On March 20th, we hosted a town hall session to outline our initial plans for the new SJUMC Sports Ministry. We recorded the session, and it’s available to view HERE.
The Sports Ministry Visioning team gave an in-person townhall presentation on March 17 and again by Zoom March 20. An online presentation is available on the church website. All responses are requested returned by April 24, 2022. Please fill out the survey HERE.
· A brief history of our arrival at the creation of a Sports Ministry was presented. The Faith Team (combination of the Growing Young program, the Healthy Church Initiative, the Discipleship Pathway) discerned our target focus group for growth and discipleship was families with children in May 2021. The Delta virus then forced cancellation of planned events for the summer. During this hiatus, Rev. Motoe was introduced to Rev. Dr. Rob Burns, a sports ministry director and coach. Turns out, there exists a Recreation and Sports Ministry organization creating thriving programs across the nation! During this same time, various leaders were also moved to imagine expanding usage of the multicultural hall to better serve others. The Church Council approved coaching sessions with Coach Rob to help us create an official SJUMC Sports Ministry, as he noted we already had one with the basketball program, senior exercise and line dancing underway.
· The Sports Ministry Visioning Team was created after council members met with Coach Rob Jan. 26. Recognizing that the church leaders were the original holders of the vision for Sports Ministry, we needed a Visioning team of leaders of various backgrounds, ages, and involvement in the basketball program, older adult ministries and other activities to meet to further brainstorm ideas, clarify and solidify what the vision was for the Sports Ministry and then create an Implementation team to carry out that vision. (We keep in our hearts and minds always our overriding church and UMC visions of Loving God, Serving Others, Transforming Lives and Making Disciples of Christ for the Transformation of the World.)
· The Implementation team would consist of stakeholders generally connected to younger families with children, but not limited to that demographic, willing to invest their energies into moving the vision forward. The mission of the Implementation team would be further define the Sports Ministry based on the survey results received by the congregation and other stakeholders and develop a plan of action. The possibility of hiring a Sports Ministry director or other type of employee(s) may be considered as the program evolves.
· Some Sports Ministry ideas discussed but not limited to include youth and adult basketball, pickle ball, walking groups, volleyball, martial arts and golf. Activities are not limited to use of the MCH. As the many of the youth involved in the initial basketball program are now grown with families of their own, we feel it is an ideal time to welcome them back. Wednesday Night Live, a gathering of players and families each week during early basketball program years was a favorite memory of former members and we would like to bring it back in some form. In addition, we would like to expand physical fitness opportunities for older adults.
Understanding that we are gently re-entering the in-person world and no one really knows which ideas will bear fruit or for how long, we are proceeding with a “trial and error” attitude, emphasizing flexibility and openness to adjustments as needed. We ask all to be patient as we experimental in God’s great Re-boot! Thank you and please let us hear from you through the survey by April 24, 2022!
From The Visioning Team (Jill Kanemasu, Kimi Ronay, Eric Hirata, Rev. Motoe, Jayne Rasmussen, Sue Teranishi, Gloria Imagire, Kelly Fong, Dale Fong)