I grew up playing soccer.

I want my boys to embrace the game as well. So we enrolled our boys in Spring soccer each year. The season runs May through June, which is perfect for summer camping and traveling.

As is always the case with sports, it takes a huge team of volunteers to run a league. Because Nicole and I want to be a part of our boy’s experiences, we both volunteered. Nicole will be helping with snacks and communicating with other parents. And I’ll be coaching.

After getting through my first week of coaching 2 kids’ soccer teams, I think it’s going to be a great season. As a Believer, I’m finding it to be a very organic way to connect with the local community. There’s a dependence that the parents have on me, to teach their children the game of soccer. Then, through the conversation around their children, people open up quite easily.

They want to know who I am.

In order to coach their child effectively, they want me to understand their family dynamics and values. They want me to understand their child’s likes and dislikes, their personality traits, and how to best communicate with them.

Unlike the typical church setting, they want me to know who they are. This just doesn’t happen in many other environments. We should look for these environments. It might not be soccer. It might be some other sport. Perhaps a club of some sort? It’s any community organization where people are gathering around a common interest.

People sharing life together.

As lives are shared in a community environment, relationships deepen. After some time has passed, trust is developed and the opportunity to speak into each other’s lives begins to take place. Then eternal potential presents itself.

The people around us see something different. Maybe it’s a sense of peace or joy that sets us apart? Maybe it’s a confidence and comfort of character? They can’t quite place it. This is where the Spirit makes His move.

Through everyday conversation, He leads our words toward heavenly perspectives. As we submit our will to the possibility of evangelism, the Spirit guides our speech towards the Saviour.

It won’t happen in every conversation.

Nevertheless, it’s quite possible that it could happen in a few. A single touch on a single life, that began with a decision to volunteer within a community environment.

I know that I’m only 1 week into this coaching opportunity. Yet, I’m excited to see where God might take it. When the time presents itself, may I graciously enter into the conversation that God has already placed before me? And may that parent or volunteer be receptive to the Spirit’s work.

How are you connecting to your community?

I do believe that every Christian should devote some of their time to serving the church. However, we should be careful not to give away all our volunteer hours to Christian circles. We should all find some club, sport, or organization to which we connect with the community outside of the church.

I don’t know what that looks like for your family, in your context, in your life. But there has to be something. You never know the eternal repercussions and rewards of that decision. Might as well give it a try.

Join the Conversation; Share Your Thoughts

Where are you spending your volunteer hours?
What non-church club or sport are you a part of?
How is that organization impacting your faith?
How are you impacting the people in that organization?