COLE ESPENSCHIED

“TO – BY – FOR”

Doing Sports God’s Way

is really about doing life God’s way…

According TO the word of God (Colossians 3:23-24, James 1:22)

BY the power of God (Romans 1:16, Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 2:5)

FOR the glory of God (Romans 12:1, Isaiah 43:7, 1 Corinthians 10:31, 2 Corinthians 3:17-18)

*** “TO BY FOR” used by permission from Scotty Kessler – ScottyKessler.com

Intentional and strategic engagement of coaches, athletes, and other leaders with the Gospel through relational evangelism and discipleship including ministry opportunities such as serving, “Doing Sports God’s Way” training events, speaking, resources, coaching, consulting, character coaching and missions.

A desire to “go and make disciples of all nations” as Jesus commands in Matthew 28:19.

Kingdom Coaches Coaches and leaders committed to gathering regularly over a period of time for accelerated spiritual transformation, spiritual reproduction, and multiplication with a focus on “Doing Sports God’s Way.” It’s really about doing life God’s way.

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” 2 Timothy 2:2

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for Human masters,” Colossians 3:23

Kingdom Coaches Ongoing To serve Kingdom Coaches and grow together, in disciplemaking, ongoing through emails, resources, one on one, consultation, ministry experiences, the DSGW Coaching Team, and gatherings. Offering opportunities to huddle up and sharpen each other throughout the year.

“Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.” 1 Corinthians 4: 16-17

D-Group Discipleship Group committed to gathering for spiritual transformation, spiritual reproduction, and multiplication with a focus on fundamentals of the faith tools to live out Jesus’ great commission lifestyle.

”Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.”” Matthew 18:18-20

Lions Football Christ-centered football opportunity for high school students. Learn more

Ministry impact

“Cole and Kristi have served along side the staff of Western IL FCA on our college mission trips for the past 2 summers. They have provided Doing Sports God’s Way Training on the beach each morning. To quote a student, “Cole’s instruction helped me make the connection that it’s not just about doing sports God’s way. As believers, we are supposed to do life God’s way. This includes relationships, sports, school, work, taxes, and every other aspect of life. We can’t compartmentalize our faith.” Cole has also provided discipleship training for our students and coaches on our trip, at a coach and spouse retreat, and at IL Sports Camp. He has shared methods for studying God’s word that allows everyone to feel comfortable sharing their faith and witnessing to others in their circle of influence. Cole and Kristi have been great encouragers, resources, and most of all friends to me and to our ministry. We love them and truly enjoy working with them to serve others.”

Todd Sweatman,
Western IL FCA Area Director

“The impact of DSGW Training, monthly coaches huddles, and coaches who are integrating DSGW into their teams at Christian Life Academy is a blessing to our school… and even more so to my own outlook on sports. CLA has been integrating, training and implementing broadly across our teams for the past two years. We already had a dynamic group of coaches, but the iron sharpening iron in our coaches gatherings with Cole have challenged us. We collaborated to create our school philosophy of athletics based on DSGW, and I cannot count the times our parents, visiting teams, officials have reacted positively to how our coaches and athletes are playing this out on the courts and
fields. If you or your team or school are questioning whether to “go for it…” don’t wait! We are blessed to be a blessing!”

Josh Horning,
Principal/Administrator at Christian Life Academy

“We are so grateful for Cole’s investment in our local ministry. Over the course of two trips to Albania, he guided us through the development of a sports’ ministry ethos. We knew that sports could be a key to open doors of new relationships in our community, but Cole helped us more fully understand how doing sports “God’s way,” could enhance our witness and serve as a powerful means of discipleship. Through classroom instruction and practical application on the field, Cole shifted our paradigm for Christian sports outreach. He then left us the resources we needed to continue on our own. Cole is an excellent teacher, bringing passion and encouragement to his instruction. His generosity of spirit makes us feel like we have a mentor and cheerleader for life as we pursue this direction in local ministry.”

Nathan and Cydil Waggoner,
Missionaries in Albania

Cole has been on my staff for the last 2 years as our character coach. The team has bought in to principles of process over results and not competing for a scoreboard. This impacts the culture of our team in a huge way. As a coach it helped keep me grounded and focus on what God would have for my athletes over what my flesh desires. Together our team chased championship culture over mans version of championships. By doing this we achieved a family atmosphere and with that we accomplished huge goals individually and United.

Eric Biehl,
Eureka College Head Wrestling Coach