Basics Course - Snowboarders & Skiers for Christ

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Course Outline and Overview

Welcome! We are excited you are taking steps to being a leader with SFC! We crafted this course to be a quick and easy way for you get up to speed on the “Who, What, and How” of SFC in less than an hour so you can get right to what matters most: BEING THE LIGHT OF JESUS in your shred community.

The pages that follow will walk you through SFC’s vision, mission, values, culture, what we actually do, help you get to know our team, how you can be involved, and a whole lot more. There are even a few spots where we ask for your participation to think through what makes your shred community unique and how you can make a difference in it. After completing this course you can start working on your ministry plan. Once you have drafted that, you can schedule a follow up call with Liz to finish the process! It’s as easy as that.

We’re thrilled that you’ve made it this far and are sooo stoked to get to know you real soon.

Topics that this course covers:

SFC’s vision, mission, values, and statement of faith
BEING a follower of Jesus vs. DOING things for Jesus
Leading a local outreach movement with SFC
Assessment of your local community
Ways to reach out in your community
Partnering with the local Church
Investing intentionally in key relationships around you
How to connect with the SFC family
Resources to help you along the way

Ready!?

SFC's Vision, Mission, and Values

VISION = To be the light of Jesus in the US ski/snowboard culture.

The ski/snowboard culture can be dark, broken, and lonely. It’s a place in desperate need of Good News, and an eternal hope outside of the fulfillment that chasing the next trick, the next line, and the next storm can bring. The word “IN” in the vision statement above was carefully chosen to represent the idea that we are not outsiders bringing this message into a people group that we don’t understand, but we're members of this culture with a unique position to shine brightly as bearers of hope and Good News to this people group. Our people group.

MISSION = To bridge the ski/snowboard culture to Jesus Christ, partnering with the local Church.

God has placed YOU with feet firmly placed in two worlds: the ski/snowboard culture and the community of faith in your area. You are in a unique position to help reconcile these worlds to one another all while pointing towards the one thing that really matters, Jesus Christ.

SFC’s B.R.I.D.G.E. Values

SFC is a values-based organization as opposed to a programs-based organization, which means that SFC looks different in every shred town. Each group responds to the needs of their own unique communities. Each location is not a cookie-cutter or franchise-modeled group.

SFC encourages its leaders to know and live the B.R.I.D.G.E. Values and to dream big about which meetings/events, relationships, and service opportunities will most effectively shine the light of Jesus to the shredders in their area.

We define SFC by our values as opposed to what events we put on, and for that reason, the Support Office has taken on the effort to provide values-based tools and resources to help our leaders create more effective opportunities to be a light on the hill!

BELIEVING: our faith is grounded in biblical truth. We, as the Body of Christ, pursue a lifestyle of prayer and worship.

Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is a LAMP unto my feet and a light unto my path.”

RELATIONSHIPS: we intentionally build up our community, connecting people to the global network of Christian riders and the body of Christ.

Romans 13:8 “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.”

1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

IDENTITY: we enjoy living in the laid-back, recreation-focused culture, but we recognize the culture’s identity crisis. While we relate with the culture, we remain obedient to God’s Word and find our eternal identity in Him.

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

DOING: we selflessly demonstrate our love for Jesus by putting others ahead of ourselves and serving one another, the local communities we live in, and the entire ski/snowboard culture.

Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

GOSPEL: the most important thing in our lives is the Good News, and we readily share that message of hope in our words and deeds.

John 8:12 “I (Jesus) am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

ENGAGING: just like Jesus, we intentionally meet all people where they are, both physically and spiritually.

Matthew 28:19-20 “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

What We Believe

Snowboarders and Skiers for Christ is an intentionally broad faith community with SFCers from a wide variety of denominational and faith backgrounds. We hold tightly to a small set of non-negotiable Christian truths and work hard to hold onto the rest loosely. Our core beliefs can be found here on our website:

Statement of Faith

Being vs. Doing

It has been said that each of us was created in the image of God as a human being, not a human doing. That is to say that we believe God first wants our hearts. He wants us to abide in Him and learn to BE a disciple of Jesus ourselves before we take action. The SFC values of Believing, Identity and Gospel all point to this truth. It can be easy to skip over our relationship with God and dive right into doing things for Him. Even in Mathew 7:21-23 Jesus says to workers who cast out demons in His name “depart from me, I never knew you.” God is first interested in knowing us.

Next comes the doing part of our faith. As James 2 famously points out, our identity as a redeemed child of God demands a response on our part played out in our actions. This is where the SFC values of Relationships, Doing, and Engaging come into play. Our deep-rooted faith in Christ will seep out into the way we build and maintain relationships with those around us, the way we serve our community, and the way we engage the shred culture at large.

This is a tension that all Christians will deal with at some point, but at SFC we want to first and foremost be characterized as a people that seek Christ and His Kingdom first. We commit to spend time with Jesus and enjoy His beauty and only then put that faith into action within our communities.

SFC has created a shred-focused course on the topic of Being & Doing. You can dig more into that later through the link below. It’s a great resource to learn and grow with your community!

Being & Doing Course

So you want to L.E.A.D.

As a values based organization, what SFC looks like in your area is totally adaptable to your community both in a geographical and cultural context. This is what the “Learn” phase of SFC is all about: learning about your local church community and your local shred community. We wanted to give a chance to think about what you already know about your community and highlight some characteristics that might be unique to your region.

Community Assessment

Please answer the questions below about the community you are looking to serve. This will help us understand your heart for this area and prepare you to serve them effectively!

Name the ski resorts you would like to serve at and how far they are from your house.(Required)

(Specify if using miles or kilometers)

What makes your ski resort area unique? What is the culture like there?(Required)

What is the name of the church you attend? How far away is it? And are there many churches in your area?(Required)

What makes the Church community in your area unique?(Required)

What are some common struggles among people in your area?(Required)

What are some things people in your area are great at?(Required)

What would you like to see more of in your area?(Required)

What should you do!?

Good news. We have a local expert on the ins and outs of your area… It’s you!

Often living out SFC’s values looks like meeting needs in your community. These can be both spiritual and physical needs. Let’s take the information about your ski community that you came up with before and work to think of some ways that you can make a difference there.

Watch this video about SFC’s “Values at Work” to see some examples of how other people are applying the B.R.I.D.G.E. values in their own communities.

It’s likely that your community has some deep problems or needs. After all, we live in a fallen world waiting to be redeemed at Christ’s return. In his book Culture Making, Andy Crouch observes that the best way to change a culture is not by criticizing it. We change culture by creating more of it.

Take a second to brainstorm some ways that you and your friends can BRIDGE the ski/snowboard culture in your area to Jesus partnering with the local church. This is the transition from Learn and Engage phase into the Act phase of SFC.

To start your thinking, consider deeper connections and service in the shred culture and deeper connections and service in your local church community.

Ways to Act

Take a few minutes to brainstorm three ways you can ACT in your community! List them out, along with the who, what, where, when, and how of each one! Remember, you aren't committing to any of these right now, just thinking of a few ways you could live out this calling in your local shred culture.

Service or Event Idea #1(Required)

Service or Event Idea #2

Service or Event Idea #3

Partnering with the Local Church

Our mission at SFC is: “To bridge the snowboard/ski culture to Jesus partnering with the local Church.” This means that partnering with local churches is not merely a good idea but actually central to the mission we hope to see in our communities. We use the capital “C” in Church because what we mean when we say Church in this context means the entirety of the local body of Christ. In practice, however, this probably will mean connecting with one, or ideally, more than one local expression of church if they exist in your area.

We highly recommend local church membership. That means finding a good church home and serving there in meaningful ways. Your work with SFC is also a way to serve your local church body. In 1 Corinthians 12 the apostle Paul likens members of the Church to parts of a physical body, with different shapes, purposes, and giftings. We like to think of ourselves as a part of the body (the big toe, if you will) with the gifting, purpose, and calling to reach the ski culture with the Good News of Jesus. This isn’t a mission that is to be carried out alone but as functional and connected members of the larger body with a distinct purpose.

This bridging can and should also take place within the Church itself. Each member of the body has a unique perspective and set of gifts, but it is common within the Church to overlook and under-appreciate the gifts of someone who looks different from ourselves. We can work as bridge-builders to help youth, zeal, and enthusiasm in our Church communities partner well with the age, experience, and wisdom that exists there.

Below is a video resource to help you in a couple of different ways. It highlights the value that you bring to your local Church community. Your church leaders NEED YOU to be the one who takes action in this community. It also provides a resource that you can share with your church leader, from one pastor to another, that helps share the vision for shred ministry in your community.

Try-and-Goal List

A few years back, some of our friends were discussing the effectiveness of our ministry within the shred culture. Someone brought up the point that the Great Commission stresses the importance of disciple-making (“As you go, make disciples from every nation”). We all agreed and decided that we needed a snowboarder/skier-specific approach to remind ourselves the importance of THIS CALLING to the life of EVERY SINGLE BELIEVER. We all needed a way to try and set this goal in front of our faces on a regular basis.

We came up with the Try-And-Goal to remind us to BE DISCIPLED, BE DISCIPLES and BE DISCIPLING on a regular basis.

BE DISCIPLED: The top single triangle represents a mentor. We believe Jesus’s model demonstrated that we should be humble enough to have someone regularly speaking God’s wisdom and truth into our lives for our growth and maturity in the faith. We suggest meeting with a mentor to be discipled once a month.

BE DISCIPLES: The second row of two triangles represents two Christian peers. We think that God hasn’t called us to walk this path of faith alone, and that’s why we have the Church (the Body of Believers) to walk alongside us. We believe that we should be learning to walk out our faith and ministering to our community together with other disciples. We suggest meeting together with two other fellow Christians once a week to minister/pray/encourage together.

BE DISCIPLING: The third row of triangles represents three individuals that you’re praying for and ministering to. These can be young Christians that you are serving in the capacity of a mentor to or even non-Christians that you are praying for and ministering to. We think that every time you go out on the mountain or out for a meal, you should call/message them and invite them along with you, because as we see with Jesus, the most effective discipleship model is “come and see”.

We challenge you to name each of these triangles. Write down the names of the people you see filling these spots. Call them. Pray for them. Set up regular times to meet/eat/play/pray with them. Being discipled, being disciples and being discipling are goals worth setting. Go ahead...try-and-goal with us!

Try-And-Goal Assessment

Who is discipling you?(Required)

Who are your two co-laborers? Who are you BEING a disciple alongside?(Required)

Who are you discipling? (Aim for three people). Make a note if any of these people could be future SFC Leaders for succession in your group.(Required)

How to Connect with the Global Shred Community

We’re better together. Shred ministry, like every area of the Christian life, is not something that should be undertaken as a lone ranger. We were designed by God to work with and rely on other people and that’s why SFC exists. Connecting with the global network of snowboarders and skiers for Christ will work to encourage and help you along the journey but it will also put you in a position to help others. This family on mission needs you: your skills, your passion, and your knowledge to help others grow as well.

When you’re done with this course, your info will be sent to Liz and to your SFC Regional Director. These are people whose primary job at SFC is to equip, encourage, and connect with you to be effective in your community. Talk to them regularly, and lean on them for ideas and help when it comes to launching or sustaining ministry in your area.

You can follow SFC on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook to stay up to date on events, gatherings, and hear stories about what God is doing in the shred culture around the world! There are also active Facebook groups for the North American SFC Community, and SFC Girls Community with regular posts for prayer requests and info on events and more.

We also highly recommend attending one of the many conferences held by the SFC community around the year. Conferences are a key place to make deep, lasting connections with shredders that have experienced the same calling to ministry within the shred culture that you have. It’s not often you can gather with 100 people who “just get it” and instantly make friends from around your country or around the world. You can find information on conferences on our website.

Finally, there’s the SFC T.I.M.E. Travel Program! You can gather some friends and take a trip with intentionality to encourage a neighboring crew, serve someone well, and build up the guys/gals you take with you. If a visit would be highly encouraging or helpful to you feel free to talk to your Regional Director and see if it might be possible for someone to come by.

There are lots of great ways to connect with SFC on local, regional, national, and global levels. It'll be worth the effort it takes on your part, every time.

What Now?

Okay we realize there’s a lot of info here. We’re also so hopeful that you find yourself taking this course for a reason. The shred culture needs the Good News and the hope that can be found in Jesus and it sure seems to us that the best person to take the first step is sitting in front of the screen you’re looking at right now (that’s YOU!). There are so many great ways to make a difference in your community and we want to help.

So here’s what you can do next:

Share your ideas about making a difference in your shred community with your friends, with your pastor, and your community.

Take the principles you just learned, the L.E.A.D. phases and the B.R.I.D.G.E. values and put them to work!

Connect! We want to hear from you. We want to be your friend. We want to help. Liz will be in touch with you soon to set up a follow-up meeting to chat about being the light of Jesus in your community.

That's it! You did it!

Thanks for taking the time to go through this, seriously - thank you! We need more people like you out there who are willing to take the time and energy to partner in this mission of sharing the good news to the shred community.
We can't wait to see how God works in your community!