What should I do in one-on-one appointments?
Through team meeting follow-ups or simply athletes you’ve met on campus, you should have a group that wants to continue meeting in some capacity. Whether the athlete is spiritually seeking or already professes Christian faith, start with the basics. Even athletes that appear to be grounded and established in their faith can still benefit from reviewing foundational biblical teaching. Sometimes folks aren’t as established as they appear, and others need equipping for their own personal ministries.
In AIA we use a set of five simple worksheets called the FollowUps. The Follow Ups amount to a five week commitment (although it usually takes longer to finish given athletes schedules). If after five weeks you get the impression that this athlete isn’t interested in continuing with you, you’ve taught bible basics and have a natural way to end meeting formally.
If you continue meeting weekly with an athlete and have finished the FollowUps, ask God how best to help them grow in their faith. Do bible studies that are relevant to their lives. Study a book of the Bible together, teaching them bible study skills simultaneously. Begin taking them with you as you do ministry: team meetings, follow ups, prayer. Take advantage of opportunities to model the same ministry skills you hope to reproduce in them.
Seek a balance of establishing faith foundations, teaching ministry skills, and just “doing life” together. Biblical discipleship requires a genuine and trusting relationship where others do not feel they are simply part of your job--they need to be part of your life. They face relationship struggles, roommate issues, trouble on their teams, and many other trials and dilemmas; as a spiritual director in their lives, you are uniquely positioned to point them to God and offer a biblical perspective on walking through difficulties. Once trust exists, God may raise hard questions through you concerning every aspect of their lives. This privilege should not be taken lightly.
What should I do in small group studies?
Bible studies accomplish several crucial goals at once. Athletes regularly attending a bible study learn what the Bible teaches and practical application for their lives. They acquire personal bible study skills, encouraging a lifetime of “self-feeding”. Most importantly, they learn to operate in community. They interact with other athletes equally hungry to learn about God; prayerfully, deep relationships will be formed.
Bible studies come in many varieties. They can be co-ed or divided into men’s and women’s groups. Co-ed studies build community among men and women, while a divided study encourages discussing gender-sensitive issues. Bible studies may be organized around specific teams or with athletes from different teams. With team studies, the athletes already know each other and have common practice, travel, and off-season schedules. Multi-team studies encourage engaging athletes from other teams, but scheduling can be difficult.
Bible studies may be open or closed. Some groups are open for anyone to join at any time and with no commitment to keep coming. In a closed study, participants make a commitment to be there every week. A closed study builds community through consistency. Trust usually develops quicker in a more stable environment; however, an open environment study initially encourages a wider range of seekers to attend. If necessary, you might consider offering both and open study for those curious and a closed study for the more committed.
Bible studies can cover basic Christian living or more advanced theological topics. Choose material that does not under or over challenge your audience. You might provide the study questions yourself or use any good study resource (try a local Christian bookstore). If you are just beginning a ministry, it may be best to gather all those who are interested in one study and pray about how to divide them later. Bible studies tend to be easier to lead when there is one leader/facilitator and 5-8 people. The bigger the group gets, the harder it is to connect on a personal level and build deep community.