October 2, 2026
I am sure I am like many of the pastors, staff members, and even church members in our state. For most of my life, I didn’t know if the World Cup was a tournament or something you drank out of that you could buy on eBay for $9.99.
I have only realized later in my life that the World Cup is a soccer or football (as most people in the world call it) tournament that is the largest sporting event in the world! It is happening this year in North America, and more than 500 million ticket requests have already been submitted.
The problem is, the only type of football many of us get excited about in the good ole South is the pigskin variety that is played in the fall on Saturdays and Sundays. You may go watch your child or grandchild play this other kind on the weekends at the rec center or local church, but for the most part, I could live without it.
So why should I care about the World Cup 2026?
The first reason you should care as a pastor or staff member is because the World Cup is coming to our door. Atlanta is one of the host cities this year, and tens of thousands of people from all over the world will be descending on our state to enjoy the games of the tournament. The nations are coming to our state.
What a great opportunity we have as churches to show Christian hospitality and a loving gospel witness to many people who may normally have less access to the gospel than we do. What a great time it could be for you to lead your people to be more invested and active in missions and evangelism.
The magnitude of the World Cup means that no matter where you are in Georgia, people will be talking about it. What a great time to mobilize your people, even if you don’t make it to Atlanta.
This leads to the second reason you should care about the World Cup. It may not be a big deal to you, but it is to a lot of people you lead, and to a lot of people you would like to reach. Soccer interest is constantly rising in our country, and many people in your church and community who are younger than you are very excited about the World Cup being here. There are also people living in your community who are not from the United States who are very excited about the World Cup. All of the excitement and focus that will be on the World Cup in the months to come gives us a great opportunity as churches to reach out to our community and spread the gospel through World Cup-related events.
Mission Georgia has put together some wonderful resources to help you plan and put on all kinds of events that will capitalize on the interest the World Cup is stirring up. The World Cup gives us an opportunity to reach into our communities in ways we rarely have and reach out to groups we have had little opportunity to impact, if we are willing to put forth some planning and preparation.
Pastor, staff member, and lay leader, you may not care very much about soccer, and that’s okay. But I know you care about people, and you care about getting the gospel to those who have not heard. Whether you are in the Atlanta area, or in places as far away as Bainbridge and St Mary’s, we can all use the World Cup as an opportunity to impact lostness.
We care about the World Cup because we care about people. If you would like resources to help you plan events go to missiongeorgia.org and see what is available.
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Brad Marchman is an evangelism consultant with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.
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