Ultimate Goal Ministries spent the summer of 2000 sharing the gospel of Jesus
through the platform of soccer. We took a girls team to the Gothia Cup in
Sweden. The Gothia Cup had 1200 + teams from 53 different nations. Then we
had 20+ people participating in our local Nashville outreach. To learn more
about Ultimate Goal you can go to our web site at ultimategoal.net. The
following is a report, not from our perspective or in our words, but straight
from those who participated with us, in their own words.
LIFE CHANGING! These two words describe this summer. I’m careful with these
words, but as you will read below, some of the 48 participants from 9 states
involved in our two outreaches have experienced a life changing summer.
* It has been my dream for a long time now to put soccer and ministry
together so when I heard about your organization I was very excited. I was
challenged everyday of this trip because I had never played soccer with my
only purpose being to be a witness for Jesus Christ. This trip stretched me
in every area of my life and God is still teaching me things from this trip.
I had never done street ministry before and
that was a very good experience. Since I’ve come home I’ve thought about
going on the street every week with some people to minister like that youth
group does in Sweden. That’s something I will be praying about. Because I
was on a missions trip I ministered to strangers just by starting a
conversation about Christ because that was what I was supposed to be doing.
With that in mind I’ve realized I should be
doing the exact same thing at home.
The circumstances really aren’t that
different here I’m just on a permanent missions trip everyday of my life.
Soccer and Christ is something that I have felt kind of led to combine and
use as a ministry opportunity in my life. I know that I want to work in some
type of ministry someday but I’m just not sure what yet. Maybe it will
incorporate soccer, I’m just not sure. God really stretched me on this trip
and made me think about some of my plans for the future.
A participant on the Sweden trip
* Thank you SO much for this week, it was the best week in my life….
Again thank you, this has changed my life, and I am planing on going not
staying. The children and that we met, and the youth that I lived with taught
me SO much.. It has changed the way I look at everyone, everything, and
life…. I am so glad the changes God has made in me….
A participant on the Nashville outreach
* I wanted to report to you a little something about the Soccer Clinic going
on this week in one of our neighborhoods. I went there this morning, and I
can tell you that I’m feeling very overwhelmed right now at what I saw and
sensed there. God’s presence was so very tangible at the Clinic this morning.
Those kids are from the project nearby, and they are so excited and very
grateful for what they are receiving.
They have so very little, but their smiles and excited faces said everything
about how much they are enjoying the Clinic. John Stayskal’s team (Ultimate
Goal Ministries) is incredible. They are really touching these kids’ lives.
Two of their youth workers (up from Florida) gave their testimonies this
morning during refreshments, and it was truly wonderful.
An observer of our soccer clinic outreach in Nashville
* Let me tell you something that you might want to share with your guys.
Julian, one of the guys we took to the tournament on Saturday has been having
a lot of problems, he got involved in an accident and destroyed somebody
else’s car. Unlike his brother I couldn’t make him come to church unless we
played soccer. The day of the tournament he was so impressed with everything
that when I invited him to
come back on Sunday he accepted even though he told me he wasn’t going to
play, but he would be glad to come to church and watch the game from the
sideline. Praise the Lord he recommitted himself to the Lord on Sunday and
is going to start taking a bible study this week.
The associate pastor of the Hispanic Church we worked with in Nashville
