AIA Church Sport Movement

Sport as a Tool to Share the Gospel in the Neighborhood

Mission
Our mission is to use sport as a strategic tool to give young people the opportunity to encounter Jesus Christ, grow in faith and character, and take action to positively impact others.

Context
In today’s world, many young people have never had the opportunity to learn about Jesus Christ, and large areas remain unreached with the Gospel. While many Christians and local churches are committed to taking the Great Commission seriously, they often lack practical and effective tools to engage their communities.
At the same time, church leaders face increasing challenges in mobilizing their members for daily Gospel sharing and discipleship. Young Christians in particular often feel unequipped and hesitant to share their faith with friends, classmates, and neighbors.

Approach
Athletes in Action (part of Campus Crusade for Christ: CRU) equips and trains local churches to develop sustainable sports-based ministry movements within their communities. Sport provides a natural and accessible context in which churches can connect with people and communicate the Gospel in a relevant and relational way. Sport functions as a universal language that easily brings Christians and non-believers together, making it an effective bridge for building relationships and fostering meaningful conversations about faith.

Athletes in Action focuses on building missional sports communities in partnership with local churches. Our experience shows that these communities are among the most effective ways to create lasting impact in the lives of young people. Rather than organizing isolated activities, we support church-based teams in developing disciple-making movements through a variety of contextual strategies that reach diverse target groups within the neighborhood.

The impact of sport ministry is illustrated by the following testimony:

“For many years we have played sports in our community through activities organized by the church. We are on the field every week and really enjoy playing with other teenagers. During these activities, the church’s sports leaders regularly share Bible stories and personal testimonies. Over time, my brother and I began thinking and talking more about these stories. This year, we decided by God’s grace to become followers of Christ. In October, we were baptized at the church.”  – Teenager from the neighbourhood

Funded to date
The project was initiated in 2021. During the first two years, the full budget was allocated to the translation of materials, the production of training videos, and the organization of Church Sport Movement training and coaching events. In the third and fourth years, funding was primarily directed toward Church Sport Movement events, leadership development, and the development of practical tools for sharing the Gospel.
All the employees working on this project raise their own salaries through personal fundraising and are compensated based on the funds they raise. As a result, project funding is used exclusively to cover operational and development costs. For the project funding specifically, MissionInvest USA raised a total of $124,500 during the years 2021–2024.

Impact
The impact of this project has surpassed our expectations and has been highly encouraging for all stakeholders involved. By the end of the project period in September 2025, the following results had been achieved:

• 934 volunteers were trained over four years across more than 25 countries, including the Netherlands, Argentina, Bolivia, South Africa, Burundi, Tunisia, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Albania, Portugal, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Moldova, Cuba, Brazil, Malawi, Tanzania, the United States, Lebanon, Jordan, Algeria, Mauritius, Madagascar, Canada, Sierra Leone, Kazakhstan, and several countries in East Asia.
• A total of 186,000 volunteer hours were dedicated to engaging young people with the Gospel through sport.
• We’ve reached more than 13,000 non-believers with the Gospel.
• Over 2,100 reported salvations, as confirmed by church and camp leaders.

The indirect impact is even greater, as trained leaders are now equipped to train others,  launching a sustainable, multiplying movement.

Project Phase-2: World Cup 2026
In 2026, global attention will be focused on the FIFA World Cup in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. We see this as a strategic opportunity to equip even more church leaders and volunteers to reach people with the Gospel through sport. We are therefore developing a World Cup 2026 Sports Ministry Package, enabling churches to organize a wide range of sports-related outreach activities. These activities will help churches connect with their neighborhoods, build relationships, and introduce people to the Gospel. Our goal is to equip 5,000 leaders and volunteers in 50 countries, reaching 500,000 people with the Gospel during the World Cup and connecting them to meaningful discipleship opportunities.

Project Scope 
This is a two-year project from July 2025 – December 2027.
The first year (2025–2026) of the project is focused on training leaders and volunteers and equipping churches with the World Cup 2026 Sports Ministry Package.
In the following year (2026–2027) the project will focus on follow-up training, coaching, and implementation support.

Funding needs
To develop and translate materials, produce training content, and distribute the World Cup package, and finally to implement the follow-up phase, we require in total $83,000. Already $25,000 has been secured, which means the remaining funding needs are $58,000 until the end of 2027.

MissionInvest USA has been successfully partnering with Athletes in Action – and this project in particular – since 2021. We would love to continue our journey with such a passionate team to further scale the impact of the Church Sport Movement across the globe. We are seeking U.S. donors with an aligned mission who are willing to join hearts and hands in serving God’s Kingdom.