preparation for organizing and running a recreation ministry at a park that Fallbrook Church in Houston is building on donated land.
Blaylock is new to the world of recreation ministry, but RecLab offered him encouragement and ideas.
"Coming here has helped me a lot," he said. "Just taking on the responsibility is overwhelming, and it’s good to learn from others who have done this work."
And learn they did. The conference featured information on everything from juggling and games with children to starting sports leagues and hosting wild game suppers for men.
Robertson said that having a diversified recreation ministry was important because it broadened the ministry opportunities.
"We can be the ball player, the teacher or the guy on the golf course," Robertson said. "Recreation ministry asks us to become all things to all people with the intention of sharing Christ with them."
As one RecLab speaker put it, "[Recreation ministry] is about putting the physical and spiritual together."
For more information about RecLab, visit LifeWay.com/RecLab.
