Evangelism to college football players

Weber, Benjamin

Etd

Evangelism to college football players

Public Deposited

MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Weber, Benjamin. Evangelism to College Football Players. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/847a763e-b6ad-4caa-b771-95be9d3d6cc8.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

W. Benjamin. Evangelism to college football players. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/847a763e-b6ad-4caa-b771-95be9d3d6cc8

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Weber, Benjamin. Evangelism to College Football Players. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/847a763e-b6ad-4caa-b771-95be9d3d6cc8.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

Creator

Weber, Benjamin

Keyword

Evangelism--Methods

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine how college football chaplains communicate the gospel to college football players. Football chaplains face a number of challenges in winning players to Christ. College football is a distinct subculture. Big time programs are increasingly popular, providing teenage athletes with national notoriety. The rosters are large, and the schedules are busy. The game is violent, and the culture is competitive. This segment of the population is unique and requires a contextualized evangelistic approach. Evangelism is at the heart of the church’s mission to make disciples. Therefore, this issue is crucial for fruitful chaplaincy. This study utilized a qualitative design using semi-structured interviews with ten chaplains who served their programs for ten years or longer. These men are either employees of their university, work for parachurch organizations, or serve as local pastors. The literature review and analysis of the ten interviews focused on three key areas to understand in impactful chaplaincy: a biblical understanding of contextualization, sports as religion, and locker room culture. This study concluded that three components combine in evangelizing college football players: intentional trust building, simple and sensible ways to present the gospel of grace, and a structured ministry funnel. Related to these three components, this study found that veteran chaplains face three major challenges to evangelism: a distorted view of manhood, the performance mindset, and scheduling constraints. To address these challenges, this study identified the motivations and practices which contribute to developing a fruitful evangelistic movement.

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