GAMEPLAN seeks to use the avenue of sports to guide high school athletes into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ while teaching them how to exalt Christ through their sport—that is the essence of taking A Kingdom Approach to Sports.
Collin Oswalt ran track and cross country at Hutchinson Community College and is now competing post-collegiately. He attended Central Christian High School, where he was heavily involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Organization. Collin currently lives in a small Kansas town where he continues to pursue Christ’s exultation through the avenue of sports.
The story for GAMEPLAN begins in a rather unexpected way. On the morning of November 2nd, 2019, high school junior Collin Oswalt lined up on the starting line of the 1A KSHSAA State Cross Country Championship, preparing for what he expected to be an easy state championship victory. By the end of the race, it was clear that God had different plans. Facing the most crushing 2nd place defeat of his career, Collin was brought to his knees, crying out to the Lord through the following days. This defeat was different than any past defeat. Not only was it one of the biggest stages of the young athlete’s career, but more significantly, God used it to open the high schooler’s eyes to a humbling truth. Collin had been approaching sports in the wrong way, something that God would not let His child do any longer.
In the years to follow, Collin’s perspective of sports was completely transformed as God took his hand and led him down a new path, teaching Collin an entirely new approach to sports—a kingdom approach.
It was as Collin began this journey of discovering a kingdom approach to sports that God sparked in him a desire to share the lessons he was learning with others. A desire that would ultimately find its fulfillment in a three-year writing process resulting in the creation of GAMEPLAN: A Kingdom Approach to Sports.
Although the full story of how GAMEPLAN came to be is too far great to tell in these few words, simply understanding where it all started can make one thing undeniably clear. GAMEPLAN is a God-sized story, one in which God deserves all the glory.
Unlike most traditional devotionals, GAMEPLAN is a situational devotional—meaning that each devotion has been assigned a specific situation when a high school athlete would ideally read it. For example, there is a devotion to read before the most important competition of the season, one to read after a hard loss, and even one for saying no to peer pressure.
Although the design of GAMEPLAN is directed at personal application, the devotions can be easily adapted for team or group studies.
© 2024 Collin Oswalt “All Rights Reserved”
