How believers in Sheffield are using sport and exercise to share the good news

From top teams such as the Blades, the Owls and the Steelers, to a vibrant local sports scene, Sheffield has a lot to offer those who love sport. We know that sport and exercise are good for our physical, emotional and mental health; and that they can create places of belonging and community, so it's not surprising that believers across the city are making the most of the opportunities that sports offers to build relationships and share the good news of Jesus.

The Bowling Club

On a Monday afternoon in Chapeltown you’ll find a hive of activity as the Methodist Church prepares for one of their busiest activities of the week: turning their Worship Sanctuary into a four-lane bowling alley. Members of the Bowling Club play indoor bias carpet bowls, mölkky, boccia, and wooden skittles. At the other end of the room, a social café offers crafts, board games, and table games.

When asked about how the vision for the Bowling Club came about, Jill Pullan (Minister, Methodist Church Chapeltown) said, “We wanted to address some of the social isolation issues and integrate more effectively with the needs of our community. I wanted to equip and encourage our pastoral leaders to care for those with dementia because it is so prevalent. We had a link with an organisation called Enrichment for the Elderly and did a lot of dementia-friendly training with them, which led to doing some training with business leaders in Chapeltown. It was out of this meeting that the idea for the Bowling Club came, having been inspired by a church in Lincoln that ran a similar project.”

The Bowling Club is accessible for people with dementia and mobility problems: boccia was developed initially for people with cerebral palsy or recovering from strokes, or any impairment that affects arm or hand mobility. Today it's played across the world by people of all abilities.

Members of the Bowling Club come to play games and build friendships. At the end of the session, members are awarded trophies for all sorts of things - from sporting excellence to being the best friend of the week - and there’s also an opportunity to share something of faith. Jill explains, “We share a thought for the day, which might be something to do with positive mental wellbeing or it might be more explicitly Christian such as a Bible verse or testimony. We do some singing and then we share in prayers and the members of the club share who they want to remember in prayer.”

For those feeling lonely, or struggling to get out, a club like this is a lifeline. For many of the attendees, it is the highlight of their week. It also provides a support network for carers, as they can meet up with other carers and bring their loved ones to a safe, welcoming, and friendly environment. “A number of people have said that as their spouse or partner's dementia gets worse, this is a great place to come because they can engage in a sport where you can chat and talk and laugh - but you don't have to - and you can still engage in that activity together, even when language is very difficult.” The project has been such a success that they have secured funding from Sheffield City Council, and the team now trains other groups across the city to run dementia-friendly bowling clubs.

As relationships are built and members see love in action, some people have started to want to discover more about Jesus, or have joined the church. Jill says, “We've got more overlap now between Bowling Club and Sunday worship than we've ever had, in the four and a half years that we've been running it. And now, some members are actively inquiring about the Alpha course, or membership process.”

The fun doesn’t stop at the end of Bowling Club on Mondays in Chapeltown: a few hours after the doors have closed for bowling, they are open again for Keep Fit. Led by energetic 80-something Kath Grierson, the group meets for a 40-minute workout, followed by cake. Kath has been leading the Keep Fit group for 45 years – first at the former Warren Chapel and now at Chapeltown. “It’s all about the friendships,” says Kath, “we’re here when people need us most and we cheer people up. We welcome people in – everyone is welcome. Sometimes you think, ‘Do I really want to go?’ but it’s always worth it.”

Forge Youth

Just down the road, also on a Monday night, you’ll find a Forge Youth project in Shiregreen. Forge Youth looks to make a positive difference and share faith with children and young people across the city. They run a number of projects - including sports initiatives - and on a Monday night, the team runs a free football session that is open to all 11-18s. Chris Nall (Manager), says “We organise football for whoever attends the session and never quite know what the session will bring! We look to build relationships with the young people that come along.” As well as the physical and emotional benefits of playing sport, Forge Youth want to invest in the young people and build their confidence: the team is always ready to chat about faith or what is going on in their lives.

Forge Youth also runs a 5-a-side league on a Friday night, “We have a football league, where we take the administration out of the way so that young people - or church youth groups, or whoever - can come down to enjoy football. We want to try and show what football looks like with God at the centre,” explains Chris. “We start each session with a prayer thanking God for the young people and asking for Him to keep them safe. We try and make sure that it’s a place where everyone can enjoy the game, so each week the teams can get an extra point for fair play. That means that over the course of the season, a really good team can still lose the league if their attitude is poor. It shows what is important to us, and helps as we try to create an atmosphere where everyone can enjoy football.” There are also opportunities for young people to develop their leadership skills and confidence by helping lead teams and referee games. Forge Youth also use the end-of-season awards ceremony as an opportunity to share a more direct message about faith with the large number of young people who come from unchurched backgrounds, while they also celebrate the teams’ achievements.

One of the challenges for any project like Forge Youth is finding enough people to help, “Post-pandemic it has been especially hard,” says Chris, “I think a lot of people think they need to be super-sporty to be involved in sports ministry but actually we just need people who want to make a difference in the lives of young people. Sport is just the thing that provides the opportunity to get to know young people, teach lessons and build confidence.”

Men’s football

Heading west to Hillsborough, we find another football session happening on a Monday evening. The men’s football group at Emmanuel began last summer with James and his friend Matt having a vision for sports ministry. They found that a group of men at their church were keen to join them. James recalls meeting to pray at a pub, “We felt that God was saying that we need to meet with men and share the Good News with them. And what better way to do that than through sport?”

James and the team went on to meet in Hillsborough Park, putting invitations out through social media, “We said, ‘There are five of us guys going to the park. We're going to pray together at the start and just play football together if anyone wants to come and join us.’ I didn't think that the Facebook way of doing it was going to work - and I didn't think anyone was going to come if we asked them to join us from the side of the pitch - but amazingly that first night, five guys showed up.”

"A lot of people think, 'I'm not an evangelist or a missionary so how do I tell people about Jesus?...If you've got a hobby, though, you can easily start a group around it and get people together."

- James from the men's football group at Emmanuel

The group has gone on to meet every week, seeing a regular group of 12 to 15 people coming along. As the weeks went by, James and the team decided to do more than just pray at the start of games. “Slowly, we started introducing a bit more faith into it, so we now have a five- to ten-minute slot before we start playing football. We do different things: sometimes we’re reading a passage from the Bible and asking what they think, or we might explain some basics of faith like who Jesus is, or how the Bible came to be. Sometimes we pray for each other or share testimony. There are some people who aren’t interested, but others have wanted to find out more and have been very open to talk about their lives.”

When summer came to an end and the team wanted to carry on, they made enquiries with various floodlit pitches. “We tried around ten different places and everyone came back saying they were full. It felt like we were going to have to stop for the winter, and we were disappointed that we were going to lose all our momentum. The team met up and we prayed about it and felt that we were being prompted to get in touch with the pitch in Hillsborough again just to see if anything had become available. They emailed us back the next day to offer us a slot – on the same night that we usually played. That was a real highlight for me, just to see God answering our prayers and providing what we needed.”

Over the past year, this fledgling idea has seen the group share something of Jesus with over 40 people. Some come only once, but many have returned. Several men have come along to Emmanuel’s Alpha course and to the carol service at Christmas. James reflected on what he thinks makes it work. “A lot of people think, ‘I'm not an evangelist or a missionary so how do I tell people about Jesus?’ It can be seen as unprofessional at work but if you've got a hobby or something that you're passionate about you can easily start a group around it and get people together. It's about removing ourselves from the church building and getting out onto the pitch.”

Another church that runs men’s football is Christ Church Endcliffe. On a Friday night at Goodwin Sports Centre, a group of men from the church and their friends have been meeting up for a kickabout for over ten years. Martyn Lorimer says, “It’s been a place where we can easily invite people along. We have dads and their sons playing, international students, a bunch of men from church and their friends. We’ve had people from all over the world come to play: football is such a global game that it’s easy for people to join even if there is a language barrier. Beyond our Friday night sessions, we’ve been able to take part in Ambassadors Football World Cup and Euro tournament days, where we play with other teams and someone often gives a message. We often find that having played football with people, we can invite them along to Christmas and Easter events.”

‘Peaks and Pub’

With Sheffield famed for being the Outdoor City, perched on the edge of the beautiful Peak District, it’s no surprise that another church group capitalises on this reputation to help grow their community. Alex Griffin (Lead Pastor, Sheffield Vineyard Church) explains the concept of ‘Peaks and Pub’: “It’s very simple, we meet at a certain point - often where there's a bus stop or a train station - and we go off and walk around for a couple of hours, and then we go to a pub. We just chat about anything, really: the news, life in general, and if people want to ask us questions we won't avoid them.”

"Sport is an easy invitation that allows people to build relationships...It's a great way to connect with people who think going to church is really weird.”

- Alex Griffin, Lead Pastor, Sheffield Vineyard Church

“We've always had some really good conversations. And what we really like about it is it's easy to invite people along to, it’s really accessible. All you need is some good boots and a coat and a packed lunch. No-one thinks it’s weird because it’s just a thing normal people do. It’s a great way to connect with people who think that going along to church is really weird, or that going to people's houses to have dinner is really strange. The Peaks are really beautiful and the pub is a British institution, so we're just maximising on what's already been provided to us over the last couple of hundred years.”

Following on from their Peaks and Pub, Sheffield Vineyard have baptised a number of people in rivers in the Peaks, “It’s great,” says Alex, “because when you do a baptism in the middle of the Peak District, it means that whoever's walking by gets to see what you are doing!”

In a world that is increasingly fractured and where people are often looking for community, sport is an easy invitation that allows people to build relationships. Perhaps this snapshot might inspire you to get involved in starting or supporting a similar project to connect and serve your community, and share the transformational love of Jesus.

Reflect:

How might your church use sport or exercise as a way to build relationships, serve your community, and speak about Jesus?
What opportunities are there for you as an individual to join a local team and be a light for Christ there?
If you’re not so keen on sports, what other activities do you enjoy that could offer an authentic way to build relationships with people in your community?

Enquiries about attending the Bowling Club are by referral to Jill Pullen ministerchapeltownmethodist@gmail.com

If you would like to find out more about supporting the work of Forge Youth please contact Chris Nall chris@forgeyouth.com

Rachel has lived in Sheffield for 10 years and loves being part of the church family at Christ Church Endcliffe. She home educates her four children and loves walking in the Peaks, reading, baking and gardening.

Beautiful Feet