At Sutton Vineyard we are passionate about extending the table to all those seeking and needing compassion both in our local community and globally.

Aslan Hope in Sport is our main international missions relationship. They use sport as a tool to engage with young people, enabling them to develop self-esteem, social responsibility, and life skills.

If you’d like to learn more about Aslan’s story and how the Sutton Vineyard church community helps their work, read our introductory article here!

Their fantastic work is positively affecting the lives of communities and individuals in townships and deprived areas in South Africa.

To achieve this Aslan Hope in Sport have created Church Academies, which aim to encourage local young people into sport in a safe, positive and encouraging environment.

What are Aslan Hope in Sport Church Academies?

Aslan Hope in Sport’s Church Academies are run in partnership with local churches to offer an environment for boys and girls aged 6-16 to develop their sport, life skills and faith.

Each 60–90-minute session focuses on a soccer skill, a related life skill and a short talk based on the Bible. Church Academy sessions end with a match, which gives an opportunity to put the skills the young people have developed into practice.

Church Academies are available to all young people, irrespective of sporting ability, gender, beliefs or background. This is Aslan Hope in Sport’s ethos; creating development opportunities through sport and Jesus’ message of hope for all:

“As an organisation we firmly believe in God’s word and that God entrusted the message of HOPE (Jesus) to the local church, real HOPE that can only be found in Jesus Christ. Therefore, our HOPE in sport is to point these young people to the local church who is the HOPE of the world and where they will find real HOPE in Jesus. We do this by using sport as a tool to engage with young people during their daily lives with the HOPE that we will get to point them to one of our sporting academies at a Local Church in their communities where a Christlike relationship is formed in a safety, welcoming and fun environment.”

By grounding their passion for sports education, the development of young people and creating an environment in which God can move through their work, Aslan Hope in Sport are creating opportunities for young attendees and volunteers.

Volunteering with Aslan Hope in Sport

As of October 2023, South Africa had the highest unemployment rate, 46%, among members of the G20. It’s youth unemployment rate was 52%

Aslan Hope in Sport are creating real and economic social change in South Africa by equipping volunteers and new sports leaders to outwork God’s plan for them in deprived, poverty-stricken areas through their programmes and academies.

By empowering individuals from within the communities in which they’re working, Aslan Hope in Sport are building a platform for individual and spiritual growth across the region.

In July 2024 they held their Annual Church Academy Coach Education Workshop.

These workshops are an amazing opportunity for Aslan to meet with volunteers, offer encouragements from Church Academies across Cape Town, rejoice in where God is taking our young people and leaders as well as training, exploring new ideas and sharing knowledge and insights.

“Most importantly out of the morning the one thing we really emphasised was our ‘why’, which is our connection of sharing the good news of Jesus through hope and sport”

This ethos, their amazing work and devotion to spreading Jesus’ message are why we at Sutton Vineyard are proud to support the work of Aslan Hope in Sport.

How Sutton Vineyard supports Aslan Hope in Sport

As a church community Sutton Vineyard is committed to supporting the amazing work of Aslan Hope in Sport such as their Church Academies.

As part of our giving as a church, we support Alsan Hope in Sport through regular financial gifts. This financial support helps the team to develop their programmes, continue to instil the ethos and technical knowledge of Aslan Hope in Sport into their volunteers and coaching leaders, and to bring the hope of Jesus into townships and communities in South Africa.

Many of our congregation regularly pray for Aslan and the team.

We have also visited Aslan Hope in Sport in South Africa on two mission trips, in 2018 and 2019, and we hope to have news of future mission trips very soon!

If you’d like to find out more about how Sutton Vineyard support Aslan Hope in Sport, visit our webpage or email aslan@suttonvineyard.org