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Piña Proud of Work Done in the Valley

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In 2018, I gave Isidro Piña a phone call after a recommendation from Spanish-speaking chaplain, Cesar Duran. Isidro began (in late April) to serve the Rio Grande Valley Toros FC as volunteer chaplain and led the ministry with the team until 2023. I still recall an early phone call with Isidro after he had been introduced to the team in the locker room after a mid-week training session.

These players are so young…they are just like…kids.

Isidro went on to win so many hearts as he served the coaches and the players of the organization. His time included the difficult year of COVID. Isidro led the Spanish-speaking Ash Wednesday service that Soccer Chaplains United produced for 2020 and 2021 when teams were sequestered at times.

Isidro continued to serve until a new opportunity within the United Methodist Church opened. His new role included a move to San Antonio and he travels around to various UMC ministers and encourages and supports them, much like a chaplain to chaplains. He handed the chaplaincy ministry over to EJ Ruiz who had also assumed pastoral duties at the church that Isidro had led for many years. But EJ’s service wasn’t to last very long as RGV Toros FC folded at the end of 2023.

Since moving to San Antonio, Isidro has been helping Soccer Chaplains United with Spanish translation and serving as an adviser on several projects. Hopeful that there might be an opportunity to serve a new team in SA never materialized.

Isidro finishes eight years with Soccer Chaplains United and many athletes still reach out to him today.

One of the guys from the team moved back into the Valley and he called me. ‘Rev, are you in the Valley right now?’ ‘I am…’ ‘Could you come and pray over my new home?’ It was such a privilege that he asked me to come and bless his house. The years of working with the Toros are some of the best ministry moments of my life.

We wish Isidro and Blanca all of God’s best for this next, new chapter!

2024 Iglesia Cristiana Bethel Community Project Fulfillment

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blue white and red flag

A few weeks ago, Soccer Chaplains United received a request from a small church in El Paso, Texas. Iglesia Cristiana Bethel. The church, a sister church to Iglesia Maranatha in Juárez, MX is led by Pablo Mata, brother to Jorge Mata. The church has a vision to build a community soccer team which will include young and older adults both the church and people in the community of El Paso.

A Spanish speaking church located on the east side of El Paso, Iglesia Cristiana Bethel’s young adults have wanted to create a soccer team and also open it to others who are not believers. The church sees this is as an opportunity to expose non believers to the Gospel of Jesus as they practice and play the games.

With several young adults, ranging in age from 13 to 25 years old combined with some older adults — the church is seeing a difference in the way church members react in the games. There is an attraction whereby others are wanting to join the team that seems friendlier and contains a safe space for them and their children.

The team currently is co-ed. They have 5 women and 10 men in the team and they hope to continue to grow.

We hope to expose the love of God to those joining our church team. We currently don’t have a team uniform, we all only wear black, and we don’t even have gloves for our goalie. We are just starting, but we would really appreciate and be very grateful for any help you can give us in our project.

Natalie Mata, member of Iglesia Cristiana Bethel

Below is a list of items that were sent to the team:

  • 18 jerseys
  • 15 shorts
  • 1 GK set
  • 6 compression shorts
Image of the jersey and shorts delivered to Iglesia Cristiana Bethel
Rapids jerseys and shorts hopefully help the team find a sense of identity and unity

The total weight came to around 25 pounds of gear that was sent to El Paso.

When you financially support Soccer Chaplains United a portion of your gift automatically goes to help our community projects and requests. You can give specifically to help cover our costs by making a gift through PushPay — simply select Community Project from the selectable funds. Your financial gift helps us purchase new soccer equipment, sponsor individuals projects and organizations, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

Announcing El Paso Chaplaincy Placement

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I am excited to announce that with the United Soccer League—Championship kicking off this past weekend, Erick Jiménez, has moved through the candidacy process with Soccer Chaplains United and will now be appointed to serve as volunteer chaplain to El Paso Locomotive FC.

Erick is the Pastoral Director of Young Marrieds and Family at Coronado Baptist Church and is currently working on his Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. You can read more about him on his bio page here.

Erick Jimenez will become El Paso Locomotive’s first volunteer chaplain

During the time of COVID-19, chaplaincy placement conversations have been extremely difficult as different teams and organizations bide their time to see how the global pandemic will impact the sports industry — across all levels. However, the appointment of Erick as chaplain comes at an important time as many of the USL athletes have been waiting and training in their team markets. With the recent collective bargaining agreement and other adaptations to the league play this year, many athletes have been isolated, even from teammates and waiting to see if soccer would happen at all this year.

After a month long dialogue, and a few weeks of searching for viable candidates in the El Paso area, God made Erick’s candidacy clear. For Erick, the timing was something he and his wife could see God working in,

For awhile I have been removed from sports ministry and my wife and I before COVID-19 had been talking about getting back into some form of ministry utilizing sport. And then I get this random call. I was thinking ‘This was crazy!” I had been wondering if our teams in El Paso had chaplains and then this call and the process, and I am seeing how God is working through this.

Erick Jimenez, on receiving a random phone call about the chaplaincy opportunity

Erick’s appointment as chaplain becomes Soccer Chaplains United’s fourth USL – Championship chaplain and 14th chaplain overall.

Soccer Chaplains United is non-profit, 501(c)3 and depends upon the financial support of our partners to carry out our work of developing chaplaincy, counseling, and community service across all levels of soccer. Please consider making a contribution today to help us continue growing our work. Simply click the PushPay (the big P) link below to make a secure, online, tax-deductible gift, or mail a donation to Soccer Chaplains United, PO Box 102081, Denver, CO 80250.

Vittles in the Valley

In the lower divisions of professional soccer in the United States, there is a wide disparity of income. There is no minimum salary and athletes below MLS are not represented by a union, at this time. Athletes in the USL – Championship can make as much as $2,000-3,000/month for an eight-month contract or sometimes as little as $500/month. Often times, teams will also work out a housing arrangement to offer housing for the athletes as well.

So, when a chaplain at the USL levels offers to buy a meal for a player or coach or staff member — it means a lot. Recently, Chaplain Isidro Piña shared about an opportunity that he and his church had to serve the Rio Grande Valley Toros FC players.

RGV FC Toros came to my church for lunch prepared by some of the members of my congregation. We had a great time. I got to talk to some of them and got to know them better since they have new players. It also helped them see what I do. 

Isidro Piña, chaplain Rio Grande Valley Toros FC
Isidro (gray top, right) prays over the team and church members before the meal

For a club like RGV Toros FC, few athletes will ever call McAllen, TX home. Occasionally, an athlete might come out of the community in working toward ‘making it,’ but in general RGV will be a stop over — with coaches and athletes here for a while on their way to another team or another place. It can be here, though, that a chaplain and a church and a community can have a profound impact on a young person’s life. I still remember Isidro’s first impression when he met the players for the first time,

I walked in and thought, ‘Where are the players? These are all kids…’

Isidro Piña, on his first time meeting the team

Much of the work at the USL level involves looking after simple basic needs — a meal, housing, an ESL (English as Second Language) class, a ride home from the airport or hospital, a phone call to family letting them know their son is ok after surgery. And, as pastor of a local church, the opportunity as chaplain serving the team means an opportunity to mobilize the church to serve and support, as well.

RGV players pose with the church members who cooked a meal for the team

We have plans of having a Bible study. Some players asked for cooking classes. Others asked for an opportunity to work with low-income children. This is a good start. Our cook said he’s willing to host a cooking class. One of the players wants to do an English Bible study and I will lead the Spanish one. These are plans. Let’s pray they come to pass 

Isidro Piña, on what the future with RGV may hold

When you support Soccer Chaplains United — you enable us to serve the young people and the coaches and the support staff around them. Your financial and prayer support allows us to serve — a basic need of giving a meal or a deeper need of helping to provide spiritual food.

Soccer Chaplains United is non-profit, 501(c)3 and depends upon the financial support of our partners to carry out our work of developing chaplaincy, counseling, and community service across all levels of soccer. Please consider making a contribution today to help us continue growing our work. Click the PushPay logo below or text soccerchaplains to 77977 to make a secure electronic donation. You can also mail a donation to Soccer Chaplains United, PO Box 102081 Denver, CO 80250.

Rio Grande Valley Training Trip

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Today marks my third trip this year to work with our Soccer United Chaplains that are spread throughout the United States. I head to McAllen, Texas to spend a couple of days with our newest chaplain, Isidro Piña, to the Rio Grande Valley Toros FC who play in the United Soccer League. Earlier this year, I spent a few days in Nashville and utilized the first-ever match for Nashville SC (a pre-season match) to do work with our new chaplain there. I also spent a day in Chicago with our chaplain for Moody Bible Institute before heading to Charlotte and using the first match of the season to do some work with our chaplain to the Independence.

Why travel?

As Soccer Chaplains United places chaplains, there are a couple of things we look to develop or train:

  1. Is someone a chaplain? Many times we find a candidate who is or serves as a pastor in a local church setting. Some of our development work then looks at the specific role of a chaplain and some of the approaches and sensitivities and how those might differ from pastoral work in a church.
  2. Does someone know soccer? While not the most important aspect, knowing and understanding the game is helpful. The players, coaches, staff, and families of those that we are serving live in an environment that has considerable challenges. If someone is not familiar with soccer (or even the sub contexts of professional, etc.) some of our training and development includes looking at soccer in the larger context.

It may be that a chaplain or chaplain candidate does not need as much development in a particular area as above, then the training and coaching time looks more like a sharing of best practices.

Another important reason to travel is to have face to face interactions with chaplains and to see their particular context. From training schedules to stadium surroundings to the size of the metropolitan area and the people, it is very important to understand the different cultural nuances to a particular setting to give the chaplain achievable goals.

Sometimes in sports ministry, people are placed or connected into particular ministry areas with little or no training and development. This creates problems of accountability between the chaplain, Soccer Chaplains United, and the particular team or organization.

I covet your prayers as I work with Isidro for the next few days.

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