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Building a Leadership Team for Community-Based Sport Outreach

Naquarios English

Liberty University

SMGT315

7Jul25

Abstract

A strong leadership team is essential for community-based athletic outreach. This document describes how to recruit, engage, support, and empower a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) community mission leadership team. The method stresses servant leadership, spiritual maturity, and cultural responsiveness based on biblical concepts and leadership literature. By using these concepts, the outreach hopes to transform local communities via sport and faith.

Building a Leadership Team for Community-Based Sport Outreach: A Faith-Centered Strategy

Community-based sports outreach promotes spiritual growth, evangelism, and community rejuvenation. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) uses Coaches, Campus, Camp, and Community ministry formats to spread the gospel through sports. This article presents a complete leadership development method for a Community Ministry that builds a spiritually and culturally strong team that can last. The strategy recruits, engages, supports, and empowers leaders in line with biblical values and the FCA mission.

Recruitment: Seeking Leaders Called by God

The core of any ministry is recruiting spiritually mature and mission-aligned leaders. Proverbs 27:17 says “as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Selecting people with skill and spiritual integrity is crucial. Effective recruitment begins with prayer and discernment. Leaders must seek God’s direction before making recruitment decisions (James 1:5). Outreach directors should identify potential leaders from local churches, community groups, sports clubs, and even previous ministry participants. The recruitment process should be relational rather than transactional—prioritizing personal conversations, small-group involvement, and volunteer experiences to observe character and calling over time.

FCA’s leadership criteria emphasize a commitment to the FCA Values—Integrity, Serving, Teamwork, and Excellence (Hatipoğlu & Akduman, 2025). Leaders should also demonstrate alignment with the vision to see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes.

Furthermore, to reflect the diversity of the local community, recruitment efforts must be inclusive and culturally sensitive. Research shows that diverse leadership teams foster better innovation and outreach effectiveness (Putnam & Campbell, 2012). A diverse leadership team also enhances trust and relatability, particularly in communities that may have been historically marginalized or underserved.

Engagement: Creating a Mission-Driven Culture

Recruitment is only the first step. True engagement involves forming a spiritually unified, purpose-driven leadership culture. Proverbs 29:18 teaches, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Therefore, it is essential to cast a clear and compelling vision that resonates with all team members. Initial engagement should include onboarding sessions where the mission, expectations, spiritual practices, and communication norms are clearly outlined. These sessions should integrate scripture, testimonies, and stories from FCA’s national impact to inspire alignment.

Relationship-building is critical. Hosting regular team meetings with prayer, food, and fellowship strengthens relational trust. Leaders should participate in Bible studies and team devotionals, fostering spiritual accountability and discipleship (Brown, 2024). Creating intentional “life-on-life” relationships mirrors Jesus’ model with the disciples—He didn’t just instruct them; He lived alongside them (John 15:15). Additionally, leaders must feel emotionally and intellectually connected to the ministry. Utilizing tools such as strengths-based leadership assessments or spiritual gifts inventories allows team members to better understand their roles and how they complement others. These tools promote collaboration, reduce conflict, and build team synergy.

Support: Shepherding and Equipping for Growth

Ministry leaders need spiritual, emotional, and practical support. Leadership is difficult, and burnout may cripple even the most dedicated servant. Christians should “carry each other’s burdens,” even leaders’ needs, according to Galatians 6:2. Spiritual help includes prayer check-ins, accountability, and pastoral mentoring. Weekly devotionals or monthly spiritual wellness exams are examples. Leaders should have access to biblical counselling and prayer ministries for personal and family issues. Training and development are crucial. Leaders should attend quarterly training on trauma-informed coaching, discipleship, event planning, and gospel-centered leadership. FCA resources are great for leadership development and should be shared.

Emotional support means giving leaders time to reflect. Ministry leaders should take time off, have family days, and relax on Sabbath. Healthy leaders demonstrate boundaries and balance, essential for ministry longevity. Relational assistance involves peer mentoring and team accountability. McMahon et al. (2022) team model, a strong support culture solves conflict aversion and lack of commitment. Leaders must learn biblical reconciliation (Matthew 18:15-17) and grace-filled correction to handle these dynamics.

Empowerment: Cultivating Ownership and Legacy

True empowerment occurs when leaders are entrusted with authority, equipped for their calling, and released to lead boldly. Jesus empowered His disciples by giving them authority to teach, heal, and cast out demons (Luke 9:1-2). FCA leaders must be similarly empowered to lead without micromanagement. An effective approach is to implement a tiered leadership model, where core leaders (e.g., Ministry Director, Lead Coach) guide smaller teams within the outreach (e.g., Discipleship Leaders, Outreach Coordinators, Hospitality Leads). This allows for scalability and clarity in responsibility while offering emerging leaders opportunities to grow in influence. Empowered leaders must also be given a voice in decision-making. Strategic planning meetings should include open discussion forums, space for creative input, and shared leadership over key ministry functions (Doten-Snitker et al., 2021). When team members feel ownership over the mission, their commitment deepens.

Celebration and recognition are powerful empowerment tools. Hosting an annual leadership appreciation night or writing handwritten thank-you notes builds morale and honors the sacrifices leaders make. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 encourages believers to “encourage one another and build each other up,” a principle that must permeate the leadership culture. Empowerment also means encouraging lifelong leadership. FCA leaders should be mentored to grow beyond their current role—perhaps into other areas of ministry, vocational leadership, or church planting. A multiplication mindset ensures that leadership development continues well beyond a single season of outreach.

Challenges and Considerations

Building a community ministry team is not without challenges. Leaders may face spiritual warfare, community resistance, interpersonal conflict, or limited resources. These obstacles require persistent prayer, wise counsel, and adaptability. Conflict resolution strategies should be built on biblical reconciliation, and leaders must be trained to respond with humility, not pride (Philippians 2:3-4). Moreover, as outreach grows, the ministry must remain faithful to its original mission. Mission drift can occur when leaders begin to prioritize performance or popularity over discipleship and evangelism. Regular mission alignment check-ins—through vision renewals, spiritual retreats, and feedback loops—can prevent this drift.

Conclusion

Building a leadership team for an FCA community ministry requires intentionality, prayerfulness, and strategic execution. Through a Christ-centered process of recruitment, engagement, support, and empowerment, leaders can be developed to carry out meaningful, transformative ministry in their communities. This strategy not only honors biblical leadership principles but also promotes sustainability and spiritual impact. When leaders are grounded in God’s Word and united in purpose, the outreach becomes more than a program—it becomes a movement.

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References

Brown, E. L. (2024). Discipleship: A Biblical Approach and Alignment to the Spirit of the Ministry at Kingdom Collegiate Academies Early Childhood Program. Scholars Crossing. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5206/

Doten-Snitker, K., Margherio, C., Litzler, E., Ingram, E., & Williams, J. (2021). Developing a Shared Vision for Change: Moving toward Inclusive Empowerment. Research in Higher Education, 62(62). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-020-09594-9

Hatipoğlu, Z., & Akduman, G. (2025). The Mediating Role of Sustainable Leadership in Green Human Resource Management Practices and Organizational Commitment: A Case Study in Turkey. Sustainability, 17(11), 4991. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17114991

McMahon, C. J., Hickey, E. J., Nolke, L., & Penny, D. J. (2022). Organizational Culture as a Determinant of Outcome in Teams: Implications for the Pediatric Cardiac Specialist. Pediatric Cardiology, 44(2), 530–539. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00246-022-03041-5

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Application of Practices from “7 Practices of Effective Ministry” to Community-Based Sports Outreach

Naquarios English

Liberty University

SMGT315

14Jul25

Introduction

Within the Christian ministry work, it is of extreme importance to implement biblical elements of leadership in the field to see the ministry succeed, and carry out its purpose. A primary argument that justifies this need is within community-based sport outreach. The 7 Practices of Effective Ministry offers a model, which can be embraced in order to build a mission-oriented spirited teambuilding of leadership. On a fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) community-based sports outreach ministry, the following paper provided some details on the application of the practices 1 through 4 as introduced in the 7 Practices according to the Ministry Skills Assignment, which include the concepts of recruitment, engagement, support, and empowerment.

1. Recruitment: Called Leaders: The Search

The first is a strong practice of good ministry, which is the recruitment of leaders who are mature in the Spirit, mission-consistent and has the ability to achieve the vision of the ministry. In the case of FCA community based sports outreach, recruiting should be prayerful, discernment based and must be focused on biblical principles. As it is written in Proverbs 27:17, every person is said to sharpen the other like an iron sharpens another, since it takes true leaders who will encourage and empower each other in faith and mission.

The process of effective recruitment should begin with finding the right people that share the same interest and love of the sports as well as the gospel as the FCA does. These executive pastors ought to have been comprised of people with strong attachment to Christ and in servicing others. The leaders must be members of the local churches, community organizations, sports clubs, and even former adherents of ministry, who manifest integrity, humility and they have a passion to serve people through sports outreach. In addition, culturally responsive recruitment plan must be embraced so as to achieve diversity in the leadership team. Some studies confirm the suggestion that a diversified team of leaders can provide an abundance of innovation and outreach effectiveness especially when it comes to interacting with dissimilar and/or underserved communities.

The leaders also should be committed to the following values of FCA: Integrity, Serving, Teamwork, and Excellence (Hatipoğlu & Akduman, 2025). Unlike a transactional approach, where leaders are favored on creating a good impression and ability to meet a quota, in this recruiting strategy, the leaders should be relational in nature, good fit in the community, and someone who is called to be in the service of this ministry.

2. Engagement: Developing a Mission-based Culture

After hiring leaders, the other course of action is to involve them in a mission themed and spiritually cohesive culture. In Proverbs, 29: 18 we learn that, without vision the people will perish and a clear and attractive mission to be achieved is of the essence. The process of engagement starts by making sure there is shared vision, expectations, and spiritual practices. The combination of scripture, testimonies, and real-life stories are essential so that leadership team can be encouraged to connect with the mission of FCA that is indeed to change communities via sports and the gospel.

The establishment of a culture of engagement entails the development of strong relations in the leadership team. This is achievable through having a prayer time, fellowship and spiritual accountability meetings regularly. In these meetings, the leaders can also provide testimonies of personal experiences and can read the scripture, which will enable them to grow in faith and understanding of how sports ministry can be used to the glory of God. Activities such as spiritual gifts inventory or strengths-based leadership surveys enable leaders to recognize their roles in the organization, and the way to relate with other people that minimizes conflict and builds trust (Brown, 2024).

Building relationships must follow the pattern of Jesus as He did not just teach His followers, but lived with them, and taught and led them to spiritual growth and a goal (John 15:15). With the help of this model FCA leadership will be able to build the strong team that will be based on the spiritual development and devoted to the mission of the ministry.

3. Ministering: Grazing and Preparing to Grow

Leadership also involves support mechanisms that should be provided consistently to leaders, be it spiritual or emotional. Burnout is a source to ineffective ministry and therefore, it is wisest to ensure that the leaders obtain the support that would enable them deliver. According to Galatians 6:2, every believer is called to bear one another much freedom, this is why leaders should be given periodic spiritual encouragement, pastoral advisory services, as well as prayers. These caring activities make sure that the leaders are restored spiritually and ready to soldier further in their ministry.

Along with spiritual nourishment, practical training and development is important towards leadership growth. FCA is to provide quarterly leadership development in the area of trauma-informed coaching, discipleship, event-planning, and gospel-centered leadership. They also should encourage leaders to take personal reflection, rest, and Sabbath to prevent burnout and optimal health related to the balance between ministry and personal life (McMahon et al., 2022). More so, in the case of establishing a stable and strong leadership team, support based on relationships, such as peer mentoring and team accountability are vital.

By making investment in the spiritual, emotional and practical well-being of its leadership FCA will be able to make sure that its leadership team will be upright and able to guide the ministry successfully.

4. Ownership and Legacy Empowerment

The last practice is to empower the leaders as it is about turning the leaders over to authority and job equipping them to answer their calling and letting the leaders lead with confidence and calling. However, in Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus authorizes His followers to go and make disciples of all nations, which must be the paradigm of organizational leadership of FCA. Any kind of leader should be granted the mandate to make decisions, yet in a two-level leadership structure, central leaders should direct the smaller groups of discipleship leaders, outreach organizers, and hospitality heads. Such strategy makes clear the roles and duties of people, as well as opens the way to emergent leaders to rise and mature in terms of leadership abilities (Doten-Snitker et al., 2021).

Empowerment also includes giving leaders the voice in planning and making of decisions. The meetings on strategic planning are supposed to be open and in these planning gatherings the team members are likely to offer their contribution and work on critical decisions. Feeling an ownership stake in the ministry causes the leaders to not only increase their investment in the calling of the ministry but making them more susceptible to delivering on the passion and purpose of the ministry.

It is also important that one celebrates and recognizes the works of the leaders as part of empowerment. Ways of saying thank you such as an annual leadership appreciation night and handwritten thank you notes are a way of boosting the morale and influencing leaders to keep serving faithfully. Encourage one another, and build up every one of you. ( 1 Thes 5.11 ) Acknowledgement and appreciation do not only empower the team of leaders but helps establish a culture of gratitude and encouragement.

Conclusion

When implementing the first four practices of the “7 practices of effective ministry” to the community-based sports outreach offered by FCA, it should remember about the need to build a spiritually grounded, mission-aligned and long-term empowered leadership team. With prayerful recruitment, mission driven involvement, strong support systems and focused empowerment the ministry will be able to fashion a group of leaders who will be ready to transform their communities to Christ. This will not only respect the leadership principles outlined in the bible but will also make the outreach work of FCA sustainable and spiritual.

References

Brown, E. L. (2024). Discipleship: A Biblical Approach and Alignment to the Spirit of the Ministry at Kingdom Collegiate Academies Early Childhood Program. Scholars Crossing. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5206/

Doten-Snitker, K., Margherio, C., Litzler, E., Ingram, E., & Williams, J. (2021). Developing a Shared Vision for Change: Moving toward Inclusive Empowerment. Research in Higher Education, 62(62), 111–124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-020-09594-9

Hatipoğlu, Z., & Akduman, G. (2025). The Mediating Role of Sustainable Leadership in Green Human Resource Management Practices and Organizational Commitment: A Case Study in Turkey. Sustainability, 17(11), 4991. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17114991

McMahon, C. J., Hickey, E. J., Nolke, L., & Penny, D. J. (2022). Organizational Culture as a Determinant of Outcome in Teams: Implications for the Pediatric Cardiac Specialist. Pediatric Cardiology, 44(2), 530–539. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00246-022-03041-5