The Gospel and Soccer
The world and certainly British Columbia, was caught up in the excitement of soccer this summer with World Cup games played right here in our own province. Seeing the global impact of a popular game was invigorating! Soccer is definitely a popular sport and one that many of our churches use for outreach each summer. Summer 2026 was no different. The summer season is well underway, and it is a time when church life looks a little different. Regular attendees are away, visitors are stopping by. It's a time to refresh, soak up some much-needed sun and spend time with family, a time for a break from schedules and making lunches for school. Many spend multiple hours at a baseball field or soccer field watching their kids hone their skills and make memories while the parents connect and get eaten alive by mosquitoes, fun times.
Here are some stories from two of our churches and their experiences of sharing the Gospel into their communities through their very own unique soccer camps.
Live Free Church, Kelowna
This past July, we hosted our annual soccer camp, and once again, it turned out to be one of the most effective ways we have to reach our community and put our name and our mission in front of new faces. Every year, the camp draws people we might never otherwise meet. Some are unchurched, meaning they've never set foot inside a church in their lives. Others are dechurched, meaning they grew up in the faith, drifted away, or gave up on the church altogether after being hurt or disillusioned. Soccer camp gives us a low-pressure, high-energy way to welcome both groups back into relationship, one game and one conversation at a time.
This year, we tried something new: gospel bracelets. Each day, campers received a bead that represented a piece of the gospel story, building toward a complete bracelet by the end of the week. What made it special wasn't just the craft. It was the curiosity. Kids spent the evenings in between sessions turning their beads over in their hands, asking each other what tomorrow's color might mean, trying to guess how the story would unfold. A simple string of beads became a daily anticipation, a reason to come back and find out what happened next.
There's something genuinely powerful about watching a child piece together the gospel for the first time. It happened not because an adult explained it to them in a lecture, but because they discovered it themselves, bead by bead, day by day. You could see it happen in real time: the moment a kid connects the dots and realizes what the story is actually about. But soccer camp is more than a chance to reach kids. It's also a reminder to us. In the middle of drills, scrimmages, water breaks, and orange slices, it's easy to lose sight of what we're really doing there. Watching these kids grasp the gospel brought us back to the same simple truth every time. The gospel is what matters most, to us and to the world around us.
Sardis Fellowship Church, Chilliwack
Steve Lee (Family Life Pastor) from Sardis church shared a snippet on how summer ministries are going there. The church hosted a soccer camp at the local elementary school. So many people from the church of varying ages and cultures volunteered their time teaching children about soccer and Jesus. Nothing pulls a group of church people together like the team-building experience of teaching game rules, safety on the field, being a good friend and working as a team, feeding the crew and showing them what Jesus looks like on and off the field.
Does ministry have to look the same in all of our churches? If we get creative, the impact on our community could be endless. Just by teaching and sharing our areas of expertise that already exist through the people of our churches and community, we could reach so many. There are some churches that hold music and vocal camps, gymnastics camps, robotics camps... the ideas are endless.
Steve also reported on how the youth at Sardis stepped up not only to help on the field but also to lead worship, using their time and talents to have an impact on those around them.
In this summer season, please take time to pray for each other. Lift each other up by sending an email or making a phone call of encouragement. Pray for our churches and their pastors who are dealing with fires in their communities. Pray about how God can use each of us in the months ahead to impact our communities and those in need.
