The grimace on Mike Lapper's sweat-streaked face told it all. Mike, an all-star defender for Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew, had executed a slide tackle on a forward for the Kansas City Wizards when his right knee twisted awkwardly in the damp grass. The diagnosis: torn ligaments, which most likely meant the end of his season.

"Who knows?" says Mike with an inexplicable calm. "This may be an opportunity for God." As Mike waited for a ride, his swollen knee elevated on the couch, Campus Crusade for Christ staff member Jim Schmidtke prayed over the damaged joint. Tests would later reveal no tearing; only a severe sprain.

Living in Columbus, Ohio, and directing the soccer ministries for Athletes in Action, Campus Crusade for Christ's sports division, Jim—who describes himself as "a 48-year-old with Attention Deficit Disorder and a reputation for not being able to act normally"—chaplains the Crew. He traveled to Florida for their spring training camp to see "his guys," a core of eight Christian athletes on the team. While the coaches challenge and push their players to their best performance, Jim gently coaches them to incorporate God into their lives, both on and off the field.

Yet make no mistake about Jim's guys. They love God and play fair, but if you bring the soccer ball down to their half of the field, they might leave you face down in the grass.

Just ask the Kansas City Wizards forward who collided with Mike Lapper. Mike co-captains the Crew and has been with the team since its beginning. Mike looks the part of a tough defender, with a lantern jaw and unflappable demeanor, but off the field he has an easygoing personality.

He played on the U.S. Olympic and World Cup teams as well as in Europe, and found Jim with the team when he returned from playing in England. A Christian since his childhood, Mike says, "It was refreshing to find a Christian presence on the team."

When the Crew came to town in 1997, Jim already had a full-time job as chaplain for the Ohio State football program—a position he still holds—and regional director for AIA. But he also recognized the international potential for a soccer ministry, so he asked God to break through the red tape if He wanted Jim to branch out.

	Road Work | Jim traveled to spring training camp in Florida at his own expense to be with his guys. He even works out with them and endures their good-natured teasing from the athletes.

Within a month he heard from a former Ohio State football player, William White, a Columbus native now playing defensive back for the Kansas City Chiefs. William told Jim that he had spoken with Lamar Hunt—who owns both the Chiefs and the Crew—at a Promise Keepers event, and asked Mr. Hunt if AIA could start a ministry with the Crew. The owner told William that AIA had done a good job with the Chiefs, and gave the go-ahead.

Jim and William went straight to the Crew camp and spoke to the team, telling them of God's grace. Seventeen players returned comment cards wanting more information. One of those players, Mike Clark, received Christ a few weeks later.

Jim calls him Clarkie. The all-pro defender, team co-captain and original member of the Crew does whatever it takes to win. Off the field, wearing his glasses and flashing a broad smile, he might be mistaken for a young attorney or doctor, but he is considered one of the iron men of the league, with a reputation for playing through injuries. "I play for an audience of One," says Clarkie, "and I think Jesus would be the fiercest competitor on the field." Clarkie prayed for salvation with Jim in a McDonald's just after arriving with the team.

"I work with football to reach America," says Jim, "but I work with soccer to reach the world." And soccer has certainly proven to be a window to the world. A dramatic illustration of that occurred during this spring's camp. Jim taught a Bible study with Christian members of the Crew, the San Jose Earthquake, the Colorado Rapids and the New York/New Jersey MetroStars.

And, because he roomed with some of Jim's guys, an agnostic New Zealander named Duncan Oughton sat in.

Duncan listened intently, sitting with an uncharacteristic quiet for the otherwise zany Kiwi, as Jim talked about the Bible, telling the story of the woman of ill repute who washed Christ's feet with her tears. Then Jim told his own story of coming out of a wild lifestyle to faith in Christ. All the while, Jim juggled three lacrosse balls—sometimes substituting an apple, which he occasionally would grab a quick bite from as it sailed past his mouth. The slapstick routine was just what a room full of tired athletes needed to perk up to the message.

Players in the study had come from homes in Poland, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Colombia, Argentina and New Zealand, as well as the United States—even though each team is only allowed five foreign players.

Soccer is clearly the world's sport of choice. The organizing committee of this year's World Cup expects 443,000 fans to travel to Japan, which is co-hosting with South Korea. Organizers also expect 3.5 million spectators at the final matches and one of every eight people on Earth to watch them on television.

Rough Game | Physical play can bring out the best and the worst in athletes. Christian players have to work to keep their tempers from overshadowing their testimonies. Jim prays with players after a particularly hard loss.

Jim wants to harness all that sports passion and turn it toward the gospel. A colossal task, but to reach the world through a sports ministry, it takes a world sport.

A new player on the Crew, Danny Torres, who looks younger than his 24 years and wants to attend college to learn computer programming, arrived this year from Costa Rica after the Crew drafted him. He originally told his agent that he did not want to sign with the Crew because he thought his spiritual growth would suffer if he left home.

But head coach Greg Andrulis assured Danny that Jim would be waiting for him when he arrived. Jim helped Danny find housing and a car as well as spiritual grounding. "I know now that God brought me here," says Danny with his easy, perpetual smile.

"There are more Christians in soccer than there used to be," says Mike Lapper, "probably because of people like Jim." Jim estimates that there are 80 committed Christian players in MLS, with a Christian presence on every team. And at the end of their time in MLS, most of the foreign players will either return home or play in another country. Jim wants them to go with a heart like Danny's.

Danny wants to return to Costa Rica after his soccer career to help bring the gospel to his homeland, and Jim wants to help him do just that. This year and last, Jim organized an AIA soccer team comprised of mostly amateur players. Each player raised his own expenses and took two weeks off to travel to Costa Rica, playing local club teams and even the national team.

"People come out like crazy to see these games," says Jim. Last year, at similar matches in Costa Rica, Jim struck up conversations in the crowd and explained the gospel to more than 50 fans who prayed and received Christ. And that doesn't count the soccer addicts who just came out to see a match and heard the gospel message at halftime.

But Jim spends most of his ministry time with the Crew and could pass for a coach on the sidelines with his team warmup suit. The entire team now accepts Jim's influence. "Even the non-Christian guys know they can come to him about anything," Clarkie says. Traveling to spring training camp, eating with the team, lifting weights with them and enduring their good-natured ribbing opens doors for him with the players.

And Jim helps them through the rough spots. Unfortunately, some of Jim's guys were cut, and some were traded. Coach Greg Andrulis says that the hardest part of being head coach is "telling someone he is not good enough."

"It's OK for guys to move on," says Jim. "It's like scattering seeds."

And they scatter like soccer balls. "These things cost 125 bucks each," says Jim as he uses a long stick to rescue another ball from the dark, algae-covered ditch surrounding the Crew's spring practice fields. Tucker, the equipment manager, thanks Jim for the help, but before the words leave Tucker's mouth, another valuable leather sphere splashes into the ditch. More valuable than these expensive balls are the men who kick them into the water and play soccer for the Crew. God values them.

Jim heads back to the drainage ditch. Another valuable ball floats in the mire, and he goes after it.

You may contact the author at Howard.Hardegree@ccci.org.