Ben Marais presenting his topic on sport, discipleship and our youth
“Help us from moving from churched to changed.” This is the urgent message from Ben Marais, national director of Ambassadors Football in South Africa.
On Wednesday 1 November 2023, Witness Ministry’s AGM was privileged to have had Rev. Ben Marais as one of our guest speakers. He gave a presentation on sport, discipleship and our youth. Ben’s presentation was not only informative but also incredibly inspiring.
Ben studied theology in Bloemfontein, ministered at the DRC Bethlehem for 8 ½ years, and worked as a sports coordinator, coach, and executive life coach. With more than ten years of experience in sports ministry, he joined Ambassadors Football as national director in 2013.
Ben leads Ambassadors Football’s work in South Africa through mentoring staff and establishing partnerships. He is actively empowering young leaders and local churches to use football to engage in disciple-making and address fatherlessness, mobilising them to transform themselves, their families and communities. He is finishing his MTh at Stellenbosch Theological Faculty with the theme: Exploring emotional healthy discipleship as an emotional and spiritual formation tool for community football coaches.
Discussions at the tables during the presentation
Our precious youth
Ben kicked off the presentation with the question “Can we be present where our feet are?” The youth in our broken communities of especially fatherless families is a burning issue and we need to approach the matter with great earnest to find effective solutions. Ben discovered that sport can be used very effectively to enter the hearts of our youth at risk.
It was during the 2010 FIFA World Cup that was hosted by South Africa, that Ben was called by God to start using soccer as a ‘healing tool’ in order to help our youth. Ben didn’t know soccer at all, but only rugby and cricket but he clearly got the message, “You have to change; the nation knows soccer, not cricket or rugby.”
But can sport be a tool to help our communities? “Yes, indeed!” says Ben. “Children usually don’t like church where they often can’t follow the content of the liturgy and have to sit still for too long. A significant number of children also do not feel secure in their own homes, but the sportfield presents a wide and safe space to children – they want to be there.”
Coaches are key influencers
“How can I stop a girl to fall pregnant at the age of twelve, or how can I prevent a boy to become a gangster still in his puberty? Soccer enables people to connect people to Christ. In this regard devoted and inspiring coaches can be of great value in order to change a child’s life. A pastor with a soccer ball in stead of a Bible under his arm attracts children like the Pied Piper of Hamelin!
“One of the most valuable gifts we can give children is our time. It conveys a message of how precious and important they are to you. It changes their lives because you invest in your relationship with them.”
How can I start this ministry in my own community?
“Take the trouble to discover the open spaces in your communities,” says Ben. “Google Maps is a very useful tool in this regard. You will be amazed at how many open spaces probably will be available in you vicinity.
“Become connected to what is going on outside the church. Help us from moving from churched to changed.”
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Contact Ben Marais at bmarais@ambassadorsfootball.org for more information.