FIFA World Cup

Believers at 2006 Fifa World Cup Germany™ hit the streets with the Gospel

The Northland Baptist Bible College men are one won, one tied. They have had many chances to share their faith. Typical of these opportunities was time spent street witnessing in Nuremberg. The day began with rain, but cleared off in time for us to carry out evangelism. “Man, I had a great opportunity!” said Jeff, “I just talked to a university student about the Lord for 45 minutes. He wasn’t ready to accept Christ, but he was willing to take the information with him and think over the claims of the Gospel.” Most reported similar conversations.
On that same day the Northland men played another soccer game. At supper after the game they exchanged ideas about different customs of Germany and the US with the men of the opposing team. They also shared their faith. The gathering ended with Christian songs from the Northland soccer players, a simple explanation of the Gospel and a challenge to the visitors turn to Christ. It was all well received. The Medals for Glory team is hoping many will accept the invitation to attend their last church service in Erlangen.

For more details, visit MedalsForGlory.com

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Believers at 2006 Fifa World Cup Germany™ hit the streets with the Gospel

The Maranatha soccer girls are 1-1. They have made many new friends and have shared their faith on many occasions. They also gave each opponent a T-shirt and a copy of the Jesus film after the game. On Tuesday, June 6, the Maranatha soccer girls teamed up with members of the Independent Baptist Church of Erlangen, Germany, in 12 teams for two hours. In that time, they made 21 complete presentations of the Gospel and shared several hundred tracts. On Wednesday, the same 12 teams were out one hour, making nine complete presentations. Three different people in the two days said, “I know I need to make this decision about faith in Christ. Let me take the literature home with me and read it through one more time.”

The Pillsbury guys’ team is 1-0. After the game, they gave a T-shirt and a New Testament to each opponent. During the week, they have canvassed many houses in the church area with Gospel literature. They likewise held a booktable in Munich on Wednesday.

“Working side by side with the Erlangen believers through street witnessing is beginning to reveal to me the intense need for God’s Word. I daily count it a privilege to be here in Germany, playing soccer and witnessing for Christ. Through the experiences gathered from this trip, I know that the team will not only draw closer to each other but also draw closer to God and hopefully attain spiritual boldness that will last for a lifetime.”
—Abby Kalscheur

Believers at 2006 Fifa World Cup Germany™ prep for outreach

Orientation, preparation: This crew is having three solid days of it. Fifty-four participants arrived in Munich and traveled to Erlangen on Monday, May 29. Staying in youth hostels, they held orientation sessions at a church in Erlangen. The day’s events included introduction to German culture, the group’s strategy for the next two weeks, sharing about God’s faithfulness in supplying the funding, 90 minutes of soccer practice, and prayer sessions. Most of orientation was pretty serious, but there was also some lightheartedness.

Dave Ferguson of Baptist Mid-Missions challenged participants to “buy up the time” for the Gospel during these two weeks. What God wants to achieve in reaching lives for Christ is far bigger than the World Cup. Participants were also burdened to pray as they heard about the broken lives of some they will encounter during this major event.

Schools represented by the participants include Appalachian Bible College, Baptist Bible College (Clarks Summit), Bob Jones University, Cedarville University, Faith Baptist Theological Seminary (Ankeny, IA), Maranatha Baptist Bible College, and Pillsbury Baptist Bible College.

The German believers who have gotten to know the participants say, “Great attitudes, great discipline.”