Steve Bowman, head coach of the Liberty Disc Golf team, has recognized that sports are an avenue of serving others and proclaiming his faith for more than 30 years.
Bowman has been affiliated with Wheelpower Christian Cyclists, a mission founded by his mother, Judy Bowman, since 1993. The mission organizes groups of adults who travel from state to state riding bicycles. It allows them to preach the gospel and connect with other churches.
This experience contributed to Bowman’s idea of how God could use people’s interests to reach others.
“You can use anything that God’s going to put a passion in you to glorify him to bring others to Christ, to share the light,” Bowman said.
For Bowman, that passion led to disc golf.
Bowman began building mountain bike trails and disc golf courses after moving to Lynchburg in 1987.
Bowman became associated with Liberty Men’s Division I Hockey Head Coach Kirk Handy and was asked to form a disc golf team for the university. The team began competing in 2011, winning its first of eight national titles. With the growth of the program, Bowman sees coaching as another avenue of ministry.
Over 200 student-athletes have been involved in the program. According to Bowman, one of the most fulfilling aspects of coaching is hearing from previous athletes continuing to use disc golf as a means of ministry.
The faith-based perspective is demonstrated by the athletes during practice and matches. The team invites their opponents to pray before competitions and asks if there is anything specific they can pray about.
This mindset accompanied the team on its mission trip to Finland over the summer.
Following the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) World Championships hosted by Liberty University in 2024, Bowman mulled about how to bring the team to the next hosting country.
The team connected with missionaries already working in Finland through the LU Send program. They spent 10 days in Nokia and Tampere, Finland, engaging in ministry activities while attending the PDGA WorldChampionships.
Prior to the games, the team took part in a Vacation Bible School at a church camp in Finland, focusing on disc golf. They conducted lessons. played sports with the children and built a mini-disc golf course.
“Just be open and available,” Bowman said. “Don’t have a mindset that thinks you’re going to do one thing because that’s probably not going to happen.”
The team also volunteered for the World Championships, assisting with crowd control and other duties related to the event.
“Our faith goes with us everywhere, whether we’re playing, we’re working, we’re at church, we’re with our families,” Bowman said.
Bowman wants his athletes to recognize that missions can happen at home too and there is a need for service everywhere.
“I think seeing the faith element in whatever they’re doing, in a job, a career, a family,” Bowman said.
Bowman plans to bring the team to Estonia in 2029 after Liberty hosts the PDGA World Championships again in 2028.
“I want to have something small that we do that’s a team-bonded-mission-trip-focused trip,” Bowman said. “And then every three years, hopefully do something big so everybody that comes through the program gets to experience that.”
For Bowman, disc golf is more than a sport. It is another opportunity to serve, build relationships and share faith.
Shepard is a sports editor for The Liberty Champion.