wfn.org | Youth ministry uses sports meet to strengthen spiritual disciplines

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>3042 Edition

>June 14~June 20, 2010

Youth ministry uses sports meet to strengthen spiritual  disciplines

>Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong

>Written by Lydia Ma

West Amis Presbytery Youth Department held the 4th Annual Carl  Bach Cup at 
Shih-Lin

Sports Center in Taipei on June 12. This friendly match between  Aborigine 
youth began with a

prayer asking God to help participants learn spiritual disciplines  such as 
obedience, trust, and

>self-control through playing basketball.

Director of the presbytery’s youth committee Rev. Apay prayed  that 
participants would learn

how to love like Jesus and make friends with other players during  this match 
so that these

>youth would receive respect and praise.

The youth committee didn’t hire a professional referee this  time, opting for a 
friendly match

instead. According to reports, a brawl between players from  opposite teams had 
occurred

recently, including a nasty exchange of words that’d stunned  even the 
non-Christian referee

present at the game. Baffled at what he was witnessing, the  referee had at one 
point

exclaimed, “Aren’t you all Christians?”

In light of this incident, Rev. Apay reminded players this time  that the 
purpose of the game was

to exercise. He added that players need not be overly zealous and  must refrain 
from unethical

actions or means to win a game, including deliberately tripping  others or 
other inappropriate

gestures that would hurt other players and dishonor Christ.

During a pep talk with these young players, event consultant and  pastor Anoy 
Namoh

underscored the game’s character-building aspect was much  more important than 
winning or

>losing a match.

He also told these youth that if they wanted to become soldiers in  Christ’s 
army, they needed

to stay in top form physically and learn how to play as a team.  The latter 
involved willingness to

sacrifice oneself for the glory and gain of the whole team.

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