Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Fellowship of Christian Athletes - 2012 Ireland Mission Journey

One conjures up images in his or her mind that the deepest darkest jungles of the world is where all mission trips should be, i.e., Africa or the Amazon, but not Ireland...


Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”


Our "Jerusalem" is Mobile, Alabama and Sharon and I have "mission trips" there weekly as we go across the street from Cottage Hill Baptist Church to volunteer at the Laity Care Center doing Biblical counseling. Our Judea is the Gulf Coast of America and our Samaria is the rest of North America. Everywhere else is the ends of the earth, including Ireland.


The Great Commission


Matthew 16-20 "Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

A key to understanding our call to Ireland is that right now Ireland is as dark as any country in the world when one looks at church attendance as an indicator of the people's relationship with Christ. We are commanded to not forsake the assembly, yet church attendance in Ireland is less that 1% of the population.

We believe Ireland as well as the complete European Union is a foreshadow of things to come in America in regards to personal relationships with Jesus Christ as demonstrated through the bearing of fruits and the public worshipping of our risen Savior.

The South Alabama Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is teaming up with SportQuest (SQ) and helping SQ in their ninth year of conducting mission trips to Ireland. Though Ireland is known for its beautiful scenery and friendly people, it is also known to be a country rich in religious tradition. Tradition, however, does not translate into relationship, and most Irish youth have little interest in God.

For the ninth year, SQ will continue to work with local churches and serve local youth through sport camps. God has opened great doors of opportunity for golf in Ireland. For the 2nd year, our golf team will conduct camps and also compete with local Irish golf clubs.
The purpose of this trip to Ireland is to connect with the local community, serve local churches, lead sport camps, encourage local Christian teens and share their faith in Jesus.






Dromoland Castle Golf and Country Club