“Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of hostility. Eph 2:14-16 MSG”
Fans rooting for the competition? Cheerleaders switching loyalties? What is this?
Kris Hogan skippers a successful Christian high school football program. He has 70 players, 11 coaches, and parents who wouldn’t miss a game! Their upcoming opponent, Gainesville State School was just the opposite. Parents don’t watch them play, but 12 uniformed officers do! Gainesville is a maximum security correctional facility. With no hope of winning, they’d only scored two touchdowns all year.
The whole situation didn’t seem fair. So Coach Hogan asked the fans to step across the field for one night, to cheer for the other side. More than 200 volunteered, including parents and cheerleaders! They formed a spirit line; painted a banner for the team to burst through; and learned the players’ names. A Gainesville team member said, “People are usually a little afraid of us. Most of the time they’re looking at us like we’re criminals. But these people, they were yellin’ for us—- by our names!” After the game, another Gainesville player led a prayer & thanked the Lord for showing them there were people in the world who cared about them.
Christ brings us together through his death on the cross. He creates a new people, not based on a common skin color or family, but based on a common Savior!
