The Origins Of Basketball

James Naismith

The history of basketball has a very interesting connection with Christian missions that many don’t know about.

James Naismith, a young Christian attending Montreal’s Presbyterian Theological College, discovered that he could be more effective using sports rather than the pulpit. Having a desire to disciple young people, James sought a sport that could be used as a tool. Basketball became that tool. Who would have imagined using basketball as a way to help fulfill the Great Commission and make disciples of all nations?

Basketball was first cross-culturally spread around the world by YMCA missionaries in its early stages, but that has since dwindled. It’s now time to come back to the origins of basketball. As James Naismith would say, it’s time to “win men for the Master through the gym.”