According to the National Council of Youth Sports, sports are generally considered a healthy activity for kids, providing physical, social, and mental benefits. But in recent years, the price of playing on select teams or youth programs has made some parents question their investment. Buying equipment, uniforms, team fees, and travel can cost thousands of dollars. Wintergreen Research estimates that the pay-to-play youth sports model has grown into a $19 billion industry.

Some teams will argue that the investment is worth it because the kids will earn college scholarships and play professionally. That’s not likely; according to a survey by the NCAA in 2016, only 7 percent of high school baseball players will play on the collegiate level. Of those, only 2 percent will pay at a Division I program, with 2 percent playing professional baseball.

It’s probably not a wise investment of thousands of dollars if the main reason to play youth sports is to obtain a professional sports career. But if your reason for investing time, energy, and resources into youth sports is spiritual growth, then the eternal rewards are worth it.

2 Peter 1 – Diligence

Peter urges us to build a pyramid of Christian virtues based on faith in 2 Peter 1. Take a moment to examine this list of virtues that need to be developed in your life or your teammates: love, brotherly kindness, godliness, perseverance, self-control, knowledge, moral excellence, and faith (1:5-8). There’s no reason to wonder if it’s worth your time to pursue these virtues. There’s even a guarantee in Hebrews 6:10-12. God promises a return on our investment for our diligence.

Kingdom Sports ministry’s goal is to train and equip coaches, athletes, and parents to transform competition so that they glorify King Jesus. Our website, kingdomsports.online, has many resources to help train coaches and athletes in godliness. Take a few moments to review Peter’s list of virtues and the resources on our website that might help cultivate these virtues.

The Kingdom Coach and Athlete invest time, energy, and resources into developing their spiritual growth to be more like Christ and glorify Him. They are confident this investment will be eternally secure.