Reaching goals: Nazarenes build bridges through football in Eurasia

Schaffhausen, Switzerland

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Around the world and across the Eurasia Region, Nazarene churches are reaching out to their communities through screenings of 2010 World Cup games and through GOL 2010 football (called soccer in some countries) camps.

United Kingdom
Cramlington Community Church of the Nazarene hosted a week-long GOL 2010 football camp, expecting 10 to 15 youth, but receiving a total of 40 participants ages eight to 16.

"There were some kids who came who've never been to church before and so that was one of the most positive things about the soccer camp," said Steve Chism, senior pastor, who led the camp with youth pastor Rob Fitzjohn.

Each night, the leadership team used the multi-colored evangelism footballs to explain the gospel by focusing on one color on the ball. They also showed a DVD highlighting professional soccer players who shared their testimonies of faith, and distributed leaflets containing a written version of the testimonies along with a schedule of World Cup games.

On Sunday following the camp, all the youth and their families were invited to a celebration, during which time the invitation was given to accept Christ into their lives.

"Most of them who have come to the soccer camp have all started coming back to (our regular) youth clubs and kids clubs," Chism said. "It was a good opportunity to evangelize in the community because in England football is the main sport. It was one of the best things we've done."

Albania
About 45 youth attended a GOL 2010 camp in Gorre, Albania, in May.

"We wanted to bring our relationships with teens to a new level, to a new dimension they didn't have before," said Ermal Gjermeni, youth leader.

The youth were divided into six teams and played against each other in a two-stage process similar to the World Cup playoffs. Matches were played in the afternoons, while the mornings were reserved for teaching time.

"Knowing that some of them were not part of our church meetings, we decided to go into the basics, explaining what is the gospel, who Jesus is, what He did for them, as clear and simple as we could," he said.

On the last day there was a summary time and a communion service. The youth were then invited to church and to a summer camp for teens July 5-10.

Lebanon
The Church of the Nazarene in Lebanon has been screening World Cup games each night in a playground where church volunteers sold popcorn, chips, and beverages. The average number of guests was around 35, with attendance spiking to 80 or 90 for especially popular matches.

"We are taking this opportunity to show players' testimonies with God and spiritual messages in the half-time," said church member Chris Khoury. "Moreover, we are distributing booklets about World Cup matches."

Before each game begins guests arrive to have their favorite team's flag painted on their faces and fellowship with the church members. During half-time, a spiritually-themed video, such as a Christian testimony of a professional football player, is shown.

"Our audience is mainly youth and kids who hang out on the streets," Khoury said. "They are of a different religion and not educated."

The church hopes that the screenings will bring new people into contact with the church, opening up future opportunities for sharing about Christ. They request prayer during the final screenings, as they are struggling with crowd control and sometimes lose their broadcast signal part-way through the games.
--Eurasia Region Communications

 

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