World Cup Ministries – Part II

Sports for Life

Posted July 2, 2010

JOHANNESBURG — Making it big — it’s what most young athletes dream about. They crave the fame, money and thrill of victory achieved by those at the highest level of competition, like the athletes competing in the FIFA World Cup.

But most athletes don’t make it big. And for those who do, fame and success are often fleeting.

“Yes, sports can transform your life, but what about life after sport?” said Sylvester Harris to eager young athletes at an Athletes in Action soccer clinic in Northcliff, on the outskirts of Johannesburg. “Most professional soccer players are finished at the age of 30. Remember, sports is temporary.”

Harris is a member of an AIA team from Liberia. His team leader, George Blackstock, emphasized the same point. “Though sports teaches many good life skills that are key to leading a successful life, many young men only see the glamour and money that sports can bring. They don’t realize that they must prepare themselves for life after sports.”

The AIA team from Liberia, along with several other teams from around the world, came to South Africa during the World Cup to teach what is eternal: the truth of Jesus Christ and what it means to walk with Him. Teams from Liberia, France, Germany, England, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa are conducting sports clinics, exhibition matches and other events as methods to draw crowds and share their faith.

“I am here to teach you soccer skills,” Harris told the group of young men gathered at Northcliff, “but to also teach you the life skills that can come from sports.”

According to Blackstock, those skills include selflessness, teamwork, discipline, trust and faith. “The life skills sports teaches are also key areas to living a successful Christian life,” he said.

Though language and culture can be obstacles in cross-cultural ministry like this, the Lord has used a common love for soccer to overcome these barriers.

Harris shared, “I had been praying about how I would be able to communicate the Gospel message to these young men, but once we got on the pitch (field) there was an immediate sense that I had an opportunity for these young men to see Christ in me.”

AIA encourages Christian athletes to take advantage of this “international language of sport” to share about Jesus Christ.

While attending an AIA conference several years ago, Andrew Eppes, a member of the U.S. team, realized sports can be a platform for sharing the Gospel.

“We all have influence, whether we know it or not,” he said. “It just depends on your perspective.”

At the time, Eppes was a Division III college athlete who didn’t think his influence stretched very far. He said once his perspective changed and became more biblical, he realized his status as a soccer player might cause teammates and classmates to give him a listening ear more readily than someone else.

“I began to take that platform more seriously,” he shared, “and really use that to give glory to God and give people a chance to hear His story.”

Sharing God’s story through sports is what AIA is all about.

Chris Dirks, director of AIA South Africa, said: “With the 2010 World Cup here in South Africa, the world and the church are now realizing that sports can be an effective way to reach people for Jesus Christ. … The opportunity is so great, to have people and athletes coming from all over the world who can be reached for God and in turn go back to their countries and be a witness.”