The Spiritual Playbook for Student Athletes

Send us Fan MailEpisode 03: The Spiritual Playbook for Student AthletesWhat if you’re physically in your prime and winning on the field, but spiritually exhausted and running on fumes because you’ve prioritized physical conditioning over the spiritual training and armor you need for the real battle? Today’s episode of Hot Takes and Holy Things explores the intersection of athletics and faith. Hosts Jarvis Koyate, Cole Bearden, and Jake Kimbrell dive into the reality of being physically strong but spiritually drained when sports take priority over your relationship with Jesus. They unpack the tension student athletes face and why it often leads to a struggle balancing faith and sports commitments. The hosts break down supporting scriptures to help students find their true center, Jesus, share three key questions, and offer a challenge to set up a personal faith training program, showing how Jesus can transform their lives. Key Points From This Episode: • Story time with Uncle Jarvis: a sports story.• The great debate: Apple Music or Spotify?• Today’s Student Shoutout: reigning girls’ soccer state champions.• Student athletes: in shape physically but exhausted spiritually.• We see the tension our student athletes are feeling.• The struggle of balancing our faith and sports commitments. • What the bible teaches us about our faith in sports commitments. • Jesus calling us to surrender.• Training plans: three questions to ask yourself to see if you are training your faith. • Today’s challenge: creating your training plan. Quotes:“Today's hot take is our student athletes are in shape physically but exhausted spiritually.” — Jarvis Koyate [00:08:37]“Our students physically, they’re in their prime, but spiritually, they're running on fumes.” — Jarvis Koyate [0:09:34]“Our students, they're out there grinding for a starting spot, grinding to be as successful as they can in their sports, but we're not really doing the things to guard our hearts. And so maybe you would say that our student athletes are physically winning, but spiritually they're fading.” — Jake Kimbrell [00:09:46]“And here's the truth. Faith was never meant to be squeezed in or around sports. Faith is meant to be the foundation that shapes how you play, why you play, and who you become through your sport. It's not about choosing between faith and sports, it's about choosing who sits at the center.” — Cole Beardan [00:11:16] “Our students, while they're in shape physically and they're physically strong, they're fading spiritually because they're going into a war unarmed.” — Jake Kimbrell [00:14:10] Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:1 Timothy 4:8 NIVEphesians 6:8-10 NIVFamily Church Students on InstagramFamily Church Students LinktreeFamily Church NetworkFamily Church on Instagram