Christians and Soccer: Here are Ten (10) Things every Christians should learn from Soccer.

1. Stay In Your Lane
In football, position is important. If you put a striker as a goalkeeper, you might lose with a horrible score. If you are an evangelist, pitch a tent and preach. If you try assuming role of a pastor or an apostle, you might mess things up. Stick to your position or lane. Know and do what you are called for and leave the rest to others.

2. Celebrate With Others
When the team scores, players usually mob the scorer in celebration. It’s a goal for the whole team. Learn to celebrate with others. When someone is doing well in ministry, celebrate with them. It’s for the same kingdom. Their victory is yours.

3. Get A Coach
Even the best players need coaches for mentoring, cheering and guidance. Coaches help with strategies, knowledge and wisdom. It’s important to have coaches and mentors to guide you all the way.

4. When Injured, Rest
When footballers get injured, they sit on the sidelines and have medical experts attend to their injuries. When life or situations or ministry show you flames, take time to rest and recuperate from whatever ailment. Once healed, you carry on.

5. Embrace Your Season
There are times where players perform at their best and there are times where things go south. When it’s your season, maximize the moment. When you are overlooked, keep working hard. Don’t sulk, just work on your craft and one day you will get a chance to show what you got. Don’t worry when they don’t invite you, work on your content.

6. Stay Fit
Footballers have to be at their best physically in order to deliver. Without endurance and fitness, it’s easy to get injured. Though talented, you will be shown flames. Anointed or called, you need to put in the work – study the word and pray. Stay fit so you stay relevant and revitalized.

7. Practice, Practice, Practice
Top footballers – Zidane, Beckham, Kekana, Pirlo, Shoes, Ronaldinho and others, invested extra hours to perfect their skills. They practice it until they reach perfection. It’s key to practice your craft or calling. Be it prophesy, preaching or laying hands on the sick, keep practicing your faith. You can pray for someone and they die but don’t dare stop. One day healing will manifest. Just keep the faith. Drop the revelations here on Facebook and grow. Constant practice will lead to excellence. Stand in front of a mirror and preach to the (wo)man in the mirror. You can preach to trees, rivers, robots, birds and animals. Didn’t the bible says preach to all creation?

8. Embrace Criticism
Poor decision making, slacking, performing below par, loss of form, poor conditioning and misdemeanors often get punished by the media. Players and coaches are scolded and blamed for missing scoring chances, giving away possession, conceding goals and so on. On Twitter, they get flayed and faulted. They don’t give up. They come back strong. Let people criticize you and become better. Develop thick skin and keep going.

9. Study The Game
Football is forever evolving with new tactics, methods and rules coming into play. You can’t use 1970’s methods to thrive in a technologically advanced era. In ministry, things change. What worked some time ago may not work now. The world is changing at a rapid pace. There’s a need to stick to the truth while embracing emerging trends (as long as the purity of faith is maintained). Learn about where the world is going and be prepared to roll with the times.

10. Adapt or Die
There comes a time when a footballer can’t keep up with the game. Age factor sets in, there’s loss of pace, body takes time to recover and players just can’t produce at their peak. Players often retire and others are forced to retire since they get deemed surplus to requirements. Time is an enemy. Don’t overstay your welcome. King David wanted to build a temple but time had eluded him. His season was long gone. At a certain age, it’s not bad to gracefully retire and let the Lord use you in a different way.

There you have it – The 10 Things Christians Can Learn From Soccer