Sports ministry in Malta : vision and strategy

Abstract

Sport and religion are two important realities which help human beings to express themselves and grow in excellence. Both present a personal and social journey in the quest for growth. What needs to be continuously rediscovered is the interaction these two realities have when it comes to spirituality and living one’s faith. This work aims at studying the interaction which has taken place throughout history, but which at times is forgotten or left aside by today’s society, towards a better understanding of how religion, more specifically the Catholic Church in Malta, could make the most of this interaction through the development of a sports ministry vision and strategy. This interaction is studied through a historical analysis of sport and religion as well as through the analysis of the different Christian sports ministries that have developed around the world. Through the analysis of historical data, this study looks at how sport and religion have developed and grown together, many times having sports activities which incorporate or are directly related to religious rituals or meanings. The relationship between religion and sport has shifted forwards and backwards along the years, up to the point where sport started to be seen as an important tool, and in fact as a proper way to experience God in one’s life. This is also seen through various theological reflections. The journey led to the development of Christian sports ministries, with various models being presented and analysed here, leading us to the second part of this study. Through an analysis of the current reality in Malta, as well as qualitative interviews and a focus group, it was concluded that a sports ministry strategy for Malta should focus on creating a network of sports people, communicating what sports ministry is and training sports ministers professionally.