PRAYER DIARY July September 2017
WELCOME to the prayer diary Reaching the world of sport for Christ. Wow! Too big an ask? Let’s start small: what is my ‘world‘? Is it family, friends, my sport? And what is my part in it? The only thing that sticks in my memory from religious studies classes some 30 years ago is an illustration regarding a jigsaw puzzle. The world is a big complicated picture but so long as we focus on how we play our part in it - ‘our piece in the puzzle’- then the bigger picture will take care of itself. Hoorah! Thankfully the Bible gives us shape to this theory as it teaches us that we are all part of the body of Christ and you and I each have our part to play. Thank you for identifying prayer as a vital part of supporting this work. Prayer is the lifeblood of all we do. Without it, what we do is just stuff. Busy stuff. Colossians 4 v 2 instructs us to “devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful”. What a challenge this is: to devote our ‘worlds’ to prayer, looking out to see God at work and being grateful as He listens to us. Together the impact on the bigger picture will be immeasurable. Reaching the world of sport for Christ? Game on! Thank you and be encouraged. Jill Proctor, Development Team Leader Our mission To reach the world of sport for Christ. Our visions Christians everywhere living out their faith in sports clubs and teams. Churches everywhere engaging with their local sports communities. Sportspeople everywhere having the opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus.
CONTENTS 4
Global Mission
6
Sports Plus
8
Performance Sport
10
Churches
12
“The prayer diary works!”
14
Game Plan 4
16
Students
18
Youth
19
Pray for your sports friends
20
Pray for sport as a church
3
GLOBAL MISSION
2 - 15 Jul
July sees the start of the second European Sports Mission (ESM), a month-long summer school for young leaders across Europe. This will train them in skills and values of sports mission along with many different strategies for implementing it, culminating in a 10-day mission across Europe. Sun 2nd Impact. Thank God for the impact the ESM had on the 24 young leaders last year. Some have started sports mission in their country, others have sought training in different strategies and for others, the in-depth training has helped cement their faith. Mon 3rd Friendships. Today the 2017 delegates arrive in Italy for the start of the ESM. Throughout the two teaching weeks, various teachers from across Europe will come out to teach, making it a truly pan-European experience. Pray for friendships to form quickly across the whole group. Tue 4th Training. ReadySetGO sports mission training starts today. The group will have theory and practical sessions looking at the heart values behind sports mission with tools like Bible handling and explaining the gospel. They will also learn different strategies of sports mission of which camps like Sports Plus is one. Please pray for receptive hearts. Wed 5th Cost. The training location is a site where hundreds of Christians were killed for their faith in 1655. As these young leaders are trained, pray for those currently sharing Christ in countries that we work with where it could cost them their lives. Thu 6th Strategies. The practical training in these weeks includes strategies to reach sportspeople - such as sport camps- as well as strategies using sport to reach people in the community - such as Festivals, KidsGames and through Health and Fitness. Pray eyes would be opened to new opportunities for delegates in their context. Fri 7th Around the world. Whilst this leadership school is going on, there are similar ones taking place around the world; such as in Eurasia and in South Africa. Give thanks for the chance to train and invest in these leaders and pray it would result in more people hearing and coming to Christ. 4
Sat 8th Language. We have a number of internationals for whom English is their second language. It is a packed two weeks of training so pray for their mental strength as they translate, process and respond to everything going on. Pray for patience and kindness from the UK team to ensure they include and support their new friends. Sun 9th Leadership. Pray for the leadership training being taught in the evenings. This includes training in conflict resolution, working with different personalities, how to build a strong team and much more. Pray this would help cement relationships as well as providing useful lessons to take home. Mon 10th Returning delegates. Today sees delegates, who are returning for a second year, join the team ahead of going on mission with them. Pray for quick integration and for them as they receive deeper training this week. Tue 11th Sports camps. Two of the missions are sports camps. One is supporting the team in Romania who, praise God, due to high demand are now running a second camp. The other is the first sports camp in Serbia. Thank God that this was set up by a 2016 graduate. Wed 12th Partnership. After the 2016 ESM, a delegate from Portugal went to visit his new Serbian friend to help him run community KidsGames for the first time. Praise God that they would not have met except for the ESM and their friendship introduced the Serbian team to a new strategy. Thurs 13th Preparations. The team are now preparing hard for serving in one of the missions teams. Pray for them as they learn how to understand the culture of where they are going and how to relate and share the gospel in that particular environment. Fri 14th Final recap. Tonight is the final recap of all they have learnt plus planning and a time of extended prayer and reflection for the team before they travel. Pray that the Lord uses this time mightily. Sat 15th Travel. Today the group will be split into teams and head off on their 10-day mission. Pray for safe travel, for humility as they serve in a country where they don’t speak the language, for quick cultural adaption and an amazing experience seeing God work across Europe. 5
SPORTS PLUS
16 - 29 Jul
Over the summer more than 650 young people will enjoy some top-quality coaching and hear the good news about Jesus at our Sports Plus camps. Seven camps take place at five different venues in what is a major highlight of our year. This year’s talks and Bible studies will look at Matthew’s gospel with the theme ‘Make way for the King’. Sun 16th Perth Young People. Give thanks for Perth Sports Plus which finished on Friday. Pray that the 70+ young people who attended would continue to think through all they heard from the book of Matthew and put into practice all they learnt as they head back to their sports teams. Mon 17th Perth Leaders. Pray for the 50 Team Leaders, Coaches and Support Staff who gave up a week of their time to serve at Perth Sports Plus. Pray that they would have been encouraged as they served the young people and the gospel. Pray that they would return to their clubs and teams seeking to share Jesus with their teammates. Tue 18th Bursary Fund. The Sports Plus Bursary Fund has enabled over 150 young people to attend this summer who would otherwise be unable to. Thank God for all those who have donated to the fund and enabled these young people to attend. Wed 19th Young People. Pray for the 650+ young people who will attend Sports Plus. Pray that those who are Christians would be strengthened by the gospel, in their faith and leave better equipped to represent Jesus in their sport. Pray that those who don’t yet trust in Jesus hear the good news and trust in it for the forgiveness of their sins. Thu 20th Teaching. Pray for all those who will teach the Bible at Sports Plus. Pray that they would be faithful to God’s word in preparation and clear and relevant in the delivery of talks, Bible studies and water break talks. Fri 21st Support Staff. There will be over 130 Support Staff, including Medical Teams, Tech Teams and Childcare Teams, who will serve at Sports Plus this summer. Thank God for their servant hearts and all they do behind the scenes to enable Sports Plus to run smoothly. 6
Sat 22nd Team Leaders. Give thanks for all the Team Leaders who give their time to serve at Sports Plus. Pray for those who will be leading Bible studies that they will prepare well, enjoy their time in God’s word and deliver engaging studies for the young people. Sun 23rd Jersey Leaders. Pray for leaders arriving at Jersey Sports Plus today. Pray that the leaders’ training would equip them for their roles and they would be servant hearted as they serve the young people and the gospel this week. Mon 24th Jersey Young People. Pray for young people arriving at Jersey Sports Plus today. Pray especially for those attending for the first time off the back of the monthly Sports Plus Xtra gatherings and the One Day Sports Plus in May. Tue 25th Belfast 2, Brecon 2 & Repton. Pray for the final preparations ahead of Belfast 2, Brecon 2 and Repton Sports Plus over the next couple of weeks. Pray for Team Leaders and Coaches as they prepare their studies and water breaks, for the final logistics and for the young people as they get ready to come. Wed 26th Coaches. Thank God for the Coaches at Sports Plus. Pray that they will build good relationships with the young people they are coaching, deliver sessions which will enable the young people to develop in their sport and may be good witnesses for the Lord Jesus during their coaching sessions. Thu 27th Main meetings. Pray for the main meetings at Sports Plus when the whole camp comes together. Pray that the young people would engage in all aspects of the main meeting and that the teaching in Matthew would be faithful and relevant. Fri 28th Trainees. Thank God for the opportunity we have to invest in the lives of 100 Trainees at Sports Plus this summer. Pray that the training and experience they receive will equip them for future roles within Sports Plus, university and also their local church. Sat 29th Brecon 1 and Belfast 1 Leaders. Pray for leaders as they arrive for the training weekend at Brecon 1 and Belfast 1. Pray that the training over the next two days will equip them for their specific role and that they would be servant hearted this week as they serve the young people and the gospel. 7
PERFORMANCE SPORT
30 Jul - 13 Aug
Heavy training and competition schedules take elite athletes and coaches away from home for long periods of time, meaning regular church life is tough to maintain. Please join us in praying for the world of performance sport and all those within it. Sun 30th Formula 1. As the Hungarian Grand Prix takes place today, pray for the world of F1. We have been passionately praying over the last year for God to raise up Christians in F1. Praise God for the Christians we have identified and for an opportunity to engage and support them. Mon 31st God’s Word. Thank God for elite athletes and coaches who are exploring the Bible with Christians in their squads, Christians in Sport staff workers and church leaders. Pray that God would open their eyes to the majesty of the gospel. Tue 1st Aug Pro footballers. Pray for our staff members Linvoy Primus, Russell Bowers, Junior McDougald and Graham Daniels as they mentor pro footballers. May the players know their worth is in being God’s children not in their performance. Wed 2nd World Para Athletics Championships, London 2017. Thank God for the chance staff member, Debbie Flood, had to serve on the chaplaincy team at July’s championships. Pray God would raise up more Christians in Paralympic sports. Thu 3rd Young Performance Athletes (YPAs). Thank God for the opportunities parents of YPAs have had to meet each other recently at their children’s competitions. If we know YPAs will be competing at the same events, we let the parents know and it’s been a joy to hear of them sharing their experiences. Fri 4th Rowing. Thank God for the Christian presence growing across elite rowing squads. We pray that those that know Christ would continue to walk closely with Him and draw others towards Him. Sat 5th Golf. Pray for Ken Revie and Vincent Brown, both of LOGOS Golf Ministries, who serve on the European Tour and Tartan Tour respectively. Pray that God would nurture a growing Christian community where believers can be encouraged. 8
Please join us in praying for the IAAF World Championships in London. (4th - 13th August), where world-class athletes from across the globe will be competing. Sun 6th Chaplaincy. Pray for Linvoy Primus serving on the chaplaincy team. Thank God for the team of chaplains which Linvoy will be a part of and pray that as a team they would be able to display God’s endless love and grace to all those they meet. Mon 7th Success. For athletes who experience success at the championships, pray that the Lord would help them deal with the attention that follows. For those who wake up the next morning feeling flat because their success did not satisfy, may the Lord reveal Himself to them. For those who already know the Lord, may He protect them from pride. Tue 8th Disappointment. For athletes who experience disappointment at the championships, ask God to help them deal with any negative attention that comes with failure. For those who are crushed because sport is their identity, may the Lord reveal Himself to them. For those who already know the Lord, may He remind them who they are. Wed 9th Retired athletes. For recently retired athletes watching from home, ask that the many who know Christ would be aware of His ‘everlasting arms’ upholding them. For those who don’t know Christ, pray that as their identity as an athlete is stripped away, it would lead them to find their true identity in our loving Lord. Thu 10th Coaches. For Christian coaches and staff, who hold positions of authority, ask that they would lead with a servant heart and for God to give them immeasurable wisdom and strength to deal with any situation that comes their way. Fri 11th Christian community. For the growing Christian community within elite athletics. Thank God for the many Christians who are competing at the championships. Pray that this growing community of believers would be an encouragement to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. Sat 12th Churches. Thank God for the church families of athletes who go out of their way to support athletes in their congregations when they are away competing. Pray that athletes would feel well supported and cared for by their church families. 9
CHURCHES
13 - 26 Aug
The local church is vital to our mission – it’s the primary community through which sportspeople come to know Jesus and grow in Him, and from which they are sent out to make disciples in the world of sport. Please join us in giving thanks for the hundreds of churches we partner with, committing them and their leaders to God. This fortnight’s prayers are written by just a few of these churches, giving us specific ways we can be praying for their outreach to local sports clubs and teams. Sun 13th Glenwood Church, Cardiff. “Pray for our sportspeople – for boldness to speak to non-believers in their clubs and teams, and invite them to church events. Pray especially for those who attended sports evangelism training in April to utilise what they learnt from the Bible.” Mon 14th St Andrew the Great, Cambridge. “The autumn is a crucial period for us in reaching sportspeople for Christ as students return and the winter season re-starts. Pray for our first sports quiz of the year in mid-October, that students and adults would make the most of this gospel opportunity.” Tue 15th St Thomas, Norwich. “Pray for sportspeople in our congregation - we meet with a few students monthly to open the Bible and encourage them to live out their faith. Pray too for those playing in adult teams including triathlon, football, rugby and tennis.” Wed 16th Spicer Street, St Albans. “Pray that God will use our sportspeople to share the good news of Jesus with teammates and that this will result in many coming to know him and follow him.” Thu 17th Glenabbey Church, Newtownabbey. “We have started a ‘Christians in Sport Prayer Thursday’ where we pray for individuals on our WhatsApp group. Today, please join us in praying for Martin, a club cyclist, that he’d be salt and light through conversations with people who don’t attend church.” Fri 18th Emmanuel Churches, Bristol. “Please pray for football, hockey, rugby and lacrosse players across the Emmanuel churches as we start new seasons with our teams. Pray for boldness in sharing life and the gospel and for opportunities to speak of Jesus, as we plan to run a Sports Quiz in the autumn.” 10
Sat 19th Newton Mearns Baptist, Glasgow. “Pray that many will come to our men’s Sports Quiz on 30th September and that hearts would be changed in men that don’t yet know Jesus. Pray that we would envision and equip our sportspeople to represent Jesus in their clubs and teams.” Sun 20th Co-Mission Churches, London. “Praise God for the Clubhouse event run in April which helped identify sportspeople in our churches and think through what we can do to share Jesus with other sportspeople we know. Pray that more sportspeople in the teams of our members will hear the gospel.” Mon 21st Bridge Street Chapel, Liverpool. “Give thanks for May’s Sports Quiz. Pray that the guests would keep questioning, and that their friends would seize every opportunity to point them to Jesus.’ Tue 22nd Newtownbreda Baptist, Belfast. Some prayers from church members: Glenn – “That people would see our passion for Jesus as much as they would see our passion for our sport!” Jay – “To have real friendships with the Newtownbreda FC lads, with opportunities to support and encourage them in their day-to-day lives.” Wed 23rd Ainon Baptist, Bryncoch. “Pray for follow-up from a recent Lions tour event with a gospel talk by Steve Jones, our senior minister and chaplain to the Ospreys wheelchair rugby team.” Thu 24th Granshaw Presbyterian Church, Belfast. “Pray for the sportspeople who met twice to pray together after Pray Play Say training in February. Pray God would give opportunities to spend time with teammates who don’t know Christ. Pray as we plan an outreach event and more training.” Fri 25th Maidenhead Sports Prayer Group. “Pray we’d find and engage church champions - a sportsperson in each local church to help engage others. Pray for sportspeople to be intentional with teammates, bold to pray, play, say and make new connections with other Christians.” Sat 26th London Underground Church, Soho. “Praise God for the Sports Quiz held during our mission week back in June. As a small church, please also pray for growth in the number of people actively involved in a sports club - currently there are really just the two of us!” 11
“THE PRAYER D We hope working your way through the Prayer Diary day by day encourages you to keep lifting the world of sport to our Heavenly Father. It is great to hear what God is doing and to play our part in His work. While we may often be praying for people and events we won’t see ourselves, there are also times when God uses us to answer our own prayers! This proved the case for one prayer supporter, who shares her story below. Having followed the Prayer Diary for the first week of April, this was the email she sent us… We’ve obviously been praying for students all week with the Prayer Diary - it’s been good to have the focus and know what’s going on more specifically. I went to a regular gym class this week and noticed half way through that the girl next to me was wearing what I was pretty sure was an Audience of One band.
DIARY WORKS!” After the class I went over and asked if she was a Christian and involved with Christians in Sport and she was delighted to make the connection! Turns out she’s a second-year student, leading her University group and has done Sports Plus. Anyway, after praying for students all week, God has given me my very own one to encourage! We’re meeting up to do the same class again next week and go for a coffee and pray. I was so thankful that God provided an opportunity for me to be an encouragement to her - sounds like she’s had a tough time at uni. We play the same sport, so lots to chat through there and hopefully encourage her in her witness to her sports friends. As a result of that meeting, the instructor that led the class (that I’ve been praying for opportunities to chat to) bumped into me a day later in Putney. She asked me what the link was with Sarah as she overheard us chatting and worked out we didn’t know each other, and that led to a 10-minute conversation about Christianity and hopefully future doors to open there for my own witness. Anyway, looking forward to meeting Sarah again on Monday next week and thought it would be an encouragement - the Prayer Diary works!
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GAME PLAN 4
27 Aug - 9 Sep
Game Plan 4 is our strategic plan that runs for three years (1st September 2017 – 31st August 2020). As we look forward, we praise God for His work and His provision. Sun 27th New Christians. Please join us in praying for sportspeople to be converted every day during Game Plan 4 for God’s glory. Mon 28th Guest events. Tens of thousands of sportspeople hear the gospel every year through attending Christians in Sport guest events. Every time the gospel is proclaimed in Game Plan 4, pray that it may it return much fruit. Tue 29th Performance Sport. Within the world of performance sport, we go to many places where it’s hard for the church to go, such as tournaments and tours, to reach sportspeople for Christ. Pray that our Heavenly Father will open doors to the gospel in your favourite sport. Wed 30th Universities. We’ve been involved in university work for 40 years and remain committed to this strategic mission field. Pray that many students are won for Christ and Christians in sport leave with a lifelong commitment to making disciples of Jesus in sport. Thu 31st Resources. During Game Plan 3, our resources were used in over 180 countries globally. Pray for our media to be well used, even when we can’t see the direct impact. Fri 1st Sep New clubs. In Game Plan 4, we want to see the work grow widely through teams and clubs being reached for Christ. Pray that the gospel would go to thousands of new sports clubs in the next three years. Sat 2nd Witness. Pray for the thousands of Christians involved in sport to live wholeheartedly and distinctively for God so that many will ask questions about their faith. 14
Sun 3rd Digital and social media. The rapidly developing digital and social media world has expanded the number of opportunities to communicate and share content. Pray for wisdom that we may be able to develop the right resources and that the gospel message gets through as a result. Mon 4th Leaders and staff. To grow the work, we need to grow the number of our volunteer leaders and staff. Pray for God to raise up the right men and women to help reach their local worlds of sport for Christ. Tue 5th Dependence. Pray that we would humbly depend on God day by day in prayer in all that we do and for many partners to also commit to this aim daily. Wed 6th Finances. Pray that God would meet our growing financial needs through existing and new donors. Thu 7th Sports Plus. During Game Plan 4 we’ll celebrate 25 years of Sports Plus. We praise God for the thousands of young people who have been through the camps and pray for much future fruit for God’s glory, ever thankful for the pioneering work of Steve and Michelle Connor in the 1990s. Fri 8th Words and actions. In the coming weeks, months and years, let’s be praying for God to raise up more Christian sportspeople who point others to the Lord Jesus by how they live and what they say. Sat 9th Churches. Partnership with the local church is key to our work. As more and more staff will be based regionally during Game Plan 4, pray that existing church links will be strengthened and many new ones formed.
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STUDENTS
10 - 23 Sep
As we look ahead to another academic year where Christian students seek to share the gospel with their friends in their sports clubs, please join us in laying all our plans and desires at the foot of the cross and ask for God’s ‘will to be done and his kingdom to come’ in university sports clubs across the UK. Sun 10th Leaders. Praise God for the fruitful time we had this summer training our new University Group leaders. Please pray that all the leaders feel equipped and excited for the year ahead and ask God to powerfully use their efforts to advance His kingdom in the world of university sport this year. Mon 11th Freshers. Around one in every 50 students starting university will be a Christian. Pray that they will hold firm to the gospel, get involved in a church, join a university sports club and not be ashamed of the gospel because it is God’s power for salvation! Tue 12th Northumbria, Sheffield Hallam, Leeds Beckett and Imperial universities. Pray that God will send workers into these plentiful harvest fields. Ask that He will open doors for gospel conversations with sportspeople and plead that in His mercy He will bring many people to repentance and faith. Wed 13th Second years. Pray for any second-year students who struggled as Christian freshers, but are now resolving to walk faithfully with Christ. Pray that they will hold firm to Christ’s promises and become salt and light in their university sports clubs. Thu 14th Student workers. Thank God for faithful student workers in churches across the UK. Pray that God will use them effectively to serve students and build them up in maturity of Christ and a desire to do mission in their university sports clubs. Fri 15th Pre-season training. Pray for students who have returned early for pre-season training. Praise God for the opportunity this brings them to strive to improve in their God-given abilities whilst showing their friends the love of Christ in actions and words. Sat 16th Evangelistic events. Pray for the university Christians in Sport groups as they plan and deliver evangelistic events in the early weeks of the new year. Pray that many sportspeople will hear the good news of Jesus and want to investigate it further. 16
Sun 17th Injury. Pray for any students who start this university academic year with a serious injury which prevents them from joining a sports club. Pray that the peace of God will guard their hearts and minds in Christ and they will still find ways of getting involved in a club from an early stage. Mon 18th Trials. Pray for Christians who are taking part in trials for a new university sports club. Pray that they will set their hearts and minds on things above where they are seated with Christ so that amongst the pressures and desires they will know where their identity lies. Pray this will free them to compete to the best of their ability for God’s glory. Tue 19th University Groups. Praise the Lord for 30 Christians in Sport University Groups which meet across the UK each week (six Scottish, one Northern Irish, three Welsh, 20 English). Pray that God will use these groups and enable us to start new groups in other universities so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ as His gospel goes out. Wed 20th Initiations. Please pray for Christians taking part in initiations/welcome drinks in their new sports clubs. Pray that they will ‘hold unswervingly to the hope they profess’ and not compromise their faith but in doing so shine brightly for Jesus as they do alternative drinks or attend but not partake in certain elements of the event. Thu 21st Vision. Please ask for God’s kindness and providence in allowing the new University Group leaders to connect with as many freshers as possible in the first few weeks of university. Pray that many will be caught by the vision of reaching sportspeople with the gospel and see their University Group as a place to be equipped and supported each week. Fri 22nd Clubhouse Xtra. Pray that God will bless the planning and delivery of our student conference, Clubhouse Xtra, in the new year. Pray that many students will sign up and that the training will equip all the students to return to university and boldly proclaim the gospel with their whole lives. Sat 23rd Staff. Please pray that all Christians in Sport staff and interns who have student responsibilities will serve Jesus wholeheartedly throughout the year. Pray that God will use them and sustain them as they seek to encourage the students to ‘shine like stars as they hold out the word of life in the depraved and crooked’ world of university sport. 17
YOUTH
24 - 30 Sep
Let us pray with confidence for God’s will to be done amongst young Christians in sport within churches and schools, as well as for fruit from Sports Plus, our summer camps. Sun 24th Sports Plus Xtra. Praise God for the Oxford and Newcastle events, which offer all the fun of Sports Plus in one day. Praise God for Karen Bessent and her team of local leaders in Newcastle. Pray that the young sportspeople who attended would have been encouraged and equipped to represent Jesus. Mon 25th Schools. Praise God for the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with sportspeople in the following schools last year: Felsted (Essex), Dean Close (Cheltenham), Kingham Hill (Chipping Norton), St Edward’s (Oxford), Gosforth Central Middle (Newcastle), St Bede’s (Cambridge), Cranleigh (Surrey) and Barr’s Hill (Coventry). Tue 26th Teachers. Praise God for the many Christian teachers we know representing Jesus in their schools. Pray that our visits last year would provide gospel opportunities for the following teachers: Jill Gordon (Kingham Hill), Ashleigh McQuoid (Gosforth Central Middle) and Kieran Joseph (Barr’s Hill). Wed 27th Young Leaders. Praise God for the many young Christian sportspeople who are in leadership positions within their clubs and teams. Pray that they would lead distinctively and be salt and light. Thu 28th New Seasons. Praise God for the gift of sport and the chance for many to embark on a new season. Pray that young Christians in sport would be dependent on God as they seek to represent Jesus. Fri 29th Playing with adults. Pray for young Christian sportspeople who are going to be playing alongside adults this season. Pray that in this challenging environment they would be bold in standing up for Jesus and sharing the good news. Sat 30th Churches. Praise God for the many churches helping young Christian sportspeople to represent Jesus. Pray for the young people who have attended evangelistic events at the following churches this year: St Nicholas (Sevenoaks), Woodgreen Evangelical (Worcester) and Lighthouse Community (Sheringham). 18
YOUR SPORTS FRIENDS Why don’t you write down the name of three of your sports friends who you can commit to praying for in the next few months? Use this as a prompt in your daily prayers.
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PRAY FO AS A CH When could we pray for sport at our church? This totally depends on your church, but here are just a few ideas: 1.
Ask to use a slot in one of your monthly prayer meetings.
2.
Run a sports prayer evening.
3.
Include a few lines in your weekly intercession prayers.
4.
Feature a sports prayer in your church's prayer diary.
What could we pray for? 1. Sportspeople in your congregation Find out who plays sport in your congregation and which clubs/teams they play for. Pray that God would help them to play in a way that honours God and to give them opportunities to speak about God with their friends. 2. Local sports clubs in your community Do some research to find out who your local sports clubs are. Here are two websites that may help sportsclubs.net and sportengland.org/research - which include lots of stats and figures on who is playing sport in your area. Pray that God would raise up Christians in these clubs to represent Him and that people that don’t know Him would come to explore Christianity for themselves.
OR SPORT HURCH 3. Sports activities to engage with your community Maybe you’re planning to run an event to invite sportspeople to? If so, pray that God would use it mightily. Maybe you don’t know where to start with engaging with your local sports community? Pray for ideas and wisdom. There is loads of information and advice on running events in our Sports Mission Pack including tips on hosting a prayer gathering and some great Bible verses to look at. Download the pack for free at sportsmissionpack.co.uk. 4. Pray for sports events coming up Head to the BBC’s Sports Calendar to find out what major events are coming up. Pray for the event, for the Christians competing, for safety, for opportunities for churches to engage with it and anything else you think needs prayer. 5. Pray for sports ministries There are lots of organisations who are reaching and serving the world of sport. Pick a few to pray for from the Sports Ministry UK website uksportsministries.org or share this prayer diary.
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Download it online Visit christiansinsport.org.uk/pray to download a PDF of this prayer diary. Receive it on your phone Find Christians in Sport’s daily prayer points on the free ‘PrayerMate’ app. Sign up to get it via email Register to receive prayer points via email bi-weekly at christiansinsport.org.uk/pray.
For the most recent news and stories visit the Christians in Sport website or find us on the following social media channels: @CIS_UK Christians in Sport ChristiansinSportUK Christians_in_Sport
CONTACT DETAILS Christians in Sport Frampton House Unit D1 Telford Road Industrial Estate Bicester Oxfordshire OX26 4LD info@christiansinsport.org.uk christiansinsport.org.uk 01869 255 630 Registered Charity number for England and Wales 1086570 Registered Charity number for Scotland SC045299 Registered Company number 4146081