More than the Cup

 This was the name of our Summer Project in Lviv devoted to the soccer championship Euro Cup 2012. Despite the fact the Ukrainian football team didn’t make it out of the first group (the whole nation was extremely upset=) we were able to encourage our people that there is something more important in life, something greater than the Cup – Jesus Christ and our personal relationship with Him.

  This project gathered around 50 students from Odessa and Lviv and also the members of the local church “Christ fellowship”. It was a weeklong project and we were able to help the local church to reach out in the neighborhood.  

This is what we did.

After praise and worship in the morning we had English lessons and soccer games that everyone in the neighborhood could join.

Local soccer players

Flag painting on faces

Right next to the church there was a wonderful playing field where we held all our games and children programs.

Our fan zone

Closer to the evening we would divide into two groups. One group stayed at the playing field and we arranged a fan zone in the tent. It was a place where people could come and watch the games on the big screen. During the breaks we had a program with different testimonies of the footballers and our students. We managed to engage people of different ages – moms and their kids during the day, teenagers, and even older people who came to watch the games. A lot of people didn’t even know that there was a Christian Protestant Church in the neighborhood. They were very suspicious at first (the religious culture is Catholic) but in the end they were involved in all we arranged for them. 

The second group would take off to the center of the city and we talked to people there and shared the Gospel with them.  Despite all the excitement that was in the air most of the people were open to talk to us and find out what is better than the Cup. At that project we were able to share the Gospel with 200 people in personal conversations.

Sharing the Gospel in the City

A group of Americans was taking part in the project teaching English in the mornings but in the evenings there was a chance for them to share the Gospel too because there were many fans from different European countries and they all spoke English. They managed to meet some interesting fans and nobody got behind the Good News=).

A guest from Portugal

It was an unforgettable project for our students as well. Yana (one of our new students) went to such an event for the first time. She was more interested in seeing the soccer games and didn’t really understand that the goal of the project was the intentional evangelism. But in the end of the project she shared with me that her relationships with God renewed and that she understood what real faith was. She realized the need in Christ that people had and she was happy to share with them about Him. Once again I can see that nothing draws us closer to the Lord and helps rely on Him fully that the active and intentional conversations with the lost.

Yana is to the left from me

You can watch the video about the project here

 Please pray for those people who heard the Gospel. May what they heard draw them to repentance and life transformation.

Pray for the church “Christ fellowship”. May the body for the church grow after this outreach.

Please pray for our students. May they grow spiritually this summer and be the salt and the light among their parents and peers.

I would like to ask you to pray for my family. My step father and my Dad don’t know the lord yet. Please pray for wisdom for my Mom to raise my brother and be an example for my step father.

I am grateful to you for your input in my Ministry. We are definitely creating the history together and it’s more than just words.