back pages magazine - Summer 2015

Summer 2015

back pages THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF CHRISTIANS IN SPORT

YOUR STORIES Debbie Flood “What about those who do not get the medals? They are just as important to God as those who stand on the rostrum.”

FEATURES Rugby World Cup special Sports Plus 2015 Highlights Pray Play Say resources

1 Find your new prayer diary inside.

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WHAT’S INSIDE

IN THIS ISSUE

FEATURE ARTICLE We’re in this together 4 Ian Lancaster takes a trip down memory lane and reflects on his time as a young player trying to make it in the world of professional football at the age of 17. Fast forward 20 years and Lancs shares why he is thrilled to be seeing Christian Young Performance Athletes (YPAs) and their parents gathering across the UK. YOUR STORIES Debbie Flood: Rowing, Life is about more than medals Rob Sellar: University, Inviting the lads for dinner Garin Jenkins: Rugby World Cup, Behind the scenes Kitty Eleyae: Club La Santa, More than a holiday

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WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING Church spotlight: St Nicholas Church, Sevenoaks

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A snapshot of 2015 so far: Stories and stats

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New Wine: Seeing the lights go on

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UK sports ministries corner: Higher Sports

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Sports Plus 2015: Highlights from the summer

This issue is packed full of your stories. Amongst them you will meet Leander Club rower, Debbie Flood, university hockey player, Rob Sellar and long jumper Kitty Eleyae. At first glance, it’s hard to see anything defining that connects these three, they are different ages, competing at different levels in different sports.

Take a closer look however and you will quickly discover that there is something significant that unifies them, that bridges the gaps between their age, sport and ability.

Zoom out 10,000ft and you will start to glimpse the real story; that these three are a part of an emerging body of sportspeople, fused by a passion to glorify God as they compete and a desire to share the Christian message with their friends. They may be lone wolves Pray Play Say-ing in their own clubs, but this group of God’s people, from churches across the world, are on the same mission - to reach the world of sport for Christ.

Top Tips: 10 tips to help you pray more

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Flick to the middle of the magazine and out will fall the new termly prayer diary with a short prayer for each day inside. We are utterly dependent on God, who we know can do immeasurable things and we hope that this new prayer diary will help you to underpin in prayer all that Christians in Sport is and does.

PrayPlaySay.com: Video based bible studies

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Enjoy your read!

HELPFUL RESOURCES Church Vs Sport: Does it have to be this way?

Sports Plus Online: Youth video series

Rugby World Cup 2015: Resources for your church Let’s Go: Vision pack for your church Youth bible study: Why is prayer important?

Book review: Honest evangelism

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Elizabeth Hunt Communications Manager Christians in Sport

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WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER It was a cold Wednesday evening in February 1995. The venue was the mighty fortress of Brunton Park, the home of Carlisle United Football Club. The fixture was Carlisle Utd. Reserves v Lincoln City Reserves. It doesn’t get more glamorous and that fixture is etched in the memory of many! Well, perhaps only for two young lads trying to make it in the world of professional football at the age of 17.

I had been taken to church all my life, professed faith at the age of 10 and drifted all the way through my teens. From the age of 14 my Christian faith was an ‘add on’ at best, usually a hindrance and at worst a real point of contention with my parents and I. It stopped me doing what I loved to do best; play football!

My parents continued to wrestle with issues like football on Sunday, church attendance and the lifestyle I was getting dragged into. They stood by me, encouraging me to attend church, read my bible, get stuck into the youth group, all of which I sporadically did through respect and not desire.

Earlier in that season I had received a letter through the post from an organisation called ‘Christians in Sport’. It spoke about how excited they were to know that as a Christian I was involved as a young player at a professional club. It also listed the names of 16 other boys who were in a similar position to me, just starting out with a dream, and clinging to a Christian faith (some by their finger tips and some fully embracing it). I smiled and shrugged. I wasn’t really bothered, it wouldn’t affect me, a nice touch and nothing more - or so I thought!!

But on that list, there was a name ‘John Dilnot’, who played for Lincoln City. Back to Brunton Park on that cold February evening where even the Bovril and pies had the chills. I had finished my warm up and was trotting up the tunnel to the warmth of the dressing room. A clatter of studs behind me made me turn and I came face to face with a player in a Lincoln City tracksuit. He thrust out his hand to shake mine.

“Is it Ian?”, he asked, “Ian Lancaster?”. “Yup”, I 4

replied slightly bemused (this sort of thing was unheard of; I didn’t know another footballer outside a 5-mile radius of Carlisle!). “Great”, he said, “my name is John, John Dilnot, I saw your name on the letter I received from Christians in Sport. How are you? How things going?”. I could tell he was a good lad, confident and yet down to earth. He continued, “It would be great to pray, shall we do it now”. Nightmare!!

What was he thinking? I was a young lad, trying to hide any sniff of faith that I had in front of my teammates. I’d get battered if they found out I went to church...occasionally. Before I could say another word, with one hand on my shoulder and the other raised above his head, he belted out a loud prayer. I’ll never forget it

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or the looks of my teammates as they shuffled past us awkwardly in the tunnel.

Twenty years on and here I am, on the staff team of an organisation called ‘Christians in Sport’ and just back from Repton School in Derbyshire, where 22 young performance players and athletes (YPAs) and parents have gathered for the afternoon. Of course, because of my history, I’m passionate about this group of young people. I want to help them understand what I never did; that sport is an incredible gift from God and can be played as worship to Him if we see and cherish the gospel and let it transform us.

Gatherings of YPAs have happened across the UK over the last few years. We have tried to identify young people, contact parents and support each YPA according to their needs. The gathering at Repton School gave

us a great opportunity to speak with parents, wrestle with tough issues such as Sunday sport and consider what it looks like to be a Christian there in the intense, pressurised world of youth elite sport. Perhaps of greater significance, and in the way that John Dilnot did for me, we hope that the encouragement of YPAs and parents simply rubbing shoulders and sharing experiences, will have left a long lasting mark on them all that shouts out, “we’re in this together”.

Thanks John Dilnot - for that life-changing memory from 20 years ago!

Ian Lancaster UK Team Leader Christians in Sport

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YOUR STORY: DEBBIE FLOOD Former GB rower and double Olympic medallist, Debbie Flood, shares her story.

Do you ever wonder why your life has gone down a certain path and ask yourself what on earth am I doing here? In the aftermath of losing my Olympic trial in 2000 I was in that place.

Aged 18, I had a plan for my life; to row full time for two years, compete in Sydney at the Olympics, and then become a veterinary surgeon. However God had other plans. I had just lost my place in the team and my dreams and hopes had disappeared.

When I was young, I thought the fact that I grew up in a Christian family, went to church each week and had grandparents who were missionaries automatically made me a Christian and that meant I should “always try and do the right thing.” It wasn’t until I was 15 that I suddenly realised that being a Christian was not automatic and about what you “do” but that it was about having a personal relationship with Jesus. It was something I had to decide, a choice I had to make for myself and that this relationship with Jesus was a free gift that was there on offer for me to accept.

After giving my life to Jesus and becoming a Christian aged 15, I already knew that the talents I had been blessed with were leading me into sport somehow. When I finished school I was on a mission to go to the Olympics in any sport I could before carrying 6

“What about those who do not get the medals? They are just as important to God as those who stand on the rostrum.”

Debbie Flood

on with my working life. I committed to two years in a new place away from family and friends to row but then injury struck and I ended up losing my Olympic trial in 2000 which instantly became the lowest point in my life at that time. I questioned God and why he had put me there - I thought I had wasted two years of my life rowing. But then the tables turned, and although I did not compete at the Olympics that year, it ended up being one of the best memorable years in my international career. At that point when I looked back on my life and clearly saw the path God had brought me on, it reminded me that God really did have my life in His hands and I needed to trust in Him. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, but in all ways acknowledge Him and he will direct your paths”.

I have now spent half of my life as a full time athlete, training day in day out, in the rain, wind, snow, ice, hail and sunshine too. Pushing my

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body to its limits whilst trying not to tip over the edge. ‘Higher, Faster, Stronger’ becomes your existence in many ways to ”make the cut”.

That dream of Gold was a big driving force for me, but my main motivation was that God had given me the talents and abilities that I have and I wanted to use them and go on the journey that He had placed me on. My real identity is not in my successes, it is in my life with Christ. In rowing I wanted to glorify Him through my racing but also to honour Him with my actions, win or lose. I do sport for an “audience of one” and that’s Jesus.

In some ways, being an Olympic athlete is similar to being a Christian. You live with a hope for the future, the light when the day comes.

You put your faith and belief in something

that you cannot yet touch or see in its fullness until that final day. That whatever happens in the ups and downs along the way, although your belief at times may be strong or weak, you must keep faith that what you are doing in your life every day is for a reason. But yet knowing Jesus is more important than a gold medal. Gold medals will ultimately be forgotten and I won’t be taking them with me when I pass away. In the light of eternity, knowing Jesus surpasses everything else and is the most important choice you will ever make in your life. It was an honour and a privilege to be able to represent my country at the Olympics, but an even greater honour to be representing Christ in my life.

We’d love to hear your stories - whether you compete for your school team or are heading to Rio! Email info@christiansinsport.org.uk with your story.

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CHURCH SPOTLIGHT: ST NICHOLAS CHURCH, SEVENOAKS In January, Christians in Sport staff came to our church to lead a series of events, aimed at helping Christians involved in our local sports clubs to reach out with the gospel.

The weekend began on Friday night with an evangelistic sports quiz, followed by a ‘Clubhouse’ breakfast on Saturday to equip Christian sports players to share the good news with our sports friends, and ended with an evangelistic preach from Graham Daniels at various services on the Sunday.

Clubhouse was very helpful in equipping and the preaching was clear and refreshing but perhaps most encouraging of all was the Sports Quiz, which took place in our main church building and was attended by over 150 people. It was a varied and challenging sports quiz in two halves, with a clear gospel presentation in the middle. It was particularly exciting to be part of an event which not only attracted a number of sports players from outside the church, but clearly appealed equally to teenagers and adults alike. Some

came with those from their sports clubs and others entered the quiz as families. It is tricky to find events that appeal across the age spectrum, and to both sexes, but that is what sport does.

Simon Heather Youth Minister St Nicholas Church, Sevenoaks

‘The Sports Quiz was an excellent evening, mainly because Christians in Sport have worked hard in providing an excellent resource which is tried and tested. I would strongly encourage local churches to take advantage of this sort of opportunity to assist them in their gospel outreach.’

Rector Augus Maclean, St Nicholas Church, Sevenoaks

We’d love to hear your stories of how you are engaging and supporting your local sports communities. Email info@christiansinsport.org.uk with your story today.

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Church .Vs. Sport Does it have to be this way?

Start watching at prayplaysay.com/sabbath

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YOUR STORY: ROB SELLAR University of St Andrews Hockey player, Rob Sellar, shares his story.

This past year a load of the hockey boys were graduating, so I decided I would invite a group of the lads around to mine for dinner, where I would share my story of how I became to believe in Christ as my Saviour.

I created a Facebook group, openly stating my motives, highlighting that I didn’t want them to leave university without me plucking up the courage to tell them about Jesus before they graduated. This was done two weeks before the meal so I was able to respond to queries and bring it up and ask my teammates if they could make it.

On the night, 19 of the men’s hockey club came round for dinner, along with Dave and Jonny from the Christians in Sport staff team. Kirsty, a badminton player from my church, kindly helped with the cooking. Before eating the wonderful curry, I told the lads the plan for the night; that we would have dinner, I would then tell them my story, we would have dessert and then Jonny, Dave and I would try and answer any questions they had about anything of the Christian faith. I also added that we would be done by 10:30pm so that things weren’t overdone as such.

Praise be to God, telling my testimony was fine and it was followed by half an hour of deep and meaningful questions. I had some books of John’s gospel on the table for any

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who were interested and nine were taken.

Another teammate even posted a photo on his Instagram with the caption “Great dinner outdoors with the hockey boys having a chat about faith tonight”.

A few messages of appreciation and further reasonings for personal beliefs were received and friends of some of the boys that I bumped into in the following days commented that they heard that the ‘spread was good and it sounded very interesting’.

It was a very positive event; the combination of God’s faithfulness, support from Christians in Sport and church (St Andrews Free Church), and a sustained, invested friendship with the boys for three years. Hopefully one day some of those boys will come to know God’s grace.

Friends, don’t neglect the power of prayer and the importance of building relationships with your teammates. Be bold in using Jesus’ name and take the opportunity you have to share your story normally with your friends.

A video series exploring issues young sportspeople face in their sport.

‘Sports Plus Online has been so helpful to us as parents, as we help our children to think through how to play their sport as Christians.’ Start watching at youtube.com/ChristiansInSportUK .11

Serious sports action for the serious sports player #sportsplus2015 @minimikier96 What a week!

Great time coaching at @sportsplusCIS A pleasure and a privilege as always! Until next year.... #BeADiscipleMaker #GO

@TimChapman8 7th and final year as a young person.

What a week it’s been at @sportsplusCIS ca ca ca ca Cameroon!

@zoekiziltan When you wake up the day after @sportsplusCIS and all your Mum has to offer you for lunch is a ham sandwich #Brecon

Bookings for Sports Plus 2016 will open in January 2016 – watch this space!

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@Jonwillis1998 Boss week at Brecon 1! Now let’s go and make Disciples of all nations @Benjamincutting It’s been a quality week @sportsplusCIS Jersey. We played sports, shared Jesus and laughed, a lot!! #sportsplus2015 @ruby_sewell Best week ever at Brecon 1 @CIS_UK roll on next year as a trainee 1 @elenphant_ Best week I’ve had all year for sure, can’t wait to come back next year @sportsplusCIS @MatteusTunstall Boss week @sportsplusCIS pleasure to be part of the team #whodoyousayiam #goandmakedisciples

Watch all the videos from Sports Plus 2015 including highlights of each camp at youtube.com/ChristiansInSportUK 13

A SNAPSHOT OF THE WORK IN 2015 SO FAR PARENTS AND YOUNG SPORTSPEOPLE • 700 young people attended Sports Plus - our summer sports camps.

• 1000s of pupils took part in assemblies, lessons, sport and talks given at 35 schools.

• 5 new episodes of Sports Plus Online were released.

• Over 100 young Christian sportspeople attended 6 Sports Plus Xtra training events across the UK.

Prayer Point Pray for young Christian sportspeople returning to their clubs after Sports Plus, that they would boldly put into practice all that they learnt.

FUTURE LEADERS • 9 Academy students graduated from this year’s Academy programme.

• 6 Interns graduated from this year’s Internship programme.

• Church apprentices from churches across the UK took part in week-long sports mission training events.

Prayer Point Pray for the Academy and Interns as they move on to new universities, jobs, sports clubs and churches, that they would settle in well and be great witnesses for God.

THE LOCAL CHURCH • 4,000 people came to sports guest events such as sports quizzes where a Christians in Sport speaker shared the gospel message. 40% of all attendees were guests.

• 62 churches requested The Sports Quiz DVD to put on their own quiz night where they ran a sports quiz and showed a video with a Christian message.

• 50 delegates from dioceses around the UK gathered in June to launch a National Sports Ministry Network, hosted by the Archbishops’ Sports Ambassador, Bishop Tony Porter. The purpose of the network will be to involve parish churches with the world of sport and to share the good news of Jesus.

Prayer Point Pray for Bishop Tony Porter as he leads the new task team, helping to engage all Church of England churches with their local sport communities.

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ELITE SPORT • 25 elite track and field athletes and coaches attended Bible studies led by Verite Sport and Christians in Sport before the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games in July.

• Staff travelled to the Rowing World Cup III in Switzerland to meet with athletes and coaches in the GB and German teams.

• Over 200 elite athletes, coaches and parents of young performance athletes have been supported through bible studies, prayer and regular contact with the Christians in Sport Performance Team.

• Young Performance Athletes have gathered together to open God’s word in Belfast, Glasgow and Repton.

Prayer Point Pray for Christian athletes and coaches competing in the IAAF World Championships in China.

STUDENTS • Pray Play Say groups at 41 universities and colleges gathered each week.

• 1000s of students attended talks and sports events put on during week long missions led in partnership with UCCF at 4 top sports universities - University of Birmingham, Durham University, University of Bath and Northumbria University.

• 90 students attended the residential training event - Clubhouse Xtra.

• Over 40 guest events such as sports quizzes, dialogue dinners and sport tournaments were hosted by Pray Play Say groups for their sports friends.

Prayer Point Pray for Christian students starting university or college in September, that they would settle into a new church and sports club quickly and would stand firm in their beliefs with much temptation around them.

GLOBAL MISSION • Global sports leadership training was led by staff in countries including Moldova, Canary Islands, Spain, South Africa, Italy and the Middle East.

• Staff helped facilitate and deliver training and strategic planning at Global sports leadership conferences held in America and the Middle East.

• 140 people from 27 countries attended the European Christian Sports Union (ECSU) Gathering in Italy, a four day conference held for those involved in sports mission across Europe, where Christians in Sport helped to facilitate the event and train leaders.

Prayer Point Pray that God would protect those who attended the global sports leadership training schools as they start to implement all they learnt, especially in countries where Christians are persecuted for their faith.

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10 TOP TIPS TO HELP YOU PRAY MORE As sportspeople we have lots to pray about! We can thank God for the ability to play and the joy it gives, for boldness to act God’s way instead of the world’s way on the pitch and for the door to be opened to share the Christian message with our friends. Here are 10 tried and tested ways to remind you to pray.

1. Download Prayermate. Prayermate

6. Make a plan. One reason we don’t pray

is a free app which helps you keep track of everything you want to pray for. Download it and make a list of the sports friends you want to pray for.

is because we don’t plan to pray! Think about each day and plan when you’ll put time aside to pray (it might be different each day but work out a weekly plan).

2. Get yourself a prayer card. Write the

7. Group prayer. If you meet as a group it is

names of three sports friends you are praying for on the back of a prayer card (you can get one from info@christiansinsport.org.uk for free or do a DIY job and just write them on a small piece of card) and pop it in your wallet/purse.

When you see it, remember to pray for them.

good to have a club/team focus each session, in which you all spend time praying for one person’s club in the group. That person can explain a bit about the club they play in, what the atmosphere is like, what the players and manager/coach is like, what temptations there are etc, and any specific requests that they have.

3. Pick up a stone. On one side put the names of your sports friends. Put the stone on your pillow and when you move it each night and put it back each morning, pray for the people on the stone!

4. Write a prayer journal. Keep a journal and write down who you are praying for and what your prayers are. It can be an amazing encouragement to look back and see how God has been at work and also a challenge to keep investing in and praying for people, and not to give up on them.

8. Pray as you go. Whenever someone rings you up or texts you, why not pray for them?

Once you’ve finished the call or replied to the text thank God that He made them and loves them.

9. Fast from something you like. Have you thought about fasting and using that time to pray for your friends? It might not be food if you are training or competing but maybe Facebook or your favourite TV series.

5. Change your background. Change your

10. Tie some string. Tie a piece of string on

phone’s background to a picture of your sports friends. When you see it pray for them.

your sports bag or water bottle. Every time you see it pray for one of your sports friends.

For more resources to help you pray visit christiansinsport.org.uk/resources 16

7 PPS.com 27th July - Kitty quote DONE

Video-based Bible studies for sportspeople

Start watching at prayplaysay.com 17

BEHIND THE SCENES: GARIN JENKINS back pages went behind the scenes on set of ‘The Two Sides of Sport’ (a new short film created for churches to use during the Rugby World Cup 2015) and caught up with Wales’ most capped hooker, Garin Jenkins.

Garin, what did it feel like to put on the Welsh shirt for the first time?

I always remember, I was digging a trench in Pontypridd Park when I had the call to say I’d been selected for Wales. I can tell you, I stepped out that trench pretty quick!

It was a brilliant occasion; you just feel ‘This is it. I’ve been picked for my country and this is all I’ve dreamt about’. In Wales, rugby is so big that when you put on that red shirt you are representing your family, your village and your country. And you make a difference to how people go to work on a Monday morning. And that expectation, that responsibility, was always very much respected by myself.

What is it about rugby that you love so much?

I just love the comradery that rugby brings.

Rugby union is a game that is for all sizes, shapes, academic abilities. And you know, being part of a rugby team, ultimately we all join teams, you feel loved, you feel wanted.

There’s such a special bond in being part of a rugby team at international level, at schoolboy level, youth level, club level.

There’s a special togetherness about the game of rugby union. And I just love that.

Some coaches worry that when a player becomes a Christian that they will turn ‘soft’. How would you respond to that opinion?

People say to me if you were a fully committed Christian when you were playing you wouldn’t have had that hard edge. And I 18

always say I would have been a better player because I would have had more control. I wouldn’t have been soft. When we look at the great players today who are followers of Jesus Christ I don’t see many of them as softies. They play hard, they play fair. I think some people have a misconception of Christians. We are loving, but I don’t think we serve a God who wants us to just roll over in whatever field He’s chosen for us to be in. I think people have the misconception that God is this fluffy woolly character that we pull out of a lamp like a genie. I really think that people need to maybe explore a little bit more really and learn a little more about the facts that are sometimes, well, a bit mythical.

You’ve played in three World Cups, won both league and cup honours with your club, not to mention scoring a try in Swansea’s famous 21-6 rout of Australia in 1992. Did the success you earned on the rugby pitch leave you feeling fully satisfied?

No, sport can’t fulfil you in every way. I’ve been very blessed, I’ve been to the top of Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, and I tell you what the views are not great. And there’s nothing at the top of the mountain. And it’s like that in sports.

If sport was everything, why have we seen great tennis players end up having nervous breakdowns, we’ve seen cricket players struggling. So the question I ask is ‘Why is that, if sport is so fulfilling?’ Something else must be missing. You can win ten European cups and think, ‘well what’s next?’ You’re

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always on to the next thing. It’s great to have ambition, it’s great to have dreams and you should continue with those, but it’s also great to realise that if those outcomes don’t turn out the way you planned, that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. It’s such a liberating fact. It’s not a fact where you become ambitionless, it’s a fact that says God is head of everything and He has a purpose for me. And all I have to do is play my part and be the best that I can be. Get the right satellite dish up, tune into God and just follow his instruction.

Watch the full interview with Garin Jenkins and the 10 minute ‘The Two Sides of Sport’ film at youtube.com/ChristiansInSportUK 19

TIME IS TRULY TICKING UNTIL RUGBY WORLD CUP 2015 KICKS OFF! Momentum is building and the clock is well and truly ticking as we reach 20 days until the world’s third largest tournament hits UK shores.

Momentum is rapidly growing and key venue cities and churches are well under way preparing to make the most of this unique event, with the arrival of over 500k visitors imminent.

The Game Of Life Resource, and the Engage Media Hub, having launched in June and July respectively have been produced in partnership with Christian Vision for Men, Christians in Sport, HOPE and Scripture Union all under the banner of Engage 2015.

With the launch of both our key resources, The Game Of Life, and the Engage Media Hub now complete, the Engage team has been touring the UK in over 30 locations, equipping and encouraging church leaders in engaging with communities during and beyond Rugby World Cup 2015. This tour includes events held from Exeter to Newcastle, along with presence

at Momentum, New Wine and Keswick Convention along with many of the other major festivals this summer.

The response to the resources so far has been strong, with leaders from churches and communities across the UK sharing stories of how they plan to use the Rugby World Cup to engage with people. The summer festivals have been witness to many stories. One church leader told us ‘‘New partnerships with our local rugby club and the 12 churches within the area has led to us planning to screen many of the key games, with ‘The Game Of Life’ DVD and many books having been purchased to give to anyone interested in Jesus”.

David Stretton-Downes Head of Communications Engage 2015

Subscribe online to receive our weekly email update, Engage Weekly and if you really want to keep on the pulse of the campaign, follow us on Twitter at @Engage2015! We look forward to sharing more amazing stories with you soon! For further details of the campaign, please email info@engage2015.org.uk 20

christiansinsport.org.uk

The ultimate resource for churches to engage with the Rugby World Cup 2015!

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LIGHTS SWITCH ON AMONGST CHURCH LEADERS AT NEW WINE 2015 This summer at New Wine, Christians in Sport joined forces with The New Wine Late Night Live (NWLNL) team to run ‘The Big Quiz’, and a ‘big’ quiz it was! Our best guestimate is between 700-800 punters turned up for the quiz, which featured three sports rounds, and they loved it. 100+ teams could have thrown the best, but the NWLNL team handled it all with smooth precision! By half time we’d nearly hit fever pitch and it just got better. Throw in the chicken dance, dancing umbrellas, sublime banter and a whole load of laughs and you have a recipe for a top night. Not only did a bunch of people have a great night, but a whole new audience of churches around the UK had the opportunity to experience the buzz and to see the quality of a resource that is serving churches around the UK to build bridges, and share the greatest news in the world, with people who haven’t as yet encountered the life changing power of the gospel.

Stage two of our 48 hours at New Wine was the seminar: ‘Sport: a massive unreached subculture’. We arrived 20 minutes early to set up to find the room half full. We thought the seminar before had over-run only to discover the people were there waiting for us! And this was supposedly the grave-yard slot! The small amphitheatre was packed with around 70 people passionate about sport and faith young people, adults, parents, church leaders and even bishops all eager to engage.

For many in the room it was the first time they had ever been told the two worlds of sport and faith are not opposed, but aligned. We shared about the unique opportunity the mission field of sport provides to share the greatest news in the world. We urged them to see the need for missionaries, people who know the culture and who can speak the language, to be sent out from local churches to reach this world for Christ. When people go to China or to serve the poor we stick a pin on a map, attach a ribbon 22

and get them up for prayer, so why when so many go to the world of sport do we frown and suggest they may like to get serious about their faith? Surely God knew that ‘for such a time as this’ he would need people who can be salt and light to the lost and broken world of sport? So imagine what God might just do with an army of passionate missionaries sent out by their church! Imagine what gifts might be released!

Imagine what conversations might take place!

Imagine what eternities might be transformed!

When you have been around the world of Christians in Sport for a number of years with people who ‘get it’, you forget what it was like to ‘get it’ or rather for it to ‘get you’, but it was so exciting to see the light going on in people’s heads and hearts around the room.

Linvoy Primus shared some of his story - a life transformed by someone who was willing to Pray Play Say and whom God then used as he did the same. A life that has helped the local church to build bridges and bring hope to people in their community through sport.

So many encouraging conversations - not so much about if, but about how! This may have been the grave-yard slot, but we definitely saw people come to life. The baton has been passed on again - the local church is the hope of the world. Our final challenge was from the great prophet Nike… JUST DO IT! Steve Miles Team Leader The Source, Brackley

THE RUGBY QUIZ

FEATURING Six-round rugby quiz Rugby-themed short gospel film Interviews with three Christian rugby players How-to guides to run your event

Request The Rugby Quiz package for your church at christiansinsport.org.uk/therugbyquiz 23

MORE THAN A HOLIDAY CLUB LA SANTA 2015 In June, a group of 40 Christians in sport and their sports friends jumped on a plane to Club La Santa in Lanzarote, the world’s no.1 sports holiday resort. Each day they took time to explore God’s word together and took full advantage of the over 30 different sports on offer. Long jumper Kitty Eleyae shares her story.

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christiansinsport.org.uk

There was so much hype around the Christians in Sport trip to Lanzarote. Everyone was telling me how great it was going to be and how I was going to have an absolutely amazing time. If I’m to be 100% honest, not only was the hype warranted, it was understated! To say that I had a fantastic time doesn’t even cut it. It was so lovely getting to know other Christian sportspeople better and of course it was an absolute privilege for me to share the word of God with one of my best friends Amelia.

Amelia and I were very close before the trip to Lanzarote, but I really do think that Lanzarote brought us even closer together. It was such a good opportunity for me to share the most important part of my life with one of my closest friends. We have often talked about my faith, and she has been to church with me a few times, but it was nice to talk about it in a different environment and in a more structured way. In a way that didn’t allow certain questions or topics to be swept under the carpet! It was also so good for me in my faith. It made me feel more confident in sharing my faith and assertive in what it is that I believe.

To be able to share my faith as well as attempting so many different sporting activities was just such a blessing. The facilities at Club La Santa are phenomenal. It was so enjoyable to try various sports that weren’t athletics. It was also a somewhat humbling experience. It would appear that I am not a very strong cyclist! I assumed that I would be relatively good at it, but I was more than out of breath after a mere ten minute cycle to the supermarket in town! I had my first ever tennis lesson which was a lot of fun.

It turns out that I have no control over my power and no sense of direction! One thing that I was particularly good at was utilising the spa, 35 Euros for the week…BARGAIN! Overall the trip was just fantastic. Hopefully I’ll be able to bring more friends with me next year.

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UK SPORTS MINISTRIES CORNER There are over 30 sports ministries in the UK, each doing their bit to make Christ known in and through sport. In the first of a series of features in which we’ll be taking a look at other sports ministries operating across the UK and overseas, here’s all you need to know about Higher Sports.

Our mission Our mission is to see local churches change lives through sports.

What we do Higher Sports is a practical resource to equip any church in any country make a difference in its community with the life changing message of Jesus. The coaching module and the teaching packages are designed in such a way as to enable church personnel to run them without any external help.

Higher Sports is a 6-8 week course for churches and schools involving sports coaching and games together with Christian based teaching. The material for each of these three resources (rugby, football and games) allows for an hour of coaching followed by a ‘team talk’. The drills and coaching skills are clearly set out in the Higher Sports manuals with accompanying diagrams, teaching points and progressions. The implementation of these do not require the Coach to be qualified in the sport but rather to have an enthusiasm and enjoyment for working with young people in the sporting arena.

The resource bag contains all that is necessary to action the coaching and the teaching sessions and allows for Higher Sports to be presented in many forms: • As a course lasting several weeks culminating in an Awards Ceremony with a guest speaker from the sporting world • As a sports clinic week • Part of a summer camp programme • As the basis of Church’s Holiday Week programme • Integral part of a school’s Physical Education programme with provision to include delivery of key stage 2 values within the classroom environment • Inclusion in a school’s Religious Education programme with extended studies of the ‘team talk’ material In 2015 Higher Sports became part of the Scripture Union network and details of both sports ministries can be found on both their web sites: www.highersports.org www.scripureunion.org.uk/sports

‘Higher Games has been very successfully run in our community for the last two years with both schools and churches involved. The resource also mobilised many church members and friends to play active parts in the organisation and practical running of the event. It became very much ‘home grown’.’ King’s Church, Boston Spa 26

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event for sportspeople. Christians in Sport staff are available to run your event and give a short talk or you could go solo and run it yourself using The Sport Quiz DVD pack available at christiansinsport.org.uk/thesportsquiz.

Order the Let’s Go church pack and share the vision of Christians in Sport with your church. christiansinsport.org.uk/letsgo 27

YOUTH BIBLE STUDY WHY IS PRAYER SO IMPORTANT? AIM OF STUDY 1. 1.

Aim of study • To understand the importance of prayer when trying to represent Jesus to our friends.

• To help us commit to praying for our friends who are involved in sport.

2. GET READY Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 6:6 (‘…and pray to your Father, who is unseen’) gives us a backdrop to understanding the heart of what prayer is, and it seems that it’s no more complicated than this: PRAYER IS TALKING TO GOD. Prayer can sometimes seem boring, predictable and not much fun. But as the Pray Play Say model shows, it is hugely important. So why should we pray?

3. GET SET Read Colossians 4:2-4.

• How seriously do you think Paul takes prayer?

• What word at the beginning of verse 2 does Paul use in advising how these Christians should pray?

• What should this look like for you?

• What should we pray for here alongside the Colossian Christians (verse 3)?

• What is God’s role in prayer from this verse?

Do you see your prayers as this important?

Paul says we must start with prayer when trying to represent Jesus amongst others.

We must start by asking God to do his work before we can even begin to think about doing ours.

• From verse 3, how much do we know about Paul’s dedication to making the good news of Jesus known?

Paul is not only interested in proclaiming the good news of Jesus, but he wants to proclaim it well. It means everything to Paul – even his life, as we know that he is in prison (chains) when writing this letter because of what he believes in.

4. GO, GO, GO Pray for three friends who you are playing sport with. Write a prayer asking God for him to play his part and to help you to play your part.

• In real life what does this look like for you?

This study was taken from Pray Play Say The Youth Way Part 1.

Download the full series at christiansinsport.org.uk/resources 28

christiansinsport.org.uk

BOOK REVIEW:

HONEST EVANGELISM

BY RICO TICE Review by Graham Daniels, General Director, Christians in Sport Mentors are priceless. One of my seminal mentors, Mark Ashton, when vicar of St Andrew the Great in Cambridge, once preached a series of three sermons on Matthew 9-10, unpacking the mission of Christ and its amazing beauty and cost. I have cloned it and used it scores of times to encourage friends, fellow sportspeople and churches to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Now I’ve found the book to give to those people that captures the heart of Jesus’ words in Matthew 9-10. In ‘Honest Evangelism’, Rico Tice, with Carl Laferton, takes us to the heart of the issues raised in these great chapters.

Tice begins and ends his book (Chapters 1 and 8) at the heart of the issue; the undeniable acknowledgement that evangelism brings ‘hostility’ but that by crossing this ‘pain line’, the door can be opened to revealing and satisfying the ‘hunger’ in another’s heart.

Chapters 2-4 help us to understand and to feel (that thing so easy to acknowledge for us Celts, but sometimes so hard to admit for other nations) why we shirk away from sharing this Good News. How quickly we forget God’s glory, the joy of Heaven and the terror of Hell. How hard it is to see our idolatry for what it really is, the replacement of Christ with an alternative

vision for our safety and value in life. Finally, we get a feel of why God’s sovereignty, grace and power are a reminder that it is eminently possible for any of us, however weak we are, to pass on the Good News. What a fabulous analysis of ourselves and our church culture but a generous critique that makes the reader look in the mirror and determine to change, rather than out of the window to condemn another.

In the second half of the book, beginning at chapter 5 and culminating in the excellent unpacking on the great king and his compassion in chapter 10, Tice helps us to see what tools we need to be able to handle a renewed motivation to share the Gospel. The three words we need to base our content on if we are to get to the heart of the message are ‘identity, mission and call’ and the way to end up in conversations explaining these ideas about Jesus is to be as normal as possible!

Be friendly, ask questions, be yourself (here’s hoping you know how to be friendly!). In other words, ‘go’ and don’t wait for people to ‘come’ to your church event. Those days are fast disappearing and if you won’t ‘go’, who will?

Honest Evangelism is a fabulous book. It speaks to the head and the heart, it motivates the will to get to work in passing on the Good News through normal, everyday relationships with your team mates, friends and family. Get hold of it, read it and be prepared to cross the ‘pain line’. It’ll be worth it!

Honest Evangelism by Rico Tice is available to purchase for £7.99 from thegoodbook.co.uk 29

Pauline, Parent ‘After Sports Plus I recall my son telling me that the two parts of his life had come together and made sense.

He knew now that he could play sport as a Christian.

He was challenged by each Sports Plus camp and grew in his faith every year.’

PARENTS AND YOUNG SPORTSPEOPLE

CHANGING LIVES

In the minds of many parents and young people, sport and faith just don’t mix. Each year, through the work of Christians in Sport, thousands just like Pauline’s son, take the opportunity to explore a personal faith in Jesus Christ and what it looks like to be a Christian sports player.

With your help, we’d love to see: • More young people attending Sports Plus, our multi-sport summer camps for 11-17 year olds.

• Students, particularly those at the top 50 ranked BUCS universities and colleges, being better supported through weekly groups, leadership training and partnerships with churches.

• New interactive media and training opportunities being made available to help young sportspeople throughout these formative years.

How can you help with this vital work?

The work of Christians in Sport is entirely dependent, under God, on the financial support of people like you. If you feel you can help, simply cut out and return this form to the Christians in Sport office in the freepost envelope provided. You can also give online at christiansinsport.org.uk/donate.

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christiansinsport.org.uk

I’D LIKE TO SUPPORT CHRISTIANS IN SPORT! My details Title________Fullname_______________________________________ Address____________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Phone_________________________Email________________________ My Gift (Please circle your answers) Please accept my cheque enclosed for £10 / £25 / £50 / £______ OR I’d like to start giving £10 / £25 / £50 / £______ I’d like to give the above amount Monthly / Quarterly / Annually Please debit the following account: Account name _______________________________________________ Account number _____________________________________________ Sort code ____________________ Commencing DAY ______ MONTH ______YEAR ______ Name of bank _______________________________________________ Address of bank _____________________________________________ My gift aid declaration By gift aiding your donation, it adds 25% to your donation at no extra cost to you, the donor. If you’d like to Gift Aid it, please read the declaration below, then sign and date.

I would like Christians in Sport (registered charity no. 1086570) to reclaim on my donations. This declaration covers all donations I make in the future and those in the last four years. I am a taxpayer and will advise Christians in Sport if my circumstances change.

Please treat all qualifying gifts of money made as gift aidable donations.

Signature_______________________________Date____________ (Bank use only: Pay to ‘Christians in Sport’ Account Number: 44650000. Sort code: 515000 National Westminster Bank.)

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About Christians in Sport Our mission is to reach the world of sport for Christ.

Formed in 1980, Christians in Sport has more than 35 years of experience supporting Christians in the world of sport and helping sportspeople explore the Christian message. For more information on who we are and how we can help you, please get in touch using the details below.

@CIS_UK

Christians in Sport

Christians_in_Sport

ChristiansinSportUK

01869 255 630 info@christiansinsport.org.uk christiansinsport.org.uk Frampton House, Unit D1, Telford Road Industrial Estate, Bicester, OX26 4LD Registered Charity number for England and Wales 1086570 Registered Charity number for Scotland SC045299 Company number 4146081