CEE Story From The Mission Field
Accelerating Truth
May 26, 2008
by Drew Patton
“When you think of missionaries you probably don’t think of cleats and helmets,” said IMB missionary Mark Edworthy.
However Mark and Shea Massengale, also of the IMB, would like for that to change. These two missionaries have an interesting means of connecting with the culture in which they serve—they work as assistant coaches with an American football team in Krakow, Poland.
This unorthodox strategy for doing missions has allowed Mark and Shea to connect with a group of young professional men that is often considered very hard to reach. Mark said that through their work, several of the guys have opened up and invited the missionaries into their homes and lives.
But two men can only do so much.
Enter seven men from First Southern Baptist Church Bryant, Ark. With years of coaching and playing experience, these men traveled to Poland under the auspices of leading a football clinic for the Krakow Tigers. Their real purpose, however, was to make an eternal impact on the men of the country.
This group from Arkansas brought with them much-needed knowledge and experience in football, but they also brought in themselves a handful of Christian men who could build relationships at a pace that Mark and Shea simply could not.
Not only did the men from Arkansas come as coaches, but they also came to play, as three of the men dressed out with the team. They literally worked shoulder-to-shoulder (or shoulder pad-to-shoulder pad) with men from completely different cultures and backgrounds for the sake of the Gospel of Christ.
Many people define missions as going door-to-door and preaching to massive crowds of people. Yet in many places the most effective missions involves building relationships based on shared interests and passions.
“It may be music. It may be sports. It may be English. God can use you in so many ways, and we need you to come,” Mark said. “When you come, you accelerate what we’re already doing because you bring so many more people in contact with the truth.”
To find out more about joining Mark in reaching Poles for Christ, go to our "Join Us" page. You can come as a volunteer, short-term missionary or long-term missionary.