Major sporting tournaments are proven opportunities to gather communities, as people come together to enjoy watching and playing sport. Christians working with-in the world of rugby have thus been bless-ed by the chance to come amongst Japanese people and share the gospel through the Rugby World Cup.
This island nation is the largest unevangelised country in the world which is legally open to missionaries, containing less than 1% evangelical Christians, according to Operation World.
It is against this backdrop that teams of Christian volunteer coaches, including Fijians, Welsh, Australians and Scots, have travelled there to capitalise on the tournament. Over the course of the World Cup this work will include hosting rugby clinics, undertaking street evangelism, and supporting local churches in outreach initiatives.
