My experience at Passion 2019 was one that will impact my life far beyond the 3 days I spent at the conference I’m so grateful to MOAM for the opportunity to attend this incredible conference.”   Zips - Women’s Basketball, Women’s Tennis, Volleyball Administrative Assistant “My time at Passion Conference

will be able to listen to a panel session from this past summer's Christians Working in Sports (CWS) Conference The Christians Working in Sports (CWS) Conference is an annual conference hosted in Minneapolis, MN, Register for the 2024 CWS Conference or learn more here.

This past week, Uncommon Sports Group was able to host seven USG members in Atlanta, GA, for Passion Conference If you are unfamiliar with Passion, it is a conference hosted by Passion City Church in the Atlanta metro This year, the conference was held in both Dallas, TX, and Atlanta, GA. The conference kicked off on January 3rd and began with worship from Passion City Music, Kari Jobe, and Our final day at Passion Conference was quick but powerful!

The Uncommon Sports Group Team recently met several of our members at the 2022 Passion Conference. his experience below: "Our group of USG members and staff had an incredible time at the Passion 2022 Conference hear powerful messages from a wide variety of individuals and worship with 60,000+ people during the conference With the timing of the conference, our USG contingent was able to take time and reflect on how the Lord After the conference, our team was encouraged to use the platforms that the Lord has given us to live

During the two-day conference, I was able to hear from experts in the sports industry on a variety of

USG member Natalie Osborne, a Doctoral Student at George Fox University, was the second runner-up for the USG's 2024 Fall Reflection Scholarship. Osborne's essay can be read below: Thy Kingdom Come in the Workplace Wayne’s message was relevant to people working in the sport industry because of how easy it is to forget about the Lord’s plan when we get caught up in busy schedules. As I am in a busy season with graduate school, I have found myself rushing through each day without pausing to appreciate the Lord’s hand on my life. Psalm 34:8 says “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” When I reflect on this verse, I am reminded of the moments where I stop and truly recognize the glory of God. Then I think of the moments where I try to create my own refuge in accomplishments, praise, money, or other idols. Although some of these things aren’t inherently bad, we often try to take on whatever challenge we are facing without submitting all things to God. Anything that sits on the throne of our hearts becomes an idol, taking away from the powerful work of Christ and His desire to do incredible things through us. We have a great responsibility to the people in our workplace, not only to accomplish tasks, contribute at meetings, and make a change in the world of athletics, but also to show others the great gift of Jesus Christ. We are also invited to stop and appreciate the Lord’s sovereignty, giving Him the glory and praise in all things. He is a good God that is entirely deserving of this recognition. One challenge that I recognized from Wayne’s message is the calling on our lives to both depend on the Lord for our strength, and give the gift of Christ to others. Wayne used the image of a conduit to explain the responsibility of Christ-followers. He reminded us that a conduit “needs to be plugged into a power source” and that the “role and responsibility is to transfer power to something else.” When I think about my work in the sport industry, I think about the amount of energy it often takes to work hard at my job. Sometimes, I even feel like I have to work harder than others around me so that God can be glorified in my work. Although it is part of our job to pour into others and life selflessly, I was most challenged by the part of this example that showed the necessity of plugging into a power source. I often find myself trying to be a light in the workplace so that others can see the love of Christ, but depending on my own strength and power to do so. Using Wayne’s example, this may look like a charger plugged into a device attempting to give it power, but not being plugged into a source at all. When we think about it like this, it seems ridiculous. However, it is common in my life to forget to submit my plans or projects to the Lord, allowing His strength, power, patience, joy, and love to drive my actions. I appreciated the reminder of the King’s dominion as the “right to possess, power to lead, and mission to accomplish.” Recognizing that we cannot accomplish anything without God is humbling and also empowering. We are so undeserving, but the Lord has given us the gift of His presence as an everlasting source of power. Wayne’s message encouraged me to set intentional times in my day to pray over my work and the people I am serving. I loved his example of praying over the KU campus before going into work, with the ultimate desire for the Lord’s Kingdom to come to the places he serves. I think this habit is also helpful for orienting our minds to what we’re about to do. The more places we enter with the guidance of the Lord, the more areas we allow Him to use us for good. As Wayne mentioned, we have to consider how our actions are impacting other image bearers. Allowing the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and discernment is critical in being the best we can for others. It can be easy to worry about all the things on our to-do list without recognizing that we have an eternal impact on those around us by pointing them to Jesus. When we lean into what the Lord has provided for us through the sacrifice of His son, we are able to share with others what we otherwise could not provide for ourselves. Thank you, Natalie, for participating in the Fall 2024 USG Reflection Scholarship! We are also thankful to our sponsor, Texon Athletic Towel , for making this scholarship opportunity possible for all thirteen of our winners! If you have an interest in taking part in USG's Reflection Scholarship program, be sure to subscribe, or follow us on social for updates on the Spring 2025 Reflection Scholarship .

The next best step would be to attend a conference or two each year that focuses on whatever skill(s) It’s important to take some time to research what conference and/or convention is right for you! There are annual conferences for all sports at the college level with learning sessions for coaches, Other College Athletics specific conferences we send members to are, Women Leaders in College Sports Are you interested in being able to receive funding to attend conferences like these?

Each year, Uncommon Sports Group is able to fund a trip to Passion Conference in Atlanta, GA, for a group Below is a testimonial of Dawit's experience at Passion Conference 2023 with USG! Even before the conference started, I was super grateful to USG for booking our flights and having an For example, one of the nights, we made pancakes and hung out after the conference. Moving on from where we stayed, that conference overall was amazing.

Each year, Uncommon Sports Group is able to fund a trip to Passion Conference in Atlanta, GA for a group Below is a testimonial of Thomas' experience at Passion Conference 2023 with USG! We are amazed at the many ways God worked in the hearts and minds of our group at Passion Conference

share some of the ‘why’ behind our recent announcement of the new Christians Working in Sports (CWS) Conference working in sports suddenly gets connected to another brother or sister in Christ within their city, conference The CWS Conference will be headlined by Jonathan Isaac of the Orlando Magic, alongside several other

Sports Group took a team of 13 students to Nashville, Tennessee, to attend the annual AD’s 4 Christ conference

At the 2025 Christians Working in Sports Conference, we were blessed with amazing speakers and panelists For more information on the Christians Working in Sports Conference and our forthcoming CWS 2026 Conference We've outlined the sessions in their conference order. For more information about The Christians Working in Sports Conference, hit the link below to visit the conference's website.