Over the last year, we at the Support Office have been working behind the scenes to restructure and re-clarify the various ways we can support Jesus-loving snowboarders and skiers in the shred culture. For a while, SFC was thought of as mostly a chapter-based and event-based ministry, but this wasn’t exactly true! All over the world, there have been Individuals who see their skiing and snowboarding as a mission-field, but who aren’t able to live that out in the context of a group. So, now, we want to make that official.
SFC Individuals come with all types of contexts and giftings, just as God designed them. An Individual may be the only Christian in their ski town. Maybe, instead, she knows of an existing SFC Group nearby, but her schedule doesn’t allow her to minister with them specifically. There are tons of ways Individuals have been living out their love for Jesus in this culture, and we honor this beautiful, trusting choice to still minister even when connecting with a local Group isn’t an option. We at SFC want to make sure we both acknowledge the courage and boldness it takes to pursue this calling solo and provide the context-specific support that SFC Individuals need.
If you see yourself fitting into this category, there are a few different benefits and commitments to consider as you pray about officially taking the step to becoming an SFC Individual.
As an Individual, the biggest benefit of joining SFC is that you’ll have an entire worldwide community of skiers and snowboarders on mission alongside you. We all have felt this calling to minister in the ski/snowboard culture, and sharing resources, encouragement, and fellowship with each other is how we’ve been able to stay at it. We simply cannot do this alone. God doesn’t want you to go at it alone, and we don’t want you to go at it alone!
Other resources you’ll receive as an SFC individual include personal mentoring and coaching from your local Regional or National Director, training materials for discipleship specifically in the ski/snowboard culture, the inside scoop for National or Regional conferences, and free/discounted SFC merch (seriously)!
As an SFC Individual, there are a few commitments we ask of you. Now, please don’t tune out like we’re going to make you write a six-page essay or something. We ask these commitments to be upheld because we believe they will best serve you as you live this out in your local community.
First, we ask that you regularly attend and engage with a local church. If you are in an area where there aren’t any local churches, you can search out a few friends to regularly pray, worship, and read scripture alongside. These can be fellow SFC leaders across the world or other believers in your area! This is the most important commitment we ask you to keep.
Second to this, we ask that you communicate with us and your Regional or National Director. This communication piece is SO important because it’s the way we support you and learn what you actually need! If you need resources on how to run a bible study, how to work through doubt, how to share the gospel without being pushy, we would love to support you in ALL OF THIS! But we can’t support you if we don’t know. So, we require you to talk to us.
At the end of your season, we’ll also ask you to fill out the M.O.M. Report. This is a short form where you’ll report how the season went, what ministering looked like, and how many people you engaged with through the season. This also helps us help you, so we require that all SFC Individuals fill it out in a timely manner.
Finally, (and this feels like both a commitment and an enforcement of fun), we ask that you attend at least one Regional, National, or International conference each year. This is key to staying connected with the ministry and encouraged in this calling. Plus, they are incredible! There’s usually teaching, worship, shredding, wakeboarding, and whatever outside-playing is available in the area. It’s always a great time and one of the most memorable parts of the year for SFCers.
Now that we’ve had this little DTR, are you ready to make it official? If this sounds like something God could be inviting you into, click the button below and fill out the contact form. A real person will respond to talk with you about what this could look like!
Until then, keep shining.