Pickleball has exploded in popularity in recent years — and with it, an opportunity for churches to engage in a new way with the local communities that surround them. The suddenly popular pastime has shed a new light on the interesting and effective connection between sports and spiritual community.
In this article, we’ll investigate how churches can use pickleball to activate their unused spaces, not just to create some fun times, but as a key part of their larger ministries and calling.
Tennis has a following. Racketball has its followers. But pickleball? That’s a racket sport that has taken the U.S. by storm.
According to Statista, the outdoor activity jumped in popularity by 21% in 2020 alone, thanks in large part to pandemic restrictions. Since then, things haven’t slowed down, with the number of Americans engaged in the sport more than tripling in four years, from 4.2 million to 13.6 million.
The sustained interest makes sense. Pickleball is a low-cost sport, and it’s easy to learn. It isn’t a purely athletic sport, either, which means everyone from young adults to parents with young kids and even seniors can get involved and be competitive. Pickleball is also social by nature, making it a great way to meet, engage, and bond with others.
You can see where we’re going here, right? The benefits and easy entry point of pickleball easily spill over into ministry mission and vision. Here are a few examples:
Pickleball is a fun and fascinating way churches can stay trendy and engaged with the interests of the larger public. It’s also a proven way to use church space.
We’ve worked with multiple ministries to set up pickleball courts on their campuses. Chase Oaks used it as part of a larger, highly successful building activation strategy. Their courts are adjacent to a coffee shop and are occupied throughout the day, six days per week.
Northpoint Church also has pickleball courts. They even double as overflow parking on busy Sundays. There are a lot of similar examples out there, many of which our team has been directly involved in setting up.
What does this kind of ministry tool look like on a day-to-day basis? Along with individual use, you can use pickleball courts to:
It may be easy to start playing pickleball, but setting up a space for it is another matter. You can’t just “build it and they’ll come.” As with all building activations, you want a strategy in place before you start.
For instance, before you start pouring concrete and setting up nets, you want to think about the details. Is pickleball actually a good fit for your church?
Have you chosen the right space for your courts?
Have you thought about noise?
Do you have the budget?
Once you have physical courts in place, will you be able to schedule use of the courts around other ministry needs? Will you need volunteers to coordinate safe, fair scheduling?
This is where working with an experienced partner like Ministry Solutions Group can make all the difference. We can help you create a Clear Path Forward as you lay your plans, hire contractors, and recruit volunteers. We’ve seen it all before, and we can help you not just set up a fun community space but make sure you’ve activated that space to make pickleball a sustainable part of your ministry.
If you think pickleball could be a way to utilize underused spaces in your church, we want to talk. Reach out, and we’ll set up a 30-minute consultation with a team member. From there, if we agree that it’s a good idea, we can schedule on-site visits, run reports, and make sure you have a data-driven, ministry-focused reason behind this kind of project.
Pickleball courts may sound like a fun diversion, but for many churches, they’re much more. They’ve become a central piece of their outreach and community-building efforts.
Stop overlooking the potential of this intersection of sports and spirituality. Start thinking about how pickleball can factor into your church moving forward.