We should be more like Arsenal's 'Bible brothers'

Captain Amy-Jo Battersby encourages us to be courageous and open about our faith.

Sport is big just now – especially if, like me, you live in Glasgow as an Arsenal fan! We are preparing to watch the Scotland men’s football team play in the World Cup for the first time since 1998. I am celebrating Arsenal men’s team winning the Premier League for the first time in 22 years. And my neighbours – Celtic – are celebrating the men’s and women’s victory in the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup!

I love sport. It presents us with a fantastic opportunity to share life with people from all kinds of backgrounds. It also gives us an opportunity to share who we are, our whole selves, including what we believe. It takes a lot of courage, but the community around sport is so significant that it would be sad if we met people week in week out, celebrated great wins and tough losses together, and yet never learnt about each other’s lives.

I have been challenged to think about how I share my faith in the sporting contexts I find myself in – the friends I hike with, cycle with, box with and just hang out and watch football with. I have been especially encouraged by members of Arsenal, who have gone all out to share who they are and what they believe.

Known as the ‘Bible brothers’, these players – including Jurrien Timber, Bukayo Saka, Madueke and Eberechi Eze – have put themselves in the spotlight, opened themselves up to criticism and have done so with pride in who they follow and what they believe. They have stayed humble as they give thanks for who they are to Jesus, and they have challenged culture as they share their beliefs and religious practices.

Saka has shared about his Bible being a gift from his dad and how much studying God’s word meant to him, how much peace it gives him when he steps out and what his church means to him. Timber has been open about how the players share Scripture and pray together before each game. And Madueke has commented on how this shared faith has made them stronger as a team. Imagine all the people looking up to these guys, buying their shirts, copying their behaviour… they are followers being led to Jesus. And you don’t need to be an international footballer to have that level of influence!

Ephesians 6:19 says: ‘Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I may fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.’

With so many opportunities for us to engage in sport this summer, can we be as courageous and open about our faith as Arsenal’s Bible brothers? We might find that the message we share leads to us standing in a much larger crowd when we lift the trophy at the final victory parade!

Reflect and respond

• Read Ephesians 6:19 and 20. Pray for us to be bold as we share the gospel, trusting that God carries the message come what may.
• Pray that the sporting community gathering this summer at the World Cup (11 June – 19 July) and Commonwealth Games (23 July – 2 August) come to know victory through Christ because of Christians witnessing.
• Pray that those in influential positions continue to speak about and live out their faith, pointing others towards Jesus. May God protect them as they do!