Registration fees. Weekend tournaments. Travel teams.

Youth sports in America has shifted over the last several decades. Instead of playing ball in the backyard with friends after school or on Saturday mornings, our kids climb into the minivan so we can drive them to practice, pay for uniforms and court fees, and pick up dinner from the concession stand.

Youth sports, it seems, is a merry-go-round of time and money that we can’t get off, because we know it would never slow down enough for us to get back on.

At TGC, youth sports is one of the top concerns we hear from pastors and youth leaders: they can’t preach to, disciple, or encourage people who miss Sunday after Sunday for basketball or soccer or baseball.

But we know sports is a good gift from God. He created our kids to run and jump and throw, and to delight in doing that with friends. Done well, those things honor him.

So how can we do them well?

Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra talked to parents, coaches, and pastors to find out.

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