“What is this ‘Victory Beyond the Cup’ thing? I don’t get it. What is ‘Cru’? What does Christianity have to do with the World Cup? Why are we even talking about all this? This is nothing more than another money-making scheme. Isn’t preaching Scripture enough? Now we have to use the World Cup to talk about Jesus? The church is not a spectacle. The church exists to impact the world and confront people with their sin, not to play soccer.”

These are all questions and comments we’ve been seeing on social media in response to posts about Victory Beyond the Cup. And you know what? They are all excellent questions and raise some really important points.

I would love to take some time to respond to these questions and comments because I believe my brothers and sisters posting them have good intentions and are genuinely concerned about the same two things we care about: loving and glorifying our God, and loving our neighbor (Matthew 22).

First of all, what is “Cru”? In our Latino communities—especially in our countries of origin—we do not usually talk much about “parachurch” organizations. The United States has much more experience and history with these kinds of organizations. What we do know is that “the church” is the primary place for everything related to Jesus. And generally speaking, that is absolutely true wherever you go. However, “Cru” is, in fact, a parachurch organization that—as its name suggests—comes alongside the church to help fulfill its mission. Essentially, we are a group of believers in Jesus who desire to serve God through evangelism and discipleship as our full-time calling, going beyond the capacity of our own local churches.

Second, we agree that the church is absolutely not a place for entertainment, and we definitely do not want it to become that. The person who posted that comment is absolutely right. The church certainly exists, among other things, to help lead unbelievers to repentance and faith in Jesus through the power of His Spirit; it does not exist for the purpose of playing soccer (John 16; 1 Corinthians 14). But that does not in any way mean that believers (who make up the church) cannot play soccer and even use this sport—which ultimately exists by God’s sovereign design—to bring people together, build community, and love one another in Jesus’ name. If God can use poetry and the marketplace, He can also use soccer (Acts 17). Scripture clearly warns us never to turn the church into a marketplace (Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, John 2). And we certainly are not trying to turn the church into a soccer field.

So then, what exactly is Victory Beyond the Cup? Cru, along with many others, noticed that this year the World Cup is being played very close to home. And we asked ourselves: “Hmm, could this be an opportunity to help believers and churches in our own neighborhoods use this hugely popular global event to engage with their local communities and build relationships?” In other words: to love their neighbors. And no, we absolutely do not need the World Cup—or anything else—to talk about Jesus. He speaks for Himself through the Word. So the person who asked that question on social media is also absolutely right. But as the name of the initiative suggests, we want to use this opportunity to engage our communities and have conversations about how the glory that comes from winning the world’s biggest sporting tournament is nothing compared to the glorious victory found beyond a simple cup—a victory truly found in the Good News of Jesus (Colossians 1:15–23).

Okay, I think I understand, but what’s the catch, and why promote it so heavily? Once again, those are excellent questions, and we genuinely appreciate that healthy skepticism. This is absolutely not an attempt to make money; nor is it an effort to gain fame or popularity, and we are not trying to gain more followers on social media. We simply wanted to create and distribute new, free resources for anyone who wants to use them. That’s it. No strings attached. No hidden agenda. We have physical and digital kits available that you can request through our website. The physical kits will be mailed out during the month of May, while the digital kits can be accessed and downloaded immediately.

And at the end of the day, even if you never use any of these resources and completely forget about Victory Beyond the Cup, the only thing that truly matters to us is that you, as a follower of Jesus, live your life the way He calls you to: loving God with everything you have, serving rather than being served, and laying aside your life and interests for the sake of others, sharing that same divine love and grace with your neighbor (Matthew 20, John 15). Because that is the great victory—not a Cup, not a tournament—it is the investment of time, energy, and love we make in others. That is the gospel. It is not a program—it is a person. It is Jesus, and it is a relationship with Him. Jesus restored our relationship with God, giving us both the ability and the desire to relate to one another. May it be so.