When Seventh-day Adventists in eastern Venezuela became aware of how passionate people usually were in that region about soccer, they decided to use it as an opportunity to share the gospel. Now, there are several initiatives across the region that are helping church members reach out to others through soccer practices turned into missionary opportunities.

At the Diego Armando Maradona del Viñedo Stadium, in Barcelona, Anzoátegui, a group of men with amputated feet or arms have been practicing and playing soccer thanks to the initiative of an Adventist pastor. In Los Teques, Miranda, an Adventist dentist serves as president of the Alfa and Omega indoor soccer club, which participates in several tournaments in various categories. Finally, in Guarenas, Miranda, 220 young people have participated in an indoor soccer tournament organized by Adventist church members.

A New Lease on Life

“The idea of creating a soccer club for amputees was born from a trip I made to Colombia in March, where I participated in an international tournament for amputees,” explained Ender Astudillo, president of the Venezuela Club. Astudillo is also part of that group after suffering a serious accident in 2013. “There, I was motivated me to create a team in Venezuela, and, after a lot of research, [in May] we founded the first amputee club in the country,” he said.

Astudillo, who graduated in theology from the Adventist University of Venezuela, recently joined the ministry as an assistant pastor in the Northeast Venezuela Mission. He explained that the soccer club for amputees aims to develop the players' physical, mental, and spiritual facets. “Every Wednesday before practice, we have our devotional, and we pray,” Astudillo shared. Then, at the end of our practice, we pray again.” Other than Astudillo, no one of the participants is a church member.

He also shared that they regularly use the services of mental health professionals to assist players mentally. “As an amputee, I also experienced rejection and isolation,” he said, “so I decided to invest in a project I am passionate about to help others.”

Hector Sifontes, one of the players of the first soccer club for amputees in Venezuela, sees this “as a new opportunity to show that if there is a will, there’s a way. Soccer is an open window for all those disabled people who wish to overcome their limitations and fears,” he said.

Christ the King of Alpha and Omega

In Los Teques, Javier Parra, a dentist by profession and faithful member of the Adventist Church, serves as president of the Alfa y Omega indoor soccer club, founded in 2021. The club includes young players from ages 7-17.

“Perseverance is the most complex thing about being president, but coaches are a fundamental part of our structure as a club, because I delegate a lot of responsibility to them,” Parra explained. He added that they club is exempt of playing of Friday evenings and Saturdays.

“We always place God in the first place,” Parra said. “We cannot separate sports from religion, because in our daily activities we always have God present. Our goal is for those boys not only to be good athletes but also good people.” As a result of this initiative, 20 players have already accepted Jesus and being baptized, he reported.

Winning with Jesus

Adventists in Guarenas, Miranda, have been organizing the Win with Jesus tournament. The initiative has attracted more than 220 young people between the ages of 10 and 21.

The event kicked off May 2 with a short devotional and words of encouragement to all participants. Eight Adventist congregations from Zone III of the Central Eastern Venezuelan Conference and the Alejandro Oropeza Castillo Adventist School registered for the contest.

Pastor Waider Cardossi reported that as they keep playing, an evangelistic series was also organized for this month with all the teams’ members as special guests.

Young people participate in weekly trainings, which include devotional moments. “It is a way of sharing the love of Jesus across the board,” organizers said. “We are reaching many children, teens, and young people with the good news of the gospel.”

Gabriel Moncada and Roger Amundaray contributed to this story.

The original article was published on the Inter-American Division website.