Being a Chaplain on the Sidelines

Mike Wissink’s campus ministry for Christian Reformed Home Missions often occurs in locker rooms, on the sidelines of football fields and basketball courts, and on buses taking Ferris State University teams to games.

While Wissink also has a traditional campus ministry involving devotions, meetings, services and mission trips, he finds the sports chaplaincy to be especially compelling. He serves the men’s and women’s basketball teams, the volley ball and soccer teams, and the football team.

He loved playing sports as a younger person, and that love he can now combine with his love for God and his ministry among the athletes at Ferris.

Ferris State University is located in Big Rapids, Mich.

“I see God at work on the fields and in the locker rooms, and I believe this is where I need to be,” he says.

He finds it a privilege to be there to see touchdowns scored, to hear the scrape of sneakers on basketball courts and to smell the heady, if sometimes stale, aroma of achievement and exertion.

As he counsels with distraught students under the goal posts or prays with them in a dark arena tunnel after a tough game, he always makes sure his ministry is based on scripture.

“I always ask ‘How does God’s Word speak to us in every situation?’” he says. “I have found students on the sports teams to be open to looking at the biblical perspective and how it speaks to all of their lives.”

When necessary, he remains sensitive to a team’s record. If they are going through a losing streak, he sticks close, but keeps a low profile. “I present the gospel, but I need to be sensitive to how a team is doing,” he says.

He works with athletes who are struggling with challenges in their relationships or performance on the field, on the court or in the classroom. When needed, he is called in to help handle crisis situations, such as a death in the family or some other difficult situation or tragedy.

He attends meetings of the teams, and prays with the players for the Michigan college before every competition.

“It’s been very exciting for me. I can plant some seeds even if it is for a short time,” says Wissink.

The sport’s ministry began at Ferris State a few years ago when Wissink, already serving as campus chaplain, was given the opportunity by the men’s basketball coach to minister to his team and staff.

Since then, the ministry has expanded, and Wissink is now known as the ‘honorary’ athletic department chaplain.

“The athletic director now asks the coaches to make use of me,” he says.

Besides ministering to a diverse group of student athletes, he also draws Christian coaches and other staff together for study, encouragement, and prayer.

He has found that, although he is with students for only a few short years, he maintains ties with many of them, sometimes interacts with them on Facebook, and has officiated at their weddings.

While his niche has become sports ministry, other Home Missions campus chaplains have taken a different focus. Some work intensely with international students; another chaplain ministers to graduate students, staff and faculty, and another is deeply involved in giving and putting on lectures.

“We are all working in communities of believers and we all have the opportunity to engage them and help them grow in their faith,” says Wissink.