Sports Outreach in Rural Areas

In many rural areas in Africa, the growth rate of the AIDS epidemic is disturbing. There are a several funerals daily in every village as a result of this life-threatening disease. When visiting our local congregants, it is commonly said that one is lucky if they reach the age of fifty.

One day, a group of Coptic servants began to pray and seek answers from the Lord. “Our people are dying and it’s spreading like an uncontrollable forest fire that cannot be stopped,” they cried to God. They felt a sense of urgency to try to gather as many people as possible to educate them about HIV, how it spreads, and how to avoid contracting it. Eventually, the Lord began to reveal certain realities to them …

They observed that people in rural areas do not have much to do in their leisure time, nothing to meet their social needs and as a result find themselves faced with temptation. Many adults are unoccupied during times of unemployment, and numerous youth/kids are either not attending school or idle during school holidays.

By prayer, the thought of sports ministry came to mind. After exchanging ideas with the priest, they began to organize a large football tournament. Many youth in Africa enjoy playing football, but often find it hard to even afford a real ball. They commonly use balls of trash for footballs and play on rocky fields barefoot, which lead to much injury. So to respond to their needs, the servants organized a regional tournament over the span of five weeks which gathered nine teams, totaling about 200 youth from all the local villages, not to mention the crowds. The youth were ecstatic. They could not believe that it wouldn’t cost them anything to play in a real tournament, with real referees and real trophies and medals. The fans began to gather for games, with literally more than a thousand people coming for the final match. When the trophies and medals were given out, it felt like the Olympics as they kissed their medals and lifted them in the air. It was beautiful to see tears of joy in the eyes of grown men.

Before every football game, one servant would preach the gospel to the players for about 30 minutes. And contrary to what you would expect from a group of athletes who came to play, the players were very attentive and willing to listen. It was clearly God’s grace at work. The missionaries also gave awareness talks about HIV, its causes, and how dangerous and serious this issue is in Africa.

The lives of many were touched in various ways through this tournament. Their recreational and social needs were met, and through God’s word, many began to take their relationships with the Lord more seriously. Some joined the Coptic Church in that area and eventually became baptized. A few even joined Pre-Servants class and are training to be future servants.

Testimonial

“This tournament touched parts of my life that I didn’t expect it could. My friends and I have begun keeping each other accountable in our relationships with Jesus. We also spend much time practicing football for the next tournament. I felt so good when thousands came to cheer for us in the finals!”

Get Involved

The Lord has shown us that sports ministry can be a very effective tool to reach out to people in rural areas. The possibilities for this ministry are endless. If you feel gifted to do sports ministry to reach people for Christ, please contact us via the E-mail Contact Form.