Baseball Player Discipleship Resources

With the amount of travel that takes place in “travel” baseball, and much of it taking creating conflicts with church on Sunday morning, parents need resources to share with their kids and teach them the Gospel. The time on the road provides an opportunity for discipleship of your child. You can do a Bible study, work through a devotional or listen to a sermon or podcast together. Here are some resources to get you started with ideas.

Audio Resources on Faith and Sports

• The role of sports in family discipleship audio by David Prince
• Building men through baseball audio by Randy Stinson and Casting a Family Vision
• Sports Spectrum podcast has interviews with coaches and athletes across sports
• Faith on the Field podcast
• His Show podcast is a weekly devotional (Apple) sponsored by SBA, a travel baseball team out of Charlotte. It draws illustrations from the sport and applies Biblical principles
• Sport Faith Life podcast

Written Resources on Faith and Sports

• More than a Game: A Theology of Sport article by Jeremy Treat
• Holy Play: A Christian Theology of Sport and Competition article by Erik Thoennes
• Striving Together: A Call for Redemptive Sports Competition article by Ed Goodman
• The Christian Athlete book by Brian Smith. This is a great book for high school and college athletes covering topics such as how do deal with sitting on the bench, be a good teammate and practicing well. He also has a blog with articles on topics such as “Should Christian College Athletes Transfer?” and “New Year’s Resolutions for Christian Athletes“
• Dugout Devotions: Inspirational Hits from MLB’s Best book by Del Duduit
• Steal Away: Devotions for Baseball Fans book by Hugh Poland
• Playing with Purpose: Baseball Devotions book by Paul Kent
• Sports Spectrum is a monthly magazine. It isn’t specific to baseball, but is a good resource for high school and college athletes
• Problems with youth sports identified over 50 years ago by FCA
• For deeper reading, look at Sports and Christian Ethics

Video Resources on Faith and Sports

• Score International held a Baseball Coaches Conference featuring College Head Coaches and others close to the game. These videos are more for coaches or parents interested in the game than for players.
  • 2023 Baseball Coaches Conference featuring Scott Forbes from UNC, Jake Boss at Michigan State and Rusty Stroupe at Gardner Webb
  • 2022 Baseball Coaches Conference featuring Butch Thompson from Auburn, Dan Heefner at Dallas Baptist along with Charlie Blackman and Clint Hurdle from the Colorado Rockies
  • 2020 Baseball Coaches Conference featuring Chris Lemonis from Mississippi State, Dan McDaniel at Louisville and Steve Smith at Tennessee Tech

Camps and Classes about Faith and Sports

• Baylor’s Faith & Sports Institute has an online certification program focused on thinking through issues in sports from a faith-based perspective. It also has a faith and sports high school retreat you should consider
• Speaking of retreats. Athletes in Action has a summer training called the Ultimate Training Camp. There are also other resources on the AIA page
• FCU University 360 Coach

Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Athletes in Action can provide other ideas and information as well, though they tend to be focused on older players. In addition, Thoughts for Young Men, isn’t sports specific, but nonetheless raises great questions for discussion with older youth. Lastly, if you have a player who’s headed to the pros, the Daniel Summit could be a good event for him to attend.