{"id":5142,"date":"2022-12-28T14:00:46","date_gmt":"2022-12-28T19:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=5142"},"modified":"2022-12-28T14:02:25","modified_gmt":"2022-12-28T19:02:25","slug":"former-pro-soccer-player-turned-pastor-helps-bring-thousands-to-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2022\/12\/former-pro-soccer-player-turned-pastor-helps-bring-thousands-to-christ.html","title":{"rendered":"Former Pro Soccer Player Turned Pastor Helps Bring Thousands To Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"
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@JesseBradley \/ Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jesse Bradley\u2019s<\/span><\/a>\u00a0life was going great. He was living his dream of playing soccer professionally as a goalkeeper in places like the United States, New Zealand, and Scotland. All that changed, however, when he went to Africa and took a prescribed medication to prevent malaria. The medication built up toxic levels in Bradley\u2019s system, and he spent a year fighting for his life. The experience continued to have a devastating impact on his body for the next ten years. However, God used Bradley\u2019s experience to bring him to faith. He had first read the Bible in college while attending Dartmouth and taking a world religions class. That experience would later help him in his health struggles. Writing on his website, Bradley described his conversion experience saying, \u201cDuring this time, my life was transformed in the deepest ways: identity, faith, mindset, habits, career, and relationships. The greatest blessings and growth in life can emerge from the worst situations. This is the grace of God and the hope I want to spread.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bradley is now using his experience as a soccer player to reach out to soccer fans during the World Cup. Now a pastor at <\/span>Grace Community Church in Auburn, Washington<\/span><\/a>, Bradley has partnered with\u00a0<\/span>Global Media Outreach<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(GMO) to create content specifically for soccer fans that shares short 1-minute videos that compare the World Cup and the Gospel. Speaking to\u00a0<\/span>Sports Spectrum<\/span><\/a>\u00a0about the project, Bradley said, \u201cRight now, across the world, people are searching and starving for hope. \u2026 Hope is relational. Hope is available. Hope is found in Jesus.\u201d Data collected by GMO has shown that over 200,000 people have indicated they want to start a relationship with Jesus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

GMO\u2019s involvement doesn\u2019t stop there. The organization follows up with people interested in starting a relationship with Christ by offering next-step information, discipleship videos and linking them up with a local church. Bradley said that growth is the key goal of the effort. \u201cWe don\u2019t want people simply to make a decision to follow Jesus. We want them to grow and enjoy that relationship. We want to empower people, and we want to cultivate next steps that are going to help them grow in their faith,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The impact during the World Cup has been phenomenal. Speaking with\u00a0<\/span>Faithwire<\/span><\/a>, Bradley said, \u201cWe\u2019re able to create content where we share the Gospel. I share my story, and people are making decisions to follow Jesus. We\u2019re reaching millions of people. We\u2019re seeing over 18,000 already make first-time decisions.\u201d He stated that despite his two decades in ministry, the fruit of the last two years has been amazing. According to Bradley, there is a \u201cmassive hunger across the world now for God, for hope, for faith, for Jesus.\u201d \u201cWe all know there\u2019s something much more significant than soccer that we need,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I discovered it myself later in life, but our souls are content, and we have joy in peace when we discover a relationship with [God].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jesse Bradley\u2019s\u00a0life was going great. He was living his dream of playing soccer professionally as a goalkeeper in places like the United States, New Zealand, and Scotland. All that changed, however, when he went to Africa and took a prescribed medication to prevent malaria. The medication built up toxic levels in Bradley\u2019s system, and he…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":664,"featured_media":5145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nFormer Pro Soccer Player Turned Pastor Helps Bring Thousands To Christ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Former pro soccer player, Jesse Bradley, is now a pastor helping others find Christ.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former Pro Soccer Player Turned Pastor Helps Bring Thousands To Christ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former pro soccer 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