Beginning in 2006, Gospel Baptist Christian School
joined the Florida Christian Athletic Association. This gave our
students the opportunity to compete in flag football, volleyball,
and basketball with other local Christian schools (flag football
for boys and volleyball for girls in the fall, basketball
for both boys and girls in the winter months).
While sports are not the main emphasis,
we believe there are at least three benefits for having a
sports program. First, sports teach teamwork and communication
skills. Such skills are vital within a church, at the work place,
and especially in the home. For any team to be successful, individuals
must work together to achieve the common goal of winning. Teamwork
was evident under Nehemiah's direction of rebuilding the wall at
Jerusalem according to Nehemiah 4:6b “for the people had a mind to work.”
Second, sports teach the importance of following
given instructions. Naturally, success on or off the ball field depends
on how well team members or individuals accurately perform what they
have been taught. Athletes learn firsthand the benefits and the disappointments
on the field of following or not following the instruction of their
coaches. In Proverbs 4:13 we read the importance of instruction: “Take
fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy
life.”
Finally, sports teach students there are rewards
for faithfulness and hard work. To be successful in sports, one must
be faithful to the task in spite of distractions and discouragements,
as well as dedicated to continually practicing for competition. Solomon
reminded us in Ecclesiastes 4:9 that “two are better than one;
because they have a good reward for their labor." Christians,
likewise, will reap many rewards in Heaven based on their sacrifice
(Matthew 19:29) and resisting temptation (James 1:12) to name a few.
Our prayer and goal then is that in sports or whatever
we do here, we do it “to the glory
of God” (I Corinthians
10:31).
