360 Sports Australia: Supporting Athletes to Live Out Faith On and Off the Field

For many Australians, sport sits at the centre of everyday life. For Jim Dahue, Executive Director of 360 Sports Australia, it is also a space where identity, purpose and belief take shape.

Jim shared how the ministry is working with athletes across the country, supporting them not only in performance but in who they are becoming along the way.

A global mission taking shape locally

360 Sports Australia sits within the wider Fellowship of Christian Athletes, an international ministry established in 1954 and now operating in more than 100 countries.

In Australia, the work is still relatively new. The ministry launched just over two years ago with a single full-time staff member and has since grown into a small team of four, working across multiple regions.

“We’re really wanting to disciple Christian athletes so they can be disciple makers in their realm of influence,” Jim said.

That influence can look very different depending on the person, from local community clubs to high-performance sport. The goal is not to separate those spaces, but to connect faith with everyday experience.

Supporting athletes in real environments

A key part of the ministry is mentoring. Athletes meet regularly with a mentor, often one-on-one, to talk through both their sport and their faith.

“We help them grow spiritually,” Jim said, “but also think about what it looks like in their specific sporting environment.”

So far, the ministry has worked with around 35 athletes in performance pathways, including young players identified by professional clubs. The group spans those progressing through junior systems to athletes close to top-level competition, as well as an Olympian and a world champion swimmer.

Mentors bring a mix of experience across sport, coaching and leadership, with a focus on consistent, practical support.

Building momentum across Australia

Growth is also happening through gatherings in different cities. These events bring athletes, coaches and community members together to explore the connection between faith and sport in practical ways.

The first gathering on the Gold Coast brought together more than 30 participants, from recognised athletes to people involved in local churches and clubs.

“It was fantastic,” Jim said. “We’re seeing people really catch a glimpse of the vision that God has for their life.”

Further gatherings are planned in Canberra, Albury, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, with an emphasis on building connected communities rather than large one-off events.

Strengthening connections at the local level

Alongside mentoring and events, 360 Sports Australia is developing closer links with churches and local sporting clubs.

A pilot program is equipping people already involved in sport to think intentionally about their influence. In one regional example, around 40 Christians connected to a single club came together for training, exploring how they could support one another within that environment.

“I think historically there has been a bit of a division,” Jim said. “But we actually believe sport is a gift… both to enjoy and as a place to live out faith.”

A growing opportunity

As the ministry expands, its future depends on people choosing to be involved, whether as athletes, mentors or supporters.

“God wants us to glorify him in all aspects of our lives,” Jim said. “Sport is one of those spaces.”

For those connected to the work, the focus remains simple: not stepping away from sport, but bringing something deeper into it.

This article was researched and prepared by Juice 107.3 staff writers, with assistance from AI in its presentation. Final review and fact-checking were undertaken by our Digital Team prior to publication.