Soccer Team Scores One for God
You can stay home on Sunday to watch football, skip Wednesday night prayer meeting for the baseball game of the week, and miss Saturday’s church retreat in favor of a pro golf tournament, but chances are, you’ll still hear about Jesus.
Professional athletes are stepping up with more frequency sharing their stories about faith, triumph and belief in God. Comments and public professions of faith are becoming more mainstream as athletes show rare humility while performing at the highest level. It is both bold and inspiring for those in need of new role models.
When the term “professional athlete” is brought up in conversation, the concept of a good, clean role model does not always come to mind.
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It is more commonplace for some athletes to be better known for their public troubles than for their talents as an athlete.
Michael Vick’s public humiliation about his dog fighting days and Brett Favre’s sexting misadventures are not life experiences that lead to being a powerful role model.
However, some athletes and coaches are stepping out publicly and proclaiming Christ as their savior. This sends a message to young people today that says they are willing to accept the challenge of being a role model and can hold themselves accountable to a higher moral standard.
The Charlotte Eagles, members of the United Soccer Leagues’ 12-team professional division, strive to define themselves as model Christian athletes.
They work out, compete, and travel like any other soccer team, but this soccer team insists winning isn’t their number one goal.
“We want to win,” team Coach Mark Steffens. “But we elevate and bring glory to God over everything.”
“Failure is disappointing. But you get over it pretty quickly because you put your mind back on the most important stuff – making sure we are different than the world.”
The team was established in 1993 in Charlotte North Carolina. However, their story dates back many years when five men were living in Los Angeles.
The Eagles began as a small group of five who had a passion for soccer. Their passion for the Lord was even stronger and they believed the world was in need of some strong role models.
The idea of making the team “officially” identified as a Christian group was not realized until the men started teaching soccer camps. While coaching, they mixed the sport with Christ to show the children that both are possible in the world of professional soccer.
A few years and several international mission trips later, the men formed teams in Chicago and Charlotte.
Steffens says soccer is a great platform for sharing the gospel because it is one of the most popular sports in the world.
“The World Cup is viewed by a lot more people than other big events in sports," he said.
"So we figured we could use it as a tool. We take it overseas for mission trips and around the country.”
International mission trips are now a big part of the team’s ministry. The team travels the world competing against teams in Africa, South America, and Europe. The group keeps Christ front and center and takes time to witness to the other team bringing God's message to many parts of the world.
At half time, the players take turns sharing their testimony to the crowds packed in the stadiums, parks, and facilities.
Steffens admits winning is a big factor for him and his team. After all, they are competing athletes.
The Christian coach cites Colossians 3:23 saying, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” (NIV)
Team members that play for the Eagles say they are constantly asking, “how can we please God with our athletic and physical abilities?”
“We are supposed to bring God glory with all of our gifts," Steffens adds. "These guys were given these bodies and these abilities for a reason. They should be used in a way that is pleasing to Him. The team believes that being the best soccer players they can be will please God."
The Eagles receive mostly positive feedback from their fans as traveling Christians, who happen to also be winners on the field.
“Everybody in Charlotte knows we are a Christian team. Hopefully we look different on the field. We still work hard like other teams, hopefully harder, but we are doing our best to clean up the sport.”
To avoid the earthly trappings of sin and the pressure of competing, the team makes it a habit to schedule Bible studies during the week- even when they are on the road.
“We don’t want them to conform to a set of rules. We want them to be transformed by Christ," Steffens said.
"Transformation is a process. No one ever fully gets there."
Steffens said he doesn’t expect perfect Christian men on the team, but he does expect the team men to work towards living a life for Christ.
In addition to competing in professional soccer tournaments and participating in international mission trips, they also host annual annual soccer camps during their travels marking attendance between 800 to 1,000 campers.
Team reach out programs include a focus underprivileged children in Charlotte. Programs include tutoring them in school, coaching soccer skills, and mentoring the young people through life.
“That’s so powerful,” Steffens said, as he reflects on all the opportunities his team has had to impact children’s lives.
“In fact, right now as I speak, I’m looking at my background image on my computer," Steffens concluded.
"It’s a picture of Ronaldo. A ten-year-old boy we met in Jamaica last year on our mission trip. He’s in a delinquent center right now, for boys who don’t have parents and have gotten into trouble."
This year, six players will travel to Trinidad to play soccer and do service work in the community. The team traveled to Jamaica last year, playing high-level opponents as well as spending time at an orphanage and a delinquent center.
Other recent destinations include Nigeria, Ethiopia, Colombia, Laos and Thailand. The team members who travel each raise a couple thousand dollars for the trips, believing they are preaching sermons through the way they play soccer overseas.
“We’re a family,” Eagles forward and Urban Eagles volunteer Ben Page says.
“The Lord has created this culture of love and acceptance, and the kids have responded.”
