Who We Are

We are Athletes in Action, a Cru ministry. We help sports-minded students think and live biblically at the intersection of sport and Christianity. We resource an underserved population: the athlete, coach, and spectator interested in allowing God to shape their thinking in every aspect of life, including their interaction with sports.

What We Do

EVERY TEAM, EVERY SPORT, EVERY NATION

Since 1966, Athletes in Action has been using sports as a platform to help people answer questions of faith and to point them to Jesus. We believe that sports has the power to open doors and create connections in a way that few other things can, and that’s why we are constantly working to create new ways of reaching out to athletes and sports fans alike.

 

Ultimately, our goal is to see people's’ lives changed as they discover God’s purpose for their life.

 

We dream of a day when there are Christ-followers on every team, in sport, in every nation. We believe this is possible when organizations and individuals -- who want every athlete to know someone who truly follows Jesus -- work together toward the common goal of furthering God’s kingdom.

 

Sports is a universal language. Everyone, regardless of race, culture, socio-economic status or religious conviction, understands the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.  

 

As we work toward the fulfillment of our goal of seeing Christ-followers on every team, in every sport, in every nation, we’re dependent on God to raise up national leaders around the world who will use the platform of sports to bring the gospel to their country. We really believe that entire cultures and nations can be changed for the better as athletic leaders use their unique positions to point others to Christ.

 

Partnerships with like-minded ministries and individuals are a vital element of our dream of reaching “every.” Whether it’s at global events like the Olympics or World Cup or in a community competition between local teams, opportunities to work together to impact and equip others are abundant.

Athletes in Action is present in more than 90 countries and is a part of Cru (formerly called Campus Crusade for Christ). Cru is the name of CCC in the United States.

What We Believe

The sole basis of our beliefs is the Bible, God's infallible written Word, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. We believe that it was uniquely, verbally and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit and that it was written without error (inerrant) in the original manuscripts. It is the supreme and final authority in all matters on which it speaks.

We accept those areas of doctrinal teaching on which, historically, there has been general agreement among all true Christians. Because of the specialized calling of our movement, we desire to allow for freedom of conviction on other doctrinal matters, provided that any interpretation is based upon the Bible alone, and that no such interpretation shall become an issue which hinders the ministry to which God has called us.

• There is one true God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – each of whom possesses equally all the attributes of Deity and the characteristics of personality.

• Jesus Christ is God, the living Word, who became flesh through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth. Hence, He is perfect Deity and true humanity united in one person forever.

• He lived a sinless life and voluntarily atoned for the sins of men by dying on the cross as their substitute, thus satisfying divine justice and accomplishing salvation for all who trust in Him alone.

• He rose from the dead in the same body, though glorified, in which He lived and died. He ascended bodily into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God the Father, where He, the only mediator between God and man, continually makes intercession for His own.

• Man was originally created in the image of God. He sinned by disobeying God; thus, he was alienated from his Creator. That historic fall brought all mankind under divine condemnation.

• Man's nature is corrupted, and he is thus totally unable to please God. Every man is in need of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. The salvation of man is wholly a work of God's free grace and is not the work, in whole or in part, of human works or goodness or religious ceremony.

• God imputes His righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, and thereby justified them in His sight.

• It is the privilege of all who are born again of the Spirit to be assured of their salvation from the very moment in which they trust Christ as their Savior. This assurance is not based upon any kind of human merit, but is produced by the witness of the Holy Spirit, who confirms in the believer the testimony of God in His written word.

• The Holy Spirit has come into the world to reveal and glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to men. He convicts and draws sinners to Christ, imparts new life to them, continually indwells them from the moment of spiritual birth and seals them until the day of redemption.

• His fullness, power and control are appropriated in the believer's life by faith. Every believer is called to live so in the power of the indwelling Spirit that he will not fulfill the lust of the flesh but will bear fruit to the glory of God.

• Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, His Body, which is composed of all men, living and dead, who have been joined to Him through saving faith. God admonishes His people to assemble together regularly for worship, for participation in ordinances, for edification through the Scriptures and for mutual encouragement.

• At physical death the believer enters immediately into eternal, conscious fellowship with the Lord and awaits the resurrection of his body to everlasting glory and blessing. At physical death the unbeliever enters immediately into eternal, conscious separation from the Lord and awaits the resurrection of his body to everlasting judgment and condemnation.

• Jesus Christ will come again to the earth – personally, visibly and bodily – to consummate history and the eternal plan of God.

• The Lord Jesus Christ commanded all believers to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world and to disciple men of every nation. The fulfillment of that Great Commission requires that all worldly and personal ambitions be subordinated to a total commitment to "Him who loved us and gave Himself for us."