Pastor Robert Briggs loves to share and talk — about football and, especially, about faith and the Gospel. A native of Glasgow, Scotland, Robert has a divine "gift of gab" and, even better, a way of simply sharing the Gospel with people — no matter what hat he happens to wear in a particular moment. Robert (also known as "Briggsy") is the longtime volunteer chaplain to Sacramento Republic FC. He has been serving the team as volunteer chaplain since 2014 when the club first started play and won its first-ever championship in the United Soccer League — Championship. USL-C is the second division of professional soccer in the U.S. Most recently, Sac Republic (as it is also known) competed in the

For Felipe Olavarría, sports have always been an important part of life. As a young man, he found that basketball was a game where he could compete and a game that he really enjoyed. In addition to playing fútbol in his native Chile, where he was born and raised, basketball was a massive part of his story. In the midst of his semi-pro, traveling time with the team he got invited to church, it changed his life and it changed the place he gave sport in his life. I came to faith in Jesus at a time in my life when I was a part of semi-professional basketball team in Chile. I spent my last two years with the team

It has been nearly a year of vacancy for the El Paso Locomotive FC (USL-Championship) chaplaincy position, but the train is finally starting to pull out of the station. Despite making a chaplain placement during COVID in 2020, the former chaplain moved on to take a different church position, leaving a gap that was difficult to fill. I made about phone call and email inquiries to over 20 pastors in the El Paso area. I mainly head voice mail messages or got no response. It was discouraging, in the very least. From those that I was able to speak with, the answer that usually came back was, "I am too busy." Again, discouraging. Fast forward to my meet up with

Handoffs aren't always easy in volunteer sports chaplaincy ministry. This truth is what makes the story unfolding with Rio Grande Valley Toros FC (a USL-Championship side) that much more heart-warming. Isidro Piña is a member of Soccer Chaplains United and the first volunteer team chaplain to serve the Toros. I remember back to 2018 when we made the placement after interviewing Isidro, who had come to us by way of recommendation from Chaplain Cesar Duran. Making the trip down to McAllen, Texas I ran into former Colorado Rapids defender, Jared Watts, who was doing a rehab stint with the team because of their affiliation with the Houston Dynamo. Isidro, who had recently met the team for the first time, remarked,

I'm pleased to announce the completion and publication of a new devotional book that I've been working on in advance of the 2023 Women's World Cup. The book is entitled, Five Women You Meet in Faith and Football. It is available globally on Amazon. The devotional looks at the lives of the five women that are part of Jesus' genealogy found in the Gospel of Matthew. Each week gives a daily look at one of the visible attributes of these five women and offers a reflection on how this might lead and guide us as we follow Jesus and live out life in this world today. The first week features a look at Tamar. Following on, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and