Sports Outreach Fundamentals

Description

Volume 2 of the OVP Institute of Sports Ministry Series

Sports Outreach Fundamentals is the second installment by Dr. Greg Linville and Overwhelming Victory Press in the Institute of Sports Ministry Series that discusses biblically-based philosophical principles for strategically relevant and efficiently effective disciplemaking.

Dr. Greg Linville is a Sports Outreach Ministry visionary, a leading theologian, apologist for sports ministry and a tireless advocate for the local church sports outreach movement. Linville’s sports ministry career began as an urban director for the YMCA and Young Life ministries with inner-city kids and gangs and continued as a highly successful high school and college basketball coach including receiving two Coach of the Year awards for the state of Ohio Athletic Association. Linville’s local church Sports Ministry included 15 years as the director of sports and recreation outreach at an Evangelical Friends Church where he supervised the efforts of over 500 volunteers and a dozen staff and interns reaching over 2,000 people per week. Dr. Greg served as CSRM’s executive director from 1999-2018 and has long been regarded as a leading academician in the sports outreach ministry field including being awarded the world’s first Honorary Doctorate of Divinity in Sports Ministry from Briercrest Seminary as well as completing the first earned doctorate with a concentration in sports outreach. His other academic roles include many years as a tenure-track, assistant professor of ministry and as an adjunct professor at various seminaries, universities and colleges in three different countries. He currently serves as the dean of The AGON Institute of Sports Ministry and as an adjunct professor for South African Theological Seminary (SATS) and Barclay Seminary.  In addition to being an author of many articles, an editor for numerous sports ministry manuals, a contributor of chapters to various sports ministry books and hosting a regular CSRM blog he was chosen to write the insert/commentary for the official Olympic Bible given to all Salt Lake City Olympic athletes. His seminal book Christmanship: A Theology of Competition and Sport was published in 2014 by Oliver House Publishing and considered by many the definitive theological foundation for the sports outreach movement. Dr. Greg is currently serving as CSRM’s director of resources and general editor for the Overwhelming Victory Press twelve book series: The Institutes of Local Church Sports Outreach. 

Dr. Greg Linville is a pioneer in advancing sports ministry through the local church. His vision and passion to advance the kingdom through this book and his everyday life is evident every time I speak to him. This book captures the essence of how important the future is for sports in the local church. For a segment of ministry that has proven to be an effective tool for evangelism and outreach, we must pay close attention on how to remain relevant in a changing world. - Neal Gossett Director of Sports Outreach at South East Christian Church Louisville, Kentucky. Former CSRM Board of Trustee Member.