A Sporting Infusion for Ukrainian Summer Camps
OM International
This summer, members of the OM Ukraine sports team were asked by local churches to lead sports and team-building games at various summer camps and festivals for children and youth.
Until recently, for many of these churches, sports was considered worthless, or worse, a sin. To see these churches starting to become eager to add sports ministry to their usual summer camps is an exciting thing!
Sports such as Ultimate Frisbee, floorball, low ropes courses, team-building games, rappelling, and even a high zip-line are used by the OM sports team, along with other more traditional sports, such as football, to encourage and equip the local Church to better reach out to and serve their communities. The younger generation is eager for something new and interesting, and these kind of sports fill a growing need in Ukrainian churches to provide interesting activities for young people.
After the summer camps, participants’ feedback was fairly consistent on what was the overall favorite part of these camps – the new games! These games are also the basis for OM Ukraine’s Extreme Leadership Training camps, an effective tool for growing young potential leaders in churches.
This year, OM’s sports team has distributed hundreds of pieces of equipment for floorball, Ultimate, and team-building activities. The vision for the future of these non-traditional sports is to train local churches to lead them and use them in regular ministry. The sports ministry movement is building up steam in Ukraine and is set to impact the lives of many Ukrainian youths.
Credit: OM International
© 2009
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
