Sports Evangelism

Reaching the World’s Most Watched—and Least Reached—Athletes Through the Gospel.

While global sports like soccer and basketball reach billions, many professional athletes remain among the least intentionally discipled people on earth—what if that changed?

Sports Evangelism

Reaching the World’s Most Watched—and Least Reached—Athletes Through the Gospel.

While global sports like soccer and basketball reach billions, many professional athletes remain among the least intentionally discipled people on earth—what if that changed?

Let’s Chat

We’d love to walk you through the strategy behind the fund. Join us for a next-step conversation designed for prospective givers who believe addressing structural hunger is one of the most powerful ways to break the cycle of poverty.

YOUR GUIDE

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Strategy

Allocation

Stories

Team

Updates

Community

The Strategy in a Nutshell

Q

The Problem

 

The World’s Largest Platform Is Spiritually Underserved

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The Solution

 

Discipling the Leaders the World Is Already Watching

Read on to find out how.

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JOHN 3:30

“He must become greater; I must become less.”

The Problem: The World’s Largest Platform Is Spiritually Underserved

3 Minute Strategy Video—Coming Soon

Sport is one of the few spaces where the world still gathers—across cultures, languages, and belief systems. 3.7 billion people identify as sports fans. The FIFA World Cup draws billions of viewers globally—more than the combined populations of North and South America. One player—Cristiano Ronaldo—has reached nearly a billion people directly on social media.

The platform is there. The reach is real. The influence is undeniable. What’s missing is a coordinated, well-funded effort to disciple the athletes who carry it. If you gathered all professional soccer players globally, they would represent one of the least-reached groups on earth—not because they lack influence, but because few are being intentionally discipled.

These are the individuals shaping global culture. And in most of the world, no one is walking with them in sustained, Christ-centered formation.

From Football to the World: A Movement Ready to Multiply

Over the past several decades, faithful ministry among American football players helped shape American culture. Athletes and their families who were discipled well—mentored, equipped, and emboldened—normalized faith conversations at the highest levels of sport. Their moments on podiums, in postgame interviews, and across social media didn’t just inspire fans; they redefined what public faith looks like for a generation.

That same tipping point has not yet happened in two of the world’s most global sports, global soccer and basketball. In regions like Europe, where trust in the institutional church has eroded, athletes often carry credibility where institutions no longer do. Their stories travel faster, farther, and deeper into culture than traditional ministry channels ever could.

In the U.S., chaplains and faith leaders are common across college and professional sports; globally, they remain rare. The model is proven. The infrastructure is emerging. The question is whether the capital—and coordinated effort—will follow.

If the gospel takes deep root among the athletes who shape global culture, the ripple effects could reach every nation.

Mapping Hunger

673 million people—8.2% of the world’s population—are undernourished.

Of those, 295 million face acute hunger driven by war, drought, and economic collapse. But 378 million suffer from structural hunger — caused by low agricultural productivity, broken supply chains, and low purchasing power. This SWGP Fund focuses on structural hunger — the systemically solvable portion of the crisis.

*According to the World Food Program.

BY THE NUMBERS

The Solution: Discipling the Leaders
the World Is Already Watching

This is not about platforming celebrities.

It is about activating leaders whose influence already reaches the nations.

The Sports Evangelism Fund deploys capital in three coordinated ways:

We define winning as catalyzing a solution to the point where market forces take over. We measure:

1

Athlete-Led EvangelismEquipping athletes to naturally and authentically share the gospel through the platforms they already carry—on the field, in interviews, across social media, and within their global reach. When athletes speak, the world listens. This fund supports them in communicating their faith in ways that are clear, compelling, and true to who they are.

2

Deep, Relational Discipleship
Walking with professional athletes—and often their spouses or families—through spiritual formation, identity in Christ, character, and the realities of pressure, success, and transition. This is not momentary influence; it is lifelong transformation that sustains both their faith and their witness.

3

Strengthening Local Sports Ministries & Pro-to-Pro Networks
Ministries embedded in clubs, leagues, and academies worldwide while also fueling athlete-to-athlete discipleship. These ecosystems provide consistent mentorship, community, and care—equipping players to grow in their faith, lead within their teams, and invite others into the gospel.
Together, these strategies create a pipeline where athletes are reached,
equipped, and sent—leveraging their voice to bring others closer to the gospel.

Our Focus 

What has taken root in American football, we now aim to accelerate in global soccer and basketball—scaling a proven model of discipling athletes and their families while stewarding their influence to shape global culture.

Global Soccer

The most watched sport in the world.

With billions watching events like the World Cup, soccer players carry unparalleled global influence—yet many have never experienced intentional discipleship or been equipped to live out and share the gospel within that influence.

Global Basketball

One of the fastest-growing sports globally, expanding rapidly across Africa, Europe, and Asia.

Players already have massive digital reach—but the infrastructure for evangelism and discipleship is still emerging.

The vision is not one sport. It’s a movement across global
athletics by starting with two of the most global sports. 

The Opportunity: Turbocharging Progress

Through the strategic combination of Capital, Content, and Community, we’re rallying the world around Africa’s greatest problem-solvers. We facilitate collaborative ideation and raise capital through collaborative giving DAFs that are deployed in a comprehensive capital stack of grants and investments best suited to solve the problem. Any returns made on investments are circulated back into the fund to further solve the problem. 

How Pro Athletes Are Finding Identity Beyond the Game and Impacting Eternity

What This Unlocks …

Not measured by headlines—but by lasting transformation.

Athletes deeply rooted in Christ, marriages and families strengthened alongside careers, locker rooms where faith conversations are natural, veteran players discipling the next generation, and local ministries sustained long after careers end.

This fund exists to see:

  • Professional athletes deeply rooted in Christ, with marriages and families strengthened alongside their careers
  • Faith lived out boldly in locker rooms and on the world’s biggest platforms with bold, faithful gospel proclamations to reach millions through their influence on and off the field. 
  • Develop a deep culture of faithful witness that allows the gospel to travel through sports, into some of the least reached parts of the world. 
  • A multiplying ripple effect that draws teammates, fans, and audiences closer to the gospel
  • Local sports ministries equipped to serve players with lasting, transformative discipleship long after the spotlight fades

When athletes and their families follow Jesus with depth and integrity, the impact extends far beyond the field. It has the power to spark conversations, fan revival in places where the gospel is normally not invited.

The Power of Building, Investing and Giving Together

The Solving Structural
Hunger Fund

SWGP Giving Funds unite world-class fund management with the Faith Driven community you trust, transforming generosity into lasting impact.

God calls us to radical generosity—not obligation, not guilt, but an invitation to the joy-filled adventure. When you’ve been rescued, you want to rescue others. This is your moment.

We want to give. We want to rally around something meaningful. But we don’t have the time or the tribe to be intentional about it.

Busy lives don’t leave room to analyze every investment or vet every giving opportunity. We’re overwhelmed, pulled in a hundred directions with wallets clenched, hearts tugged, minds skeptical. Deep down, we know there has to be a better way. That’s why we’re building collaborative giving funds and uniting content, community, and tools that make it possible to do more, together.

The Sports Evangelism Fund is one of them. Join a coordinated effort to reach one of the most influential—and least reached—communities in the world.

Because if the gospel spreads among the athletes who shape global culture, the ripple effects could reach every nation watching the game.

Investment Committee—Coming Soon

Board of Advisors

Steve Stenstrom

Steve Stenstrom

President, Professional Athletes Outreach

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SWGP Leadership Team

We feel humbled by the opportunity to support this movement behind the scenes.
This Leadership Team has a unique combination of proven scale in Content, Community and Funds.

Henry Kaestner

Henry Kaestner

Co-Founder, Faith Driven

Co-Founder of Bandwidth and Sovereign’s Capital, a private equity and venture capital firm with over $1B in assets investing in faith-driven entrepreneurs.

Justin Forman

Justin Forman

Co-Founder and President, Faith Driven

Launched RightNow Media, delivering world-class content and community to more than 30,000 churches and 5 million people, supported by a $35M business model.

Tom Baldwin

Tom Baldwin

VP of Fund Strategy

Brings 20+ years building market-shaping platforms and driving growth with Mars and the Belmont University Innovation Lab.

Rebecca Yuschak

Rebecca Yuschak

VP of SWGP Integration & Fund Partnerships

Brings over a decade of experience in corporate grants management and operations within Prudential Financial, along with a background in nonprofit management.

Clay Osburne

Clay Osburne

VP of Mobilization

Former SVP at National Christian Foundation Orlando and President of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida.

Nils Smith

Nils Smith

VP of Marketing

Brings 20 years of digital strategy and entrepreneurial leadership across ministries, startups, and high-growth organizations.

Megan Morris

Megan Morris

Director of Content

Combines strategic marketing expertise with a passion for high-impact content production and storytelling since 2015.

Zac Sicher

Zac Sicher

Solving Hunger & Joblessness Fund Manager

Former Credit Trader at Goldman Sachs with deep experience in international markets, structured products, and global financial strategy.

Landen Enns

Landen Enns

Solving the Evangelism Gap Fund Manager

7+ years of Venture Capital and M&A experience at a $3B AUM fund and a Fortune 100 technology company

Alexis Cook

Alexis Cook

Solving Trafficking Fund Manager

Brings global nonprofit experience, entrepreneurial leadership as founder of a social enterprise supporting women survivors, and investment experience shaped through her MBA at Stanford.

Transfer From Your DAF

The SWGP Giving Funds will be hosted through a Donor Advised Fund (DAF). Contributions can be made directly or from an existing Donor Advised Fund at trusted partners like:

Each Community has many tools…

Content

Stories, Podcasts, and Problem Pages to multiply reach.

Community

SWGP Foundation Groups and Masterclass series to grow deeper and engage with others as the movement expands.

SWGP Giving Funds

Donor Advised Funds in collaboration with a Board of Directors of seasoned investors and givers.

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