by Catherine Edwards
4 February 2011

MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF SARAWUT are of a quiet, introverted kind of a guy—not necessarily the type of person you could imagine coaching a bunch of difficult teenagers to play football. But as he begins to speak his character, passion, and vision soon become apparent.

Approximately one third of the population in Thailand are under the age of 25, and less than 0.5% are believers. This younger generation has many issues to confront: sexual immorality, HIV and AIDS, drug and alcohol abuse, excessive internet gaming, and gambling.

The Church in Thailand has the challenge of helping young people address these issues, as well as reaching them with the Gospel of Christ. This is where sport comes into play: as a powerful and effective tool for building relationships with youth outside the Church.

Sarawut works full time for his local church. He previously focused his sports ministry efforts on adults. But after attending a Sports Friends training event, he caught the vision for starting football coaching with the local unreached youth.

Following the training, he put up posters in the local community inviting young people to come along to his football training sessions, and seven teenagers responded. They were initially quite aggressive, addicted to computer games and the internet, and generally at quite a loose end. Over time, as Sarawut invested time in their lives, their characters began to change and develop.

The young people know what’s expected of them, and they know their boundaries. As a result, they seem to be thriving. Initially skeptical, their parents and the rest of the community are seeing the fruits of Sarawut’s work, and they fully support his efforts.

To encourage a sense of commitment and to cover his costs, Sarawut charges 100 Thai baht a month (approximately US$3) for football training three times a week. He also enforces the “swear box” system, where each word of bad language costs the players five baht.

Building relationships

As Sarawut has gained their trust and respect, he has also been able to introduce an extra Sunday morning session, where the boys come to church and join in the morning worship, followed by some football “theory” and a little more about his faith. Sarawut is a great example of how sport can be used to build relationships, as a bridge to reaching young people with the love and Word of God. Like music, sport is a universal language which crosses the barriers of age, culture and religion: a tool to reach people in a way they can really relate to.

A respected, godly coach can have a great impact on those whom he coaches. His Christ-likeness, his character, his values and his motivation will all shine through in everything he does. The Sports Friends team in Asia is training hundreds of leaders in the local church to reach out to young people in their community with the love of God through sport — just as Sarawut does!

You can get involved in the ministry of Sports Friends in Asia and Africa by praying, giving or going. For more information, visit Sports Friends