The Dallas Cup Hospitality Center in mid-April received more than 2,000 visits from youth soccer players and coaches from around the world.
It also presented the opportunity for those athletes and their families to see Christians working together for a common goal as volunteers from local churches provided meals and engaged in conversations through an outreach sponsored by the Dallas Baptist Association.
“The nations came to us, and I am proud that our denomination was ready to meet their physical and spiritual needs,” said volunteer Joy Mooneyham of Rockwall. “It was a blessing to be a small part of that.”
“My favorite part of this event was getting to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Serving with this team was like getting to take an international mission trip without ever leaving DFW.”
Several local churches covered shifts and provided volunteers to be onsite throughout the week at the hospitality center, including First Baptist Church in Richardson, First Baptist Church in Rockwall, Hillcrest in Español in Cedar Hill and North Irving Baptist Church.
“We typically have about 75 church volunteers that are utilized throughout the week, just serving at the center,” said Chelsie Hoard, who serves the director of strategy for the Dallas Baptist Association.
“We have eight different shifts, and different churches will take the lead on each shift. We also have a countless number of volunteers at local churches that help prepare meals, donate Bibles, give and specifically pray for this event.”
‘Volunteers represented Christ well’
“The outreach event could not have happened without local church volunteers,” she said.
“Volunteers prepare and serve meals, greet teams, set up chairs, clean tables, take out trash, sweep, mop, mix Gatorade and lemonade, refill ice chests, pick up and sort the many Uno cards, checkers, pickleballs and Connect Four pieces that are used, make coffee for the coaches, help with chapel services, go on grocery runs and wash dishes,” Hoard said.
“Most importantly, our volunteers represent Christ well. They create a welcoming environment and connect with the teams that walk through the doors of the center.”
As a result, 375 decisions were made to follow Christ, and 500 Bibles were given out.
“From watching friendships form amongst athletes from different countries over a game of Giant Jenga, teams running to greet familiar volunteers, to someone excitedly looking through a new Bible, there are so many great moments that happen at the hospitality center,” Hoard said.
“One of my favorite things is watching churches come together to tangibly demonstrate the love of Christ to people from so many nations and then seeing these teams experience that love, some for the very first time.
“All throughout the week we hear comments about how the churches are so welcoming, kind, generous and loving. It is so great to watch people from so many nations experience God’s love in this way.”
Seeing God at work
Hoard noted one of the most exciting things during the soccer outreach was seeing how God was at work throughout the week and continuing to make connections with athletes they met last year.
“All throughout the week, we have the privilege of seeing God move, as people make faith decisions, pray together, attend chapel with our chaplain, develop cross-cultural friendships, receive and read Bibles,” Hoard said.
A few returning athletes who had received a copy of the Scriptures from volunteers the previous year returned to say they read the entire Bible, she added.
“We also get to see glimpses of God’s goodness and provision as we start to run out of a specific item during a shift and then see that the previous shift had left just enough extra behind,” she noted.
On some occasions, a volunteer who had been to a specific country was serving “right when a specific country’s team comes through and they are able to talk and connect,” Hoard said.
Other times, the volunteers had “the exact number of chicken sandwiches left for a group that came in at the last minute,” she noted.
“In big and seemingly small ways, God continues to bless.”
Volunteers greatly enjoyed participating in the outreach and look forward to future opportunities to serve at events like this one.
“The gospel was clearly presented to all who would hear, and we were able to show the love of Christ to each person who came through the line,” Mooneyham said.
“We were able to do the hands-on work and provide hospitality and smiles so that others could effectively and boldly present the gospel in the heart language of the players.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Leann Callaway and originally published by Baptist Standard.
