Fresh Expressions: Sports Ministry

Since September 2004,  the Church of England and the Methodist Church have been involved in a new initiative called 'Fresh Expressions', which aims to help Christians of any denomination think about ways of starting and growing fresh expressions of church in their area. A fresh expression is a form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church.  

In 2007 we added a new fresh expressions ministry in the form of sports ministry, part of which means that we now have our own Football Team, St Andrew's Amateur Football Club, who are currently in the 2nd Division of the Strathclyde Evangelical Churches League.  This is an exciting development for us as there is a historical connection between Methodist Churches and their influence in establishing football teams such as Everton, Liverpool and Aston Villa.  There are currently 25 members in the team who are working hard to develop teamwork, skills and tactics in a bid to progress through to the next division this season.

Off the park, team members and supporters are invited to meet socially to deepen relationships and explore issues that can make a difference in the team and in their lives.  Recently, we have been thinking about what it means to think and play as 'winners', encouraging and supporting one another towards achieving our goals - in both the scoring and visionary sense!

We hope to provide more opportunities like this for the local community to meet new people and develop friendships in fun, fresh and creative ways - helping them connect with others and connect with God.