Germany Through to World Cup Last Eight as Christians Persevere with Outreach

The knock-out phases of the World Cup have begun in the same way as the group stages begun; with hosts Germany gaining victory. This time the Germans were able to progress through to the Quarter Finals of the tournament with a confident 2-0 win over Sweden.

|PIC1|Two early goals by Podolski were enough to see off Sweden, who were reduced to ten men after Lucic was sent off in the 35th minute.

The host nation impressed amassing nearly 30 shots in the match, and two-thirds of the possession.

Podolski scored on just four minutes, driving home the loose ball after Sweden keeper Andreas Isaksson parried.

He again finished well after Miroslav Klose's smart pass on 12 minutes.

As the tournament now heats up, with every match seeing another side eliminated, Christians in Germany are increasing outreach efforts.

Campus Crusade for Christ, who has already been active in evangelism efforts prior to and during the start of the World Cup, are continuing to promote various resources specially made for the tournament. In addition to this, CCC are said to be promoting even more outreach projects getting underway.

The CCC's media ministry Global Media Outreach have launched an evangelistic website (www.jesusandtheworldcup.com) to direct football fans to the joy of knowing God.

|PIC2|So far the World Cup has continued without violence or incident as was feared by some commentators. This will please organisers as well as the many Christians that were praying for a peaceful event prior to the start of the tournament.

At a special pre-World Cup service in Munich’s famous Frauenkirche cathedral — where German-born Pope Benedict XVI once presided as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — Cardinal Friedrich Wetter prayed with hundreds of fans for a "festival of peace and friendship."

More than three million people are expected to attend the quadrennial soccer championship.

Meanwhile, women of the Methodist Church are continuing a campaign to urgently bring about action to stop sex trafficking that will take place during the World Cup.

Using the slogan “buying sex is not a sport,” the women joined forces with The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW), and are aiming to highlight the appalling effects of trafficking on the lives of vulnerable, young women.

It’s estimated that more than 40,000 women could be brought into Germany to be exploited as sex workers, although German officials say the number is overblown.

|TOP|“To think that in 21st century Europe, human beings can be bought and sold like goods is appalling,” said Mary Moody, a worship leader at Gosforth Methodist Church. “We must do all we can to put pressure on governments for immediate action.”

“Although we can feel helpless when faced with such issues, there is no doubt that writing letters can help, so we are urging people to show their support.’’

For months, Christians have expressed great concern over the flood of prostitutes and human trafficking that would also kick off along with the 64-match tournament. German police, however, reported seeing no signs of any explosion of forced prostitution that had been warned of in the months leading to the opening day.