DORA, Ala. (ABP) — Ninety-three percent of the time, if the father figure in the household comes to know God and gets involved in a church, the rest of the household will as well, golf expert Scott Lehman said Aug. 26 while he waited for his early morning tee time.
That's why the president of In His Grip Golf Association had traveled from Moline, Ill., to Dora, Ala., for a long day of golf. After reading a golf-themed devotional book at age 35, he converted to Christianity. He knows the difference the sport can make when used for sharing the gospel.
“There are more than 30 million golfers in the United States alone,” he said. “Many golf courses are packed on Sundays. The golf course provides a common ground for the church and the community to build relationships and utilize a cultural interest to share the love of Jesus Christ.”
The tournament, an invitational put on by First Baptist Church of Jasper, Ala., drew an overwhelming crowd, John Jaye, associate pastor at the church, said. The event “maxed out at 30 teams and 120 golfers.”
The tournament had a member-guest format in which each golfer from the church invited an unchurched person as a playing partner. Signs with Bible verses greeted the golfers at each tee. After the round, players received awards at a group luncheon.
During lunch, Lehman told how he came to know Jesus, using golf terms to show how the sport equates with Christian life. Each participant received an autographed copy of The Master's Grip, a devotional book with a golf theme and co-authored by Lehman.
“We're hoping that some of the men who were unchurched or lost could relate to that,” Jaye said.
Lehman explained the book also could be used in small-group Bible studies after the tournament was over as a good way to follow-up with the men after the event.
The church is one of six nationwide to partner with In His Grip to host a golf tournament. According to church leaders, they used the golf tournament as an intentional evangelism strategy, something other Alabama churches will begin to do in 2007, said Sammy Gilbreath, director of the office of evangelism for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
In fact, In His Grip is partnering with the state board in 2007 to host 13 golf tournaments across the state. Tentative plans are to host the first of these day-long tournaments in February.
“It is an intentional strategy to reach lost people,” Gilbreath said. “We are going to work through each local association to equip [them] to continue the relationships that were built with unchurched folks after the tournament is over.”
In His Grip plans to hold training workshops for Alabama churches interested in learning more about using golf tournaments as outreach events. Several interested churches sent teams to the August event to see how it worked.
That's the goal of the whole thing, Lehman said.
“I have found my sweet spot in life when I have a golf club in my hands helping golfers to elevate their game of golf and life. By combining these principles, I am pointing others to something far beyond a game or pastime,” Lehman said.
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— Erica Harms is a correspondent for The Alabama Baptist.