Since the event took place, I have been at a loss for words in trying to summarize our first Christians Working in Sports (CWS) Conference. As I reflect upon the many praise reports from the event and the past two weeks following the conference, there is certainly no shortage of takeaways.
One of these takeaways I want to remember continuously is God’s provision. Much like 9 of the 10 lepers Jesus heals in Luke 17, it can be so easy to experience God answering our prayers but then quickly forgetting it. Genesis 22 uses the name 'Jehovah Jireh' for God. This is often translated as "the Lord will provide." Our USG staff was blessed to experience this first-hand throughout our CWS Conference preparations.
We were not sure what to expect when we first stepped into creating the CWS Conference. We knew there was a need to create a gathering for Christians throughout college and pro sports, and we had clarity that God was calling us to step into this, but there were a lot of unknowns.
Would anyone come? Who would be our speakers, emcee, worship leaders, etc.? What would the schedule look like? Who would be willing to partner and support this vision financially? And perhaps the biggest challenge — who would be willing to roll up their sleeves and support our staff in all of the planning and execution as we strived to create a great first impression on all attendees with a limited budget?
While we would never pretend we were challenged to the extent Abraham was in Genesis 22, it did take faith for our team to step into this uncertainty and trust that He would lead us step by step. God didn't provide all of these items in the exact way that we had hoped, but He was so faithful in reminding us that He was in control and fully sovereign over all of these details.
Perhaps the greatest way that God showed His generous provision was through who He brought around this inaugural conference. Having the right people "on the bus" is always one of the greatest challenges in getting anything new off the ground. While we have certainly been blessed to have such a great staff, Board, and supporters of USG, there were still plenty of empty seats on the bus as we stepped into creating this event for the first time. The Lord faithfully brought about the perfect people, from the attendees to the worship leaders, stage managers, and so many other volunteer roles.
Within one month of creating the conference, the Lord blessed us with a committee that included leaders from nearly a dozen different sports ministries, executives, and coaches from throughout the college and pro sports industry. Some of these committee members couldn't attend the conference because of previous commitments, but they were still committed to supporting this vision through monthly meetings and prayers.
God’s provision was also evident through our speakers. As a brand-new event, no earthly appeal existed for any speaker to join us. My "sales pitch" to our speakers was essentially that we had no idea who would actually come, and we presently had no budget for honorariums. By God's grace, though, we had over a dozen speakers and panelists who shared our vision and said yes. All of the speakers shared incredible messages and testimonies, and many of them even participated fully in every part of the conference from beginning to end.
To every single speaker, committee member, volunteer, sponsor, partner, and USG Staff Member — THANK YOU for supporting our vision in connecting, encouraging, and equipping followers of Christ throughout the college and pro sports industry!
If you were not able to join in person, please be sure to read our event recap and a few of the testimonials here.
The first annual CWS Conference was held outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota, on June 23rd and 24th, 2023. To learn more about future opportunities to attend the Christians Working in Sports Conference, check out our website at: www.cws.uncommonsg.org
If you’re unfamiliar with Uncommon Sports Group, get connected through the form on our home page or check out the Uncommon Podcast. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d love to hear from you!