• Founder & Author

    Brian Davidson has spent a lifetime where faith and sports collide—between the lines, on the sidelines, and in the stands. A four-time Hall of Fame soccer inductee, he founded the Charlotte Eagles Soccer Club, co-founded Sports Friends International (SIM), and now pioneers a sports ministry track with The Navigators. Brian also pioneered a discipleship initiative for the 40 Club Sports teams (700+ athletes) at Liberty University and served as the hockey chaplain for 10 years.

    With degrees from Houghton University and Liberty University (M.A. in Discipleship), Brian has carried the gospel to more than thirty nations through various sports ministry initiatives. He and his wife, Christine, have seven children (10 grandchildren) who played twelve different youth sports and who all share their family motto: Love God. Like sports.

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.

“Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and Love your neighbor as yourself.” “

You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. Do this and you will live.”

Luke 10:25-27

“Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”

I John 5:21

What is Love God Like Sports?

Love God Like Sports was created with the hope of igniting a gospel movement in sporting communities and cities across the country — one that leaves generational spiritual legacies through intentional discipleship and disciple-making.

Proverbs 22:6 reminds us to “train up a child in the way he should go” — and sports provide countless opportunities to do just that. On the field, in the gym, or from the stands, every practice and every game can become an act of worship, a chance to glorify God, and a living example of what it means to follow Jesus.

Our ministry exists to encourage, empower, and edify Christian families to see youth and school sports as more than competition — more than a pathway to a college scholarship, an NIL deal, or the professional ranks.

We believe God has entrusted Christian parents to view athletic competition as a training ground for the heart: a place to form Christlike character, to love our sporting neighbors, and to shine the light of the gospel into the self-absorbed darkness of sports culture.

Our “why” is simple: to come alongside families so they can step into purpose and presence with God in the world of youth and school sports.

The Training to be Godly Vision

Love God. like sports. — Where Our Greatest Affections Belong

Youth and school sports ignite powerful passions. We cheer, we sacrifice, we strategize, we invest. But at the heart of the Love God. like sports. mission is a simple but seismic truth:

The greatest battle in sports is the battle of the affections.

Jonathan Edwards wrote that true Christianity is not just right thinking—it is right affections, a heart set ablaze for God above all else.
Tim Keller carried that forward, teaching that our deepest loves shape our identity, our purpose, and our joy.
John Piper pushed it even further: we glorify God most when He is our greatest delight.

Sports are good gifts.
But when they become the source of identity, worth, or hope, they occupy a place that only God deserves.

To “Love God. like sports.” means this:
Not to love sports less… but to love God more.
To let the intensity we bring to practices, games, and rivalries become a picture of the intensity of our love for Christ.
To train the heart so that our strongest affection fuels our truest mission.

Because the soul of sport parenting isn’t ultimately about wins and losses—
it’s about ordered loves, redeemed desires, and a heart captivated by Christ.

At Love God. like sports., we believe that the passions awakened in sports can either:

  • pull our hearts away from God, or

  • become a training ground that draws us closer to Him.

The goal is not to love sports less, but to love God more—to allow our greatest affection to belong where it was always meant to be.

Sports are a gift. God is the goal.And when our greatest affection belongs to Him, everything changes.

To Love God. like sports. is to:

Bring the same energy, focus, and intentionality we give to sports into our walk with Christ.

Let our passion for practices and games become a picture of an even greater passion for God.

Reorder our loves so that:

Christ is first,

people are next,

sports become a context—a training ground—for discipleship, not the center of our lives.

When that happens, the field, court, rink, or pool becomes more than a place to compete. It becomes a place to worship, to grow, and to love others in Jesus’ name.

The Mission Vision

Sports are one of the largest youth mission fields in the world.
We are building tools to help families step into that mission with clarity, courage, and Christlike love.

Youth Sports in the U.S.

  • ~50–60 million children ages 6–18 participate in youth sports each year.
    (Aspen Institute / Project Play)

  • Among kids ages 6–12:

    • ~37% play at least one sport regularly.

    • ~52% play at least one sport in some form during the year.
      (State of Play 2023)

  • By age 13:
    70% of kids have already quit organized sports due to pressure, burnout, or lack of enjoyment.
    (National Alliance for Youth Sports)

School Sports

  • High School Sports:
    7.6 million student-athletes compete in U.S. high school sports annually.
    (NFHS 2023–24)

  • College Sports:
    ~520,000 compete in NCAA athletics.
    (NCAA 2024)

  • But only about 6% of high school athletes go on to play any college sport.
    And <1% receive full athletic scholarships.
    (NCAA Probability of Going Pro Report)

The Global Picture

  • Soccer: Over 300 million players worldwide (FIFA estimate).

  • Sports are the #1 shared language of children ages 6–18 worldwide.

Why These Stats Matter?

Sports are:

  • The largest youth gathering place in the U.S.

  • More consistent than weekly church attendance

  • More formative than many school environments

  • A massive mission field hiding in plain sight

Families spend:

  • ~$693 per sport per season on average
    (Aspen Institute 2023)

  • With many travel teams spending $3,000–$12,000 per year or more.

In Other Words….

  • “Youth sports is the largest youth group in America.”

  • “Families will reorganize their schedules, finances, and identities around sports. The question is: will we disciple through it or be discipled by it?”

  • “Sports is not the enemy. Un-discipled sports culture is.”

  • “If we don’t teach our children how to worship in sports, they will learn to worship sports itself.”