(Global News Alliance) – World Cup fever is running high in North America as the tournament is now down to the last four teams. While fans are focused on the games, believers are bringing the gospel of Christ to this international championship event.
More than a million tourists from around the world have come to the United States, Canada, and Mexico for the global event. Bold evangelists who are sharing the love of Jesus Christ are here to greet them.
Off the pitch, several Christian ministries are reaching out to fans at different venues, including outside the Lumen Field stadium in Seattle.
Former professional soccer player turned pastor and evangelist Jesse Bradley has been sharing the good news of salvation outside the stadium.
“Many people will come in for prayer because we have prayer teams there who are praying for the outreach, but also available. A lot of people just keep walking, but they’re listening. You might only have one minute from the time they can hear you. You know you can plant seeds and then later on they’re still thinking about that,” he said.
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It’s all part of a project called Victory Beyond the Cup, organized by the ministry Cru.
Another ministry reaching out to the fans is called Victory Seattle, headed up by Garrick Pang, who is a full-time missionary to the World Cup. He says one of the most effective ways to share the gospel has been through distributing thousands of foam fingers along with prayer booklets.
“There’s a ministry called Try Praying. They’re actually out of the UK, but they have bought thousands of the foam fingers things and we’re passing those out for free and then along with that they have a booklet and in there are interspersed these different testimonies and then it’s a week long program and by the end of the week it introduces you to what it means to be a follower of Jesus,” he said.
As these outreach teams continue to share the love of Christ throughout this tournament, it’s hoped that many thousands of soccer fans will ultimately experience God’s victory in their lives beyond the cup.
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