IT might sound strange to suggest you can learn more about Christianity on the football field or the tennis court.

Chris Cox tells children about a Christian athlete after rugby training

But for Christians who love playing sport, sharing their faith as part of a cricket team or during a swimming gala is perfectly natural.

Not only do they get to know others outside church, but they can also model Christian behaviour in what can be a fiercely competitive environment.

Given that 45 per cent of adults and 87 per cent of children take part in some kind of sport, it would seem strange for Christians not to be involved.

That’s the philosophy behind Christians in Sport, a national organisation that helps churches use sport to reach further into their communities with the gospel message.

In our diocese, there’s one church that Christians in Sport have identified as a model for others to copy. St Jude’s in Southsea is one of eight ‘beacon’ churches around the country.

It runs weekly keep-fit and table-tennis sessions, football and netball matches, as well as annual badminton, golf, swimming and table-tennis tournaments. In the summer, children are given the chance to play tag rugby each week, and a fixture list of cricket matches is organised.

The church’s five-a-side football team were the runners-up for two seasons in the Mountbatten Centre’s indoor league, and also played twice in a European tournament in Germany. Rugby players have been invited to play annually with professionals from Harlequins at the Stoop.

And the climax of the year is the annual sports awards, presented at a breakfast that also includes a guest speaker talking about their faith. This year’s event is at 8.45am on June 19 at Rocksby’s Restaurant on the seafront.

Chris Cox, the church’s Christians in Sport representative, has been organising sport at the church for 10 years. The 47-year-old, who once had professional football trials and is still an effective midfielder, is convinced of the value of sport as a way of showing non-churchgoers what faith is all about.

“It’s perfect for outreach, because taking part in a sport is a non-threatening environment,” he said. “The emphasis for us is always on having fun, rather than having ability, so anyone can join in and no one feels uncomfortable.

“That means we get people from church, those on the fringe, those whose wives or parents go to church coming to play with us. We try to make sure it’s 50:50 church and non-church people.

“We develop friendships through playing sport together. They might see that Christians aren’t all geeks, or that we want to win but stick by the rules.

“We might talk to people about Alpha courses, but there’s no pressure on people to do anything except enjoy playing. Hopefully, we’re bringing Christ to them anyway.”

For mother-of-two Teresa Anthony, the amount of sport played at St Jude’s convinced her to join the church.

“It is very good for my teenagers to be able to get involved in a church with all these sports activities,” she said. “It’s great for me as well to get involved and meet people, as I’ve only been coming to the church since September.”

The annual sports breakfasts don’t necessarily attract a big-name speaker. Sometimes it might be someone from the church football or cricket team simply explaining to those who they play alongside why they have faith.

The vision is to expand the amount of sport played even further. There may even be provision for sports facilities once the St Jude’s building is re-developed.

And the church’s ‘beacon’ status means that worshippers there have committed themselves to helping other churches do the same.

It is hosting a Christians in Sport roadshow from 7.30pm-9.30pm on June 10 at which Christians from other churches can find out how to do so.

It’s part of an eight-date tour by the national Christians in Sport organisation, which will include a multi-media presentation; disussion and questions; and the chance to look around resources and meet the team informally.

For details, see: www.christiansinsport.org.uk. To reserve a free place or talk about how your church could run sports activities, contact Chris Cox on 023-9275 1150.

He would love to see other churches in our diocese using sport to reach out to both adults and youngsters. It certainly fits in with our Kairos thinking about engaging with our communities more effectively.

“Sport isn’t just for youngsters, although it can help to keep them involved with church,” he said. “It’s for all ages. We have a weekly table-tennis evening that is for the over-40s, although most of them are actually over 70!

“Or if people feel they can’t even manage that, what about a games evening? There’s lots of ways of making it relevant for the community you happen to live in.”

Other churches in the city of Portsmouth have been involved with the Faith in Football scheme to create six-a-side leagues for seven to 13-year-olds in Paulsgrove. Pompey star Linvoy Primus was recently featured on the BBC’s Songs of Praise at the Paulsgrove sessions.

The idea is to use football to give the youngsters positive role models, teach them life skills alongside football skills, and demolish misconceptions about church.