Formation of Different Players with a Unified Goal

Inspired by a Football Match

On June 10, Hong Kong hosted a spectacular soccer match at the newly opened stadium, Kai Tak Sports Park. Hong Kong competed with India in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers. The event set a new attendance record in Hong Kong. Most spectators wore a red sport shirt as a sign of unity to support the local team. A tifo, an eye-catching display covering 4,000 seats, was rolled out in the stadium stands to spur the team spirit of the Hong Kong players. Cheering chants filled the arena as if watching the Premier League in England. The excitement rose to a peak approaching the end. Hong Kong was awarded a penalty kick, which became the only goal of the game. This shot decided the result. Hong Kong won the qualifier.

I cut a short video clip of this match to use as teaching material for the Sunday school class. It was taken as an analogy to our participation in kingdom work. I asked the students to name the factors leading to the victory of the Hong Kong team. We all agreed that the two rivals stood shoulder to shoulder but Hong Kong gained more advantages on home ground. The resounding cheers from the fans kept the local players in high spirits. The supporters’ encouragement was a determining factor of the win. Other key factors included effective strategy and tactics, professional skills, stamina of the players, and their tacit coordination in teamwork.

By the same token, in a ministry for extending God’s kingdom, we need similar factors to make good progress. In Acts, the apostles were led by the Holy Spirit in every step. However, recognizing human weaknesses, they had to be careful to ensure that their actions aligned with God’s plan. Paul was one of the most courageous to advance the gospel among the Gentiles. Yet, he pleaded for prayer support from the believers a number of times (Romans 15:30-32, 2 Corinthians 1:11, Ephesians 6:18-20, Colossians 4:2-4, 1 Thessalonians 5:25, 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2, Philemon 1:22). Paul, as a respected leader, recognized that the new believers’ prayers would be an effective help for his well-being (Philippians 1:19). Paul’s epistles tell us how he and his co-workers in the field longed for encouragement from the supporters who were also partakers throughout the journey. In the same way, the football game supporters play a critical role in the match by cheering.

Paul believed in teamwork. He worked with 41 itinerant workers. Ten of them partnered with him for at least fourteen years, including Titus, Timothy, Luke, Aristarchus, Aquila and Priscilla, Tychicus, Trophimus, Mark, and Erastus. Teamwork did not necessarily mean staying together in the same city. More importantly, the partners shared the same goal. Their relationship was cemented with a bonding in Christ, and they also developed good coordination so that some of the trusted fellow workers were delegated with difficult tasks in different locations.¹ For example, in 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2, Paul used the first-person plural we to signify a decision made by Paul, Silas and Timothy together. The team concluded that Timothy, who was well-equipped under Paul’s mentorship, should return to the Thessalonians to strengthen the faith of the new Christians so that the persecution they faced would not discourage them excessively. Just as teamwork is pivotal for success in a football match, well-coordinated effort is equally vital for prosperity in kingdom ministries.

Soccer Match as Analogy

At this point, I used a soccer match as an analogy for forming effective teamwork in an outreach program for delivering holistic blessings to the community. The ministry can be initiated by a faith-based non-profit with church members joining the endeavor. The following diagram shows a pitch deployed with stations where opposing forces from two camps wrestle. The blocks with black on one side and white on the reverse, press forward with their worldly values. They drive the secular society to center on materialism and atheism, thus landing on many social issues. But the white blocks would counteract them by pushing forward some constructive initiatives based on Christian practice. An individual (or a party), running into an issue in a black block, may struggle with whether to adopt the offer from the white block as a better way to resolve his, or their, concern.

In my past experience in China, this picture effectively delineates the strategy for forming collaborative efforts among non-profits and churches. It is an analogy but not a model with a fixed structure. Rather, it is a conceptual framework for teaming up in tacit coordination for advancing biblical blessings in the community. The labels on the stations are just examples for illustration. Each field has its particular reality that requires specific formation of positions filled by workers and volunteers with different strengths.

The rule of thumb is that no one can play the places of defender, midfielder and striker at the same time. In the white camp, a good team player keeps working in the block he is stationed. Through his expertise or gifts, he helps a client, or a party, entangled in an issue to sort out a solution. Every team member finds a way to bring across some biblical value to the client in such an interaction. A client receptive to his advice may be interested in exploring further help to resolve some other struggles in life. In that case, the team member will introduce the client to another station where the client will hear more advice with Christian values and witnesses. 

The Defense

After understanding the basic role of each player, we can turn to the overall design starting from the defender section. The defense is composed of two components: corporate intercession and relationship with the government. 

Prayer is the fundamental pillar of a ministry. The clashes between the two camps can turn into intense spiritual warfare. In Acts, spiritual warfare was part and parcel of the early mission. It was interwoven into the fabric of ministerial progression. On confronting the adversaries coming from various sides, all believers held fast to the unified goal for the realization of God’s kingdom. From the incidents in Acts, we know that different team players may experience different kinds of strife at various levels. Corporate intercession sets the foundation for such teamwork.² Intercessors are not just spectators cheering in the stands of the arena. They played the role of Moses, who raised his hands to support Joshua in the battle (Exodus 17:11-13). We need a spiritual leader to enhance the defense through prayer. He disseminates updates and alerts to all members and supporters. In the intercession, we believe that God holds sovereignty in all circumstances. Our battles are not for the purpose of determining who will win, but to demonstrate how we can claim the victory already won for us by Christ. We just need to trust in the wisdom and love of God. In the end, it is God’s love for his people that makes him strike a decisive blow.³ Prayers ensure that our work is connected with God’s divine purpose. 

Another key part of the defense strategy is the good relationship between the non-profit and the government. While we endeavor to put forward social service packaged with biblical truth beneficial to society, we should be aware of the do’s and don’ts under the religion and security policies of the state. Compliance with regulations and rules is the base for establishing trust with the government offices. In fact, officials are interested in building friendly relationships with non-profits. They also welcome these organizations to propose more ideas and strategies to improve social harmony.⁴ Good voluntary services can improve community governance. Solidifying such mutual benefits safeguards the support and guidance from government offices in launching outreach programs. 

The Midfield

Coming to the midfield, non-profits can address social needs and unfulfilled hopes in the communities through Christ’s love and care with the endorsement of government offices. Out of a few stations listed in the picture, I would take special education needs (SEN), as an example. In 2015, the government announced guidelines and standards for educators in treating students with special needs.⁵ The enactment requires school teachers to be equipped with a basic understanding of this area. Schools are expected to support this national policy by encouraging each student to fully explore his potential. Educational institutes should provide sufficient training for teachers to identify and assess a student’s congenital deficiency and develop suitable pedagogy and teaching materials. 

This policy provides a common value between the government and the Christian social service organizations. The Bible sheds light on why and how we should support the families with SEN children. SEN students are often discriminated against in classrooms and in the community. When people recognize that they are also created in the image of God, the attitude towards these vulnerable groups will be transformed, characterized by greater dignity and respect for them. The transformation brings about an acknowledgement that every human has his disabilities and weaknesses in certain aspects. Each partner in the teacher-student relationship can learn from each other so that both grow as a person, not just grow in knowledge. When the SEN students are deprived of fair opportunities to learn and establish social relations, they will become even more vulnerable on growing up, resulting in further bias from others. The Bible unambiguously calls Christians to serve the needy just like Jesus helping the underprivileged and speaking up for them.⁶ Non-profits with Christian belief in their service can do a lot to reach out to the communities. Government officials would also encourage such social organizations to contribute their effort. 

Some non-profits, I know of, have seized the opportunity to serve this segment effectively. A few examples are cited below: 

1. Some professionals in a non-profit have helped teachers in schools to practice play therapy. Instead of just using chastisement to control class discipline, the SEN students are guided to change their attitude. Through playing according to the rules of games, the students are fostered to understand each other’s emotions and learn self-regulation. When the students’ social skills are improved, teacher-student relationships can be reestablished. 
2. Another organization has recruited university students to take part in voluntary services, giving them training to understand the needs of SEN students and their families. These clients require a holistic range of caring including body, mind, spirit, social contacts, and the ability to learn and work. Therefore, no matter which faculty the volunteers come from, they can apply some knowledge and skills related to their studies. The organization also provides volunteers with training on how to organize a voluntary service. In this way, they are equipped to help the community with a kind heart, either providing service to some families or arousing public support through social media.
3. Another non-profit center has provided training on daily self-care for those who cannot attend regular schooling. 

These non-profits have got the green light from the government on reaching out to SEN students, parents, neighbors, teachers, and volunteers. All the service recipients and caregivers have taken part in cultivating love and care for the marginalized in society. The Christian workers in the programs have also established relationships with the clients and volunteers. This friendship also provides a soil for them to share life experience and the joy of serving the underprivileged with spiritual messages.

Passing on from Midfielder to Striker

On one hand, these kinds of service programs foster social transformation, improving the environment for SEN students to learn, restoring harmony in family and school, and reducing prejudice towards the disabled in society. On the other hand, some of the participants are attracted by the love of Christ integrated in the program. Those receptive to the biblical values would be inspired to search deeper from altruism to the sacrificial love on the cross. Further sharing in the truth and light of Christ creates a path for personal transformation.

When a Christian worker in the program finds a truth seeker, he would introduce the prospect to a network of church members. A person growing up in an atheistic environment will have a lot of suspicions about religion. Explaining the good news can only give them the reason for our faith. It is more important to let them socialize with more Christians so they would see how our faith is substantiated with solid witnesses. 

Different From Traditional Preaching

This soccer pitch framework is different from traditional evangelism, which emphasizes individual or group work to convince a non-believer through words in the Bible. On the contrary, in our proposed alternative, we stress teamwork coupled with convincing life sharing. Any issues in body, mind, spirit, social skills, as well as work can be taken as an entry point for encountering the truth. The sharing of core Bible messages comes at the last stage when the prospect asks us about our hope and assurance of peace. In a state with tight control on religious activities, it could be problematic for a single person to propagate too many religious messages in the public domain. Nor is it suitable for him to talk continuously to a non-believer about salvation. The framework here provides an open, above board, and legitimate approach where all participants can play a small part and pass the ball to the next with the same objective of the final goal. 

Over the past half a year, I supervised a student in her project on practical theology. She is the founder of a non-profit, and she has the leadership to hold conferences with other faith-based organizations in various provinces to exchange experience, especially on how to use their platforms for sharing biblical messages. They share a common problem in convincing churches to take part. Very often, churches perceive that social welfare programs only draw resources from them without contribution to preaching. After she presented this framework, some pastors changed their minds. They look at faith-based social service from a much wider angle and have started to join the effort. I hope that this framework will help to build up more networks to extend God’s blessings. 

1. Bard M. Pillette, “Paul and His Fellow Workers—Chapter 3,” Emmaus Journal 6, no. 1 (Summer 1997): 120–22.
2. C. B. Grace, War Manual: An Intercessor’s Guide to Corporate Prayer (Indiana: Xlibris, 2008), 16–22.
3. Ken L. Davis, “Contemporary Spiritual Warfare and Missiology,” Journal of Ministry and Theology 11, no. 2 (Fall 2007): 108–16.
4. 高宏偉（珠海市民政局黨組書記), “珠海：引導發揮‘四個服務’作用：推動社會組織高質量發展,” 廣東省民政廳,索引號006940175/2024-00392, August 2, 2024, https://smzt.gd.gov.cn/gkmlpt/content/4/4467/post_4467877.html#1753.
5. 《特殊教育教師專業標準（試行）》的通知 [Notice on the Trial Implementation of the Professional Standards for Special Education Teachers].
6. David W. Anderson, Toward a Theology of Special Education: Integrating Faith and Practice (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2012), 91–104.