"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing."
Football 2 Football Ministry3
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Football 2 Football Ministry3, Mark Bythe, Verite CM, Worthing, 2008
ISBN 978-1-904726-61-6. 32 pages (including 7 pages of colour pictures)
(Sub-title A guide to managing a Christian football ministry)
Football 2 Football Ministry3 is a how-to booklet written by Mark Blythe distilling the wisdom gained by 17 years of involvement or as he puts it to help the reader avoid all the mistakes he made. I started playing in church football team in 1968 - so I think I know a thing or too - but learned loads from Mark.
The book starts provocatively with 4 reasons why teams fail and then addresses them! I love the way Mark always refers to church football as "an outreach activity" -a useful reminder of the purpose.
The book systemically covers the basics in a practical way - team name, basic admin, constitution, logo, club positions etc. The book is very good on finance, basically saying "start with what you can afford and progress".
The section on sharing the gospel is honest, practical and helpful and for all his experience Mark is at pains to stress that there is no one right way to run a football outreach ministry.
The section (page 16) on including handicapped or less talented players was for me the most thought-provoking part of the book.
I would thoroughly recommend this booklet to anyone who is involved in church football outreach or is thinking about it. It is a mine of information for the anyone starting out but I defy anyone with no matter how much experience to read it without learning something.
The bad news is that book costs £10 - inevitable with a private publication with colour photos. Available from Verite CM, 8 St JohnÃs Parade, Alinora Ave Goring by Sea, BN12 4HJ