EX-NATIONAL FOOTBALLER PITCHES NEW MISSION
By Christopher Quah
“Talent is something that we must share, not for our own glory but for the glory of God,” said former national footballer Chan Keat Swee, who played for Malaysia in the 11th Asian Games in Beijing in 1990 and the Merdeka Cup in 1991. Prior to this, he played for Kedah for 10 years, followed by Perlis for three years.
In 1995 when Chan retired from his football career, he thought his days of active football involvement were over, and he would just continue with his job as a technician in Jabatan Kerja Raya (Public Works Department). No, they were not. Today, he is a football coach for God via the Fellowship Of Christian Athletes (FCA), an international non-profit Christian sports ministry based in Kansas City, Missouri in the USA.
Coming to Christ
“I was born and grew up in a Buddhist family. Since young, I’ve been very much in love with soccer. By God’s grace, I was given this great opportunity to actually make a career out of the sport even though I didn’t know Him then,” Chan, 56, said.
In his heyday, life was one hectic routine of practice and matches, while raising a young family, leaving Chan no time to think about the weighty matters of the future, such as eternity and religion. Then in 2007, his wife succumbed to leukaemia.
“It was a very hard time for me and my two sons,” Chan recalled. During his ordeal, Chan drew strength and support from his friend, fellow national footballer Wong Kue Fu. A Christian, Wong stood by Chan and his sons, praying for them through their painful times.
But even before then, Chan had already been impacted by Wong. “I was impressed by his lifestyle as a Christian. During our playing days, we lived together and I noticed something different about him, compared to the other players,” Chan recalled.
In November 2009, Wong invited Chan to go with him to Yangon, Myanmar, to do some soccer coaching. What Wong didn’t tell Chan was that it was a mission trip!
“I had an encounter with God during one of the coaching sessions where I really felt His love. I realised that He was the source of my strength all this while. That day itself, 26th November 2009, I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ.
“It’s really amazing. I went to Myanmar as a Buddhist and returned as a Christian. Praise be to God,” Chan chuckled. God sure works in wondrous ways.
Three months after Chan became a Christian, both his sons also gave their lives to Christ. “Our lives were changed by His Word. There was no turning back after that,” a jubilant Chan said.
Giving back to God
Wong wanted to start a sports ministry and invited Chan to join him. Chan declined. At that point, he did not think of using his football talent for ministry. This perspective changed after he heard his pastor, Pastor Kuilan, preached a sermon based on the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) during a church service.
Chan remembers clearly what Pastor Kuilan said, which was to use “your God-given talent for the Lord Jesus Christ or you will lose it!” For the remaining of the service, one question and its accompanying answer kept nagging him – “If you don’t use it (the talent), what will happen? It will go to waste”.
“Pastor Kuilan’s ending remark was, ‘Do you want to bring your talent to the grave with you?’ That hit me really hard,” Chan said. At that same time, he was reminded that in a way, he came to Christ through the sports ministry. This convinced him to get involved in the sports ministry.
With the help and encouragement of Wong, Pastor Kuilan and two other fellow Christians, William and Daniel Lim from Texas, USA, Chan started the soccer ministry in mid-2010. Called Alor Setar BUG (Bless You God), the ministry provides weekly soccer training.
“To further equip myself for the ministry, I attended courses such as the International Sports Leadership Training. I attended Level 1 in Ipoh in 2010 and Level 2 in Korea in 2013,” Chan shared.
In 2015, he got connected with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) USA. Chan was very impressed with the way they ran their sports ministry worldwide, and joined FCA to become a Malaysian representative.
“Finally in 2016, I took the bold step of opting for early retirement as a government servant (he was an assistant engineer by then) for 33 years to be the servant of the Lord at FCA Alor Setar. Romans 10:14 states, ‘And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them?’ In this ministry, I can fulfil my calling to reach the lost through sports in obedience to that verse,” Chan said.
Soccer satisfaction
During these eight years of serving God through his football ministry, Chan has seen many young lives transformed, with some giving their lives to Jesus. These players come from different backgrounds of faith and Chan is thankful to God that through sports, he has been able to find the common ground with them.
“Sports has helped me connect to these youth and children,” he said.
“I also travel around to help the FCA partners in East Asia and Malaysia conduct soccer coaching, soccer outreach and soccer camps. I also do the ‘3-Dimensional Coaching’ training, which is to engage, equip and empower,” he enthused.
For churches, sports coaches and anyone interested in starting a sports ministry, Chan is more than available to share the vision and mission of FCA with them.
“God is working through our sports ministry. He has opened doors for us and connected us with pastors and leaders who see that sports can be an effective evangelism tool. Through them, we’ve also distributed the Coaches Bible, Athletes Bible, Sports Bible and other books for spiritual growth,” he enthused, adding that God has also opened doors for them to serve in Sabah, Sarawak and Southern Thailand.
Like other ministries, FCA Alor Setar has its struggles. For Chan, finding a place to train is one of the challenges they are facing.
“We train our players in an open field without goal posts and lines. Sometimes we train in school fields when the schools are not using them. Sometimes the grass is not cut. We are also short on manpower in this ministry.
“Currently, we are praying for three acres of land and funds to build a mini sports complex for the community of Alor Setar. Plus a 16-seater van for transportation,” he shared.
“People think these are impossible, especially to have our own field for training. But I believe in God, all things are possible. He has answered our prayers many times in this ministry. And it is His ministry, so I’ll just keep praying.”
To find out more about FCA Alor Setar, contact Chan at 012-4126910 or chan@fca.org (email). To support the ministry, its bank account details are: Malaysian Public Bank Account No. 6-3811483-12 Support FCA AOR.
Asian Beacon: Oct – Dec 2018 (Vol 50 #4, p10-11)
