Mission Statement of LCA Athletics
The LCA Athletic Department endeavors to use athletic competition to train young people in how to more faithfully reflect their Creator. The drive is to win, but the goal is excellence, joy, and growth in Christ-like character.
Philosophy of Christian Athletics
Competitive sports take a substantial position in our culture today and challenge those of us in Christian education to know and understand their redemptive value. To compete means, “To strive in opposition.” By definition it requires a desire and an effort to win, without which there would be no competition. Therefore, the LCA athlete unapologetically has the intent to win. While this must be the competitor’s intent, the Christian athlete must have a higher purpose in competing.
Athletics have been called a microcosm of life, and as such they become an invaluable window to the soul. Playing games is physical, emotional, and spiritual – all at once – and consequently provides experiences that mirror life itself with its struggles, battles, disciplines, rewards, successes, failures, disappointments, and challenges. Seeing athletics in this light brings out its purpose and value, perhaps more so for the Christian than for anyone else.
Scripture frequently makes allusions to life experiences, like that of athletes or soldiers, in order to teach us how to live. It calls us to follow Christ our Leader in His certain triumph over the prince of this world: the one who continually challenges us to exalt ourselves instead of Christ.
Ultimately, then, everyone competes athletically for one of two reasons: to exalt God or to exalt themselves. In choosing the former, LCA has purposed to reflect our Creator. The LCA competitor strives to win while striving to assimilate and express His qualities, most broadly His excellence and joy, and more particularly the attributes seen in Christ: humility, courage, determination, endurance, love, etc. To pursue athletics in this way is to make it a veritable practice field and testing ground for the growth and establishment of God’s character in us and in our children.
