ATHENS, Ga. — A World Cup final watch party at Green Acres Baptist Church became a picture of the nations gathered around one table.
More than 60 people came to the Athens church for food, fellowship and soccer, representing connections to Brazil, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Colombia and other communities. Senior Pastor Cameron Ford said the gathering was a way to help international and Latino families already connected to the church feel more at home.
The gathering, he explained, also fit into a broader season of revitalization at Green Acres, where the church has been praying about how to reach the people God is bringing into its community.
“What if God wants to grow our church in a way that we didn’t expect?” Ford said. “What if He wants to grow our church through the international community?”
The idea first caught Ford’s attention through Mission Georgia’s emphasis on helping churches use the excitement surrounding the 2026 FIFA World Cup as an opportunity for hospitality and Gospel witness.
Mission Georgia, a Georgia Baptist Mission Board initiative that helps churches meet needs and share Christ in their communities, has been encouraging churches across the state to think creatively about ways to engage neighbors through soccer. With Atlanta serving as one of the World Cup host cities, Georgia Baptists have urged churches to see the tournament as more than a sporting event.
“The nations are here, in your neighborhoods,” said Beth Ann Williams, lead strategist for Mission Georgia.
For Ford, the opportunity felt close to home.
Ford and his wife, Melanie, are from Atlanta, and the excitement surrounding the 1996 Olympics remains vivid for him. The growth of Atlanta United also showed him the passion surrounding soccer in the city.
“I just thought, what a great opportunity to engage people in a new way,” Ford said. “There’s going to be some excitement.”
That excitement also challenged him to think about people that churches may not always reach well.
“Soccer truly is a world sport that’s bigger than we even realize,” Ford said.
The watch party became a relational gathering that brought together church members, newer families and international connections already forming within the congregation.
The church, which averages about 150 people on Sundays, is primarily an intergenerational congregation with a mix of blue-collar families and people connected to the University of Georgia. In recent years, more international families have begun to connect with the congregation, including Brazilians, Colombians, Puerto Ricans and others.
One of those members is Erica Santiago, a Puerto Rican woman who joined Green Acres with her family after Ford first got to know them through baseball. During the church membership process, Santiago shared a burden for Spanish-speaking families and told Ford she believed more Spanish speakers would love to come to Green Acres.
“I thought, that really could be a possibility,” he said. “We really need to pray in that direction.”
As the World Cup watch party took shape, Ford asked Santiago to help lead the effort. He also connected her with Beth Ann Williams, lead strategist for Mission Georgia. Santiago participated in a Mission Georgia Zoom training call that offered churches practical ideas for hosting watch parties and using soccer as a bridge for ministry.
The training helped give Santiago confidence and excitement about the gathering.
“That enabled me as the pastor to hand it over to Santiago and ask her to essentially be the hostess,” Ford said.
Mission Georgia also provided resources for the watch party, including small soccer-themed balls and Gospel tracts in English and Spanish. The materials included a children’s tract that explained the Gospel through soccer imagery, as well as a Spanish-language tract designed for adults.
Food also became an important part of the gathering. Santiago prepared Puerto Rican dishes, including pinchos, pollo asado and arroz con gandules. Her husband grilled, and church members brought sides as Ford encouraged them to treat the event like a tailgate.
“There was a lot of love that went into it,” Ford said.
The game began at 3 p.m., and food was served soon after. A 65-inch television was set up in the room, with an internet connection hardwired by a church member to make sure the game would not drop. Children played foosball and spent time together while adults talked, ate and watched the match.
More than twice the number of people came than the church initially expected. Leaders had prepared for about 30 people, but more than 60 attended.
While many were already connected to the church, four or five visiting or newer families also came, including one family that had recently moved across the street and had attended worship only once.
“There was definitely some outreach or some new connections happening,” Ford said. “But it really turned into a church fellowship.”
That fellowship mattered, he said, because it created space for deeper relationships. Santiago connected with Fernanda, a Brazilian mother at the church. Though they had seen each other before, the watch party gave them time to sit down and share about culture, family, motherhood and life.
That kind of connection, Ford said, helps people feel less isolated in a congregation where they may not see many others who share their language or background.
“While they feel as though this is their home, when you meet another Spanish speaker, it feels even more like home,” Ford said. “You realize, ‘Oh, wait. There are others here.’”
The event also raised the church’s profile with the surrounding international community. After photos were shared on social media, Ford said other Brazilians in the Athens area saw the gathering and recognized that Green Acres is a church open to internationals.
Green Acres has a history of ministry among internationals in Athens, including past involvement with International Friends. The watch party, Ford said, may become another step in that direction as the church continues seeking renewal.
“Green Acres, really, her story is a story of revitalization,” Ford said. “We believe God is revitalizing our church.”
The gathering also gave Ford an opportunity to point people to the Gospel. During an early water break in the match, Ford muted the television, welcomed those who had come, prayed and pointed people to the Mission Georgia resources on the tables.
“It was a moment to stop, pray, point them to some Gospel resources and share what the night was about,” Ford said.
Ford said he appreciates Mission Georgia and Georgia Baptists encouraging churches to think beyond traditional outreach methods and look for fresh ways to engage people.
For Green Acres, that meant using a global sporting event to strengthen relationships within the church and create a more welcoming environment for international families in the community.
Ford does not know exactly what God will do through those relationships, but the watch party offered one more sign of the Lord’s work among the congregation.
“This may be the beginning of something,” he said. “It’s too early to say. But I see God at work in the life of Green Acres.”
This article originally appeared in the Christian Index.
