“Before I came to the ship I was passionate about sports, about God, and about overseas work, but I’d never put those three things into one,” says Logos Hope crewmember Andrew Carnell. He says right away, he was “blown away by its effectiveness.” The Australian coach first sailed aboard Logos II, an earlier OM ship, which took him to north Africa. While there, he got into a pick-up soccer game with some local kids and though he didn’t speak their language, they bonded over the game and got together several times while the ship was in port. The youth toured the ship, then gave Andrew a tour of their city. He says, “It’s amazing how sports can overcome cultural, linguistic and even religious barriers, especially with young people.”

Visitors of all ages watched the World Cup aboard Logos Hope last year. Around 2,000 people gathered for various matches throughout the tournament. One woman visiting with her husband said, “We met people from other parts of the world and it was so exciting feeling like we’ve known each other for some time.” The couple got to see firsthand how sports help people connect over cultural boundaries.

Sports not only connects the crewmembers with ship visitors, but with each other as well. In Dominica, crewmembers went running in the hills of the port city, in teams of eight, all holding hands. One participant said, “We learned that if we had done it individually we would have given up. But because we did it together we were strong.” The exercise was part of a three-day training which used sports illustrations to teach leadership. It effectively brought those principles to life.

Young Logos Hope team members are learning that sportsmanship is just about honoring others, and teamwork is how the Body of Christ is supposed to work. Sports is a relational path to sharing spiritual truth.