Taking power to the players

Football and faith proved a perfect strike partnership as Christians in Sport celebrated 50 years of reaching players, coaches and clubs with the good news of Jesus.

The ministry, launched in 1976 by a handful of sports-loving believers, has grown into a global movement linked with work in 150 countries.

Anniversary events were held simultaneously across a number of UK cities, with New Life founder Charles Gardner attending the Sheffield gathering at Christ Church, Fulwood, with his wife Linda.

He said they were “blown away” by the welcome and the passion to reach the world of sport for Christ.

Back in the early days, Christian professional footballers seemed almost as rare as away wins on a rainy Tuesday night.

Former Cambridge United player Dr Graham Daniels, now general director of Christians in Sport, recalled: “I thought I was the only Christian in the world who played football.”

But new research commissioned by the ministry tells a very different story.

Three in four professional clubs in England and Wales now have Christian players in their first-team squads, based on responses from 134 clubs across the top six tiers of men’s football.

Daniels, who has led Christians in Sport since 2002, said many players are now openly living out their Christian faith under the pressures of elite sport.

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