Publishers create sports-themed materials for major outreach

SOUTH AFRICA

The World Cup soccer finals have prompted a big Christian literature distribution effort from publishers looking to make the most of interest in the sport with the biggest global following.

Tens of thousands of Bibles and soccer-related books and tracts are due to be given away free at events linked to the June 11-July 11 competition.

In addition, Zondervan has published an international edition of Toward the Goal: The Kaká Story, which profiles a member of the Brazilian national team who is an outspoken Christian and has been honored as World Player of the Year.

Among those participating in the World Cup effort is U.S.-based evangelist and author Ray Comfort, whose Living Waters ministry has sent more than 100,000 special tracts featuring caricatures of eight leading players on “one billion dollar” bills.

The evangelistic collectibles have been printed in English, French, German and Portuguese and will be handed out by teams from Luke 9:23 Evangelism in cities across South Africa.

Another U.S.-based ministry has sent around half a million copies of a soccer-related publication, too. Onehope, which has given away 600 million copies of its Book of Hope for children in the last 23 years, has produced Champions.

“We have other books that we hand out on a daily basis, but we wanted to make something relevant for this particular event,” said South African coordinator Leah Fuller.

Featuring testimonies of Christian soccer players, skills training and scripture, the new title is to be passed out by partner ministries at soccer clinics and other events. The book is also to be distributed through World Cup-related outreaches in other parts of Africa and Latin America.

In South Africa, Champions is being given away along with a pocket guide to the tournament created by Hellenic Ministries as is Born to Play, a soccer edition of an evangelistic book from Ambassadors in Sport.

Many of the materials are to be used as part of The Ultimate Goal (TUG), an initiative by the South African Sport Coalition that has been recruiting churches to host special events—including live screening of games. TUG coordinator Ben Marais said that more than 100 international teams were expected to travel to South Africa to help with the effort.

Biblica has also been supporting World Cup initiatives by providing Scriptures for distribution. The global Bible publishing ministry teamed up with Ubabalo, an African soccer ministry that incorporates biblical values with soccer training, games and tournaments.

“Africans, especially South Africans, are very excited about the World Cup,” said Biblica communications specialist Lynn Waalkes. “In at least one province in South Africa, the kids are getting extra school holidays. That gives us an opportunity to hold Bible clubs and work with Ubabalo, providing soccer balls and training materials translated into local languages. It’s a great, creative way to bring the gospel to children and teens, especially in areas of poverty and high crime.”

A young adult title written by Jeremy V. Jones and published in May, Toward the Goal tells how Kaká rose through the ranks and overcame a potentially crippling injury to become one of the game’s greatest players.

“We hope this book will serve as an inspiration to young readers and give them the courage to dream big,” said Annette Bourland, senior vice president and publisher of Zonderkidz. “This story underscores how faith can carry us through even when the odds seem to be against us in life.”

In Italy, national team member Nicola Legrottaglie recently visited the CLC Christian bookstore in Italy to sign copies of his second book, Cento volte tanto: Con la fede vivo meglio (A hundred times as much: I live better through faith), about his life and Christian faith.