The Church of England has said that it will be using football as part of an outreach programme, aimed particularly at low-income areas and housing estates.
Thirty Church of England parishes across the country will be offering free football sessions for children, thanks to a grant of £320,000 from the Church’s Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board (SMMIB).
The funding will allow a sports ministry, Ambassadors Football, to help churches get the programme up and running.
The football sessions will be run by volunteers from the church and consist of training, matches, teams talks and a closing prayer. The team talks will cover themes like teamwork and sacrifice and will reflect the message of Jesus and how it applies to regular life as well as football.
Football and faith are historically linked - a number of top clubs like Everton, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspurs actually began in churches.
Last month Graham Daniels, General Director of Christians in Sport noted that, while in the 1970s there were only a handful of professional footballers who were openly practising Christians, now half of Premier League clubs hold regular Christian gatherings.
The Church of England said that while the majority of people joining initiatives like this just come for the football, some do eventually join their local church.
One such was a nine-year-old boy from a council estate called Georgie. After coming for the football for three years and hearing the Christian team talks, Georgie began going to Inspire St James in Clerkenwell, eventually being baptised at the age of 14.
Now 21, Georgie runs his own community football club and his family have begun attending church as well.
Chris Durcan, the Children and Youth Minister at Inspire, said: “Running free football sessions in our local area has proven to be the most effective way to welcome new families and youth into the church.”
Martin Bateman, CEO of Ambassadors Football GB, said, “We are so excited to launch this programme with the Church of England, because we know that the local church is the heartbeat of Christian witness in a community.
“If we can equip and train more churches to reach out through easy-to-run football sessions, we will enable them to serve their communities in a uniquely powerful way.
"We look forward to seeing individuals discipled, churches built up and communities transformed through the power of football and the Gospel.”
