In the mid 1970s a group of people from the UK were invited to attend a sports ministry conference in the USA. On their return they decided to set up a Christian ministry to the world of sport in the UK. In 1975, Christian Sportsmen's Outreach was launched under the leadership of Andrew Wingfield Digby.

Over the next five years attempts were made to identify Christians in the world of sport. Conferences were held at Bisham Abbey (1976) and Crystal Palace (1977). The first outreach sports dinners were held in London and the name "Christians in Sport" was adopted.

In 1980 Christians in Sport became a registered charity, and in 1983 held its first residential weekend conference. In 1984 a momentous step was taken when Andrew Wingfield Digby was appointed the first full-time employee. Previously Andrew had devoted a day a week to Christians in Sport with all other activities being undertaken by volunteers. In 1984 a Christians in Sport office was established in Oxford.

Christians in Sport's international ministry was established during the late 1980s, with a cricket tour to India in 1985 and Andrew's participation in the World Sports Ministry conference in Seoul, South Korea in 1988, where he was also a chaplain at the Olympics. In 1989 some thirty people from the UK attended the ARENA conference in Austria, out of which the European Christian Sports Union (ECSU) developed.

It could be said that Christians in Sport was effectively born in Oxford University, when Andrew was still a student. The Oxford University Sportsmen's Christian Fellowship was started in 1977. Helping sporty students stand for Christ in their teams was always an important part of the vision. In 1988 our first student conference was held and in 1991, Julia Sammons was appointed our first student worker.

1995 saw two more important departmental developments. The first Sports Plus camp was held at Cokethorpe School with about 30 teenagers. Nine years on and (English) Sports Plus has moved to Repton School and there are camps in Wales and Northern Ireland and, from 2005 in Scotland.

1995 also saw Bryan Mason appointed to lead church sports ministry. Helping churches to see the potential of sport for making an impact in their community had always been part of the vision of Christians in Sport. Bryan's appointment gave real momentum to that vision. Bryan is now in the process of handing on the baton to his replacement, Steve Miles, as he himself prepares for retirement.

The late 1990s saw the production of several resources for churches - videos, major event related booklets, and a sports New Testament, for example. This helped mobilise churches, hundreds of which engaged in outreach during the 1998 football World Cup.

Our interest in training and equipping people to be witnesses in the world of sport led to annual national conferences and student conferences. In 1999 this went a stage further with the establishment of the one-year Academy programme. This ran for three years in Cambridge before becoming the Sports Leadership and Inter-Cultural Studies course at All Nations Christian College, Hertfordshire.

In 2002 Andrew Wingfield Digby left the staff to become vicar of St Andrew's Church, Oxford. Graham Daniels, who had been on the staff since 1989, was appointed as General Director, with Keith Proctor, who had been appointed in 2000, continuing as Managing Director.