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ImAgIne plAYIng On A lOcAl spOrTs field and having global impact. This is the vision of The Ultimate Goal (TUG), an initiative that aims to help equip churches and ministries to spread the Gospel during one of South Africa’s biggest events in 2010 – The FIFA World CupTM. The South African Sports Coalition (SASCOL) has long been preparing for this exciting season in South Africa’s sporting history. As 500 000 soccer fans and spectators gear up to head to our country, The Ultimate Goal is the theme that SASCOL has adopted as its outreach initiative for this event. It is a collaborative partnership of various church denominations, para-church organisations and agencies.

With an array of work groups and focus areas, from creative arts, sports training and communication to mention a few, TUG presents ample opportunities for believers in all fields to become involved in this dynamic movement.

CITY ON A HILLWe spoke to Patrick Kuwana (TUG

representative) who explained the Church’s role in this initiative: “A sporting event like the World Cup presents a divine opportunity in a relationally based atmosphere for the body of Christ to build

genuine and influential relationships with millions of local and visiting fans.”

Patrick eagerly pointed us towards 1 Corinthians 9:22b (NLT) where Paul said: “Yes. I try and find common ground with everyone so that I might bring them to Christ.”

“Sport gives the body of Christ the common ground it needs to connect with people who are still spiritually lost, and share the Gospel with them as commanded in the Great Commission (Matt 28:19),” he added. The vision for the next few months in South Africa is to share the love of Christ in many different ways with soccer players, their families, coaches, spectators, tourists and local residents. As we experience an influx of world cultures in our nation, believers everywhere are encouraged to shine for Christ during this time. “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden,” (Matthew 5:14).

“We want to see hope rise over Africa as the continent is impacted by the body of Christ, moving with influence into society to eradicate Afro-pessimism, bring reconciliation, alleviate poverty, and establish sound family units etc. by the development of leadership.” The 2010 soccer event also offers Africa the best opportunity to combat the

46 TODAY JUNE 200946 TODAY JUNE 200946 TODAY JUNE 200946 TODAY MAY 2009The Ultimate Goal.

AfricA’s Golden

HourWe’ll all be shouting “Laduma” when The World Cup takes place in SA in June 2010, but are we ready to make the most of the opportunities that this event will present to the local Church? By Tamsyn cornelius

2010 DECEMBER/JANUARY TODAY 47

destructive giants of HIV and AIDS, break up of the family unit, poverty, corruption, violence and ethnic strife. These giants need to be overcome by lasting moral values that direct the behaviour of our people. Through The Ultimate Goal and partnership with the International Sports Coalition (ISC), the Church is capturing this golden opportunity to transform future generations of Africa.

“The whole Body of Christ needs to rally together to capitalise on the opportunity that the 2010 soccer event presents. This is Africa’s golden hour to create new hope for future generations of the continent. Since this opportunity is once in a life-time, we want to make sure that we capture the moment and empower our people!”

SOme GOALS Of TUG:To train and mobilise at least 2000 churches, in about 600 •

of South Africa’s towns and cities, to run some form of outreach during the 2010 event.

To reach at least 14 million people (accumulating) in • SA, through big screen events, with the Gospel during the 30 days of the event.

To have soccer related outreach activities in at least 40 African • countries.

“TUG has set up several ministry channels such as sports, creative arts and festivals, social programmes and various service programmes which give every Church a place where they can exercise their gifts towards the unified goal of spreading the love and Gospel of Jesus during the 2010 soccer event,” Patrick added. He explained that there was no reason for the Church to stay on the sidelines for this event – everyone has a part to play!

Various other opportunities will include prayer initiatives, mobilisation of international outreach teams, production and distribution of evangelistic literature, children and family games, public viewing / big screen events, street cafés, coaching clinics, and much more!

GeT INVOLVeDTUG will conduct six day training sessions across the country in January and

February 2010 and they encourage every Church to be equipped to participate in the outreach. The training dates are: 25 to 31 January 2010 (Bloemfontein, George, Umtata, Johannesburg); and 1 to 7 February 2010 (Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Kuruman, Newcastle, Durban, Pretoria).

Training will also be held in Rustenburg, Polokwane and Nelspruit on dates to be confirmed. These will be published on www.theultimategoal.co.za.

TUG hopes that believers will see the opportunity to continue sports related ministry after the 2010 event as this will give them the ‘common ground’ to continually reach out to people in their communities… and hence “turn the sports fields into fertile harvest fields for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

email training@theultimategoal.co.za or call 0861 2010 sA (72).

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