A team of Christians is seeking to reach out with the gospel in the world of motor sport
The Alpha & Omega Christian Motorsport Team have a mission on the track.
With their 302bhp Ford Escort RS Cosworth, they seek to bring God’s Word to places where other ministries just don’t go.
Alpha & Omega Christian Motorsport Team (CMT) aim to see Jesus on the podium, winning the hearts of those they encounter.
‘With nearly 25 years under our belt we are determined to make this year a big one: to celebrate a quarter century in the sport; reach more young people than in previous years and see Jesus exalted’, says Stuart Hawkins, co-driver for the team.
Culture of its own
Motorsport is a culture of its own. Inside this culture the team can meet people whose lives most Christians are not so familiar with. They come from all sorts of backgrounds, situations and difficulties. But sharing a common interest allows ambassadors of Jesus Christ to reach into their lives with God’s transforming love.
With the common interest of racing and racing mechanics, the team, led by Paul Harvey (driver), seek to be present at exhibitions, men’s events and rallies displaying the slogan ‘You must be born again’ written down the side of their N-class rally car.
The team of three has changed a lot over the years. Paul Harvey says: ‘Every few months I decide I cannot give any more and throw the towel in. And when I do, Mark, another team member, is there to support me and keep me going. Then, every few months, Mark decides to throw in the towel and when he does, I’m there to keep him going!’
God’s provision
One of the biggest challenges faced by the team is making it feasible to continue the work. These are ordinary Christians with ordinary jobs and not all have the special qualifications to carry out this work.
The team work by faith and not by sight. ‘None of our work would be possible if not fuelled by prayer and obedience to God’s guidance.’ The Alpha & Omega CMT works to a budget dictated and provided by the Creator God, the team leader.
In working under God’s provision, the team has noticed that nothing works without putting him first. They have learned how prayer is the most important thing to start with, and they have learned to listen to God and do what he asks them to do. ‘When we listen to him, he does all sorts of little miracles to keep things on track. Once I had a major problem with the gearbox and it was going to cost money I didn’t have to fix. I asked God what he wanted me to do and the answer came back, “Well, you need to fix it!” So I fixed it and trusted it to him and, sure enough, a few days later a cheque came in the post for the amount it had cost me!’
Random radio
Stories of God’s help become more common when a disciple of Jesus Christ learns to lean on him to provide, and small miracles can come in all shapes and sizes.
A recent example is the story of Stuart Hawkins, the most recent addition to the team. Now working behind the scenes as office manager, Stuart only heard about the Alpha & Omega CMT at the beginning of the year. ‘I was listening to a Christian radio station that until recently I hadn’t listened to very often. I happened to tune in at the beginning of the interview between the presenter and Paul. I found their website and asked how I could get into rally with no qualifications or experience. One thing led to another and in the end he offered me a position on his team as co-driver.
‘The co-driver is the team’s navigator. That’s not just on the circuit. It also means seeing and alerting the team to what troubles are coming up ahead in the mission work and keeping the team on track with progress.’
Talking about faith
God is very much the essence and sustain-er of the work. The team rally all over England, but the bulk of the mission work is done at exhibitions and events. Here they have more time and freedom to talk about their faith and how it drives them forward.
Stuart says: ‘We do as much work as we can locally. We’re heavily involved in the local Baptist church, as well as hosting mechanics evenings, attending outreach events and all other things possible. We are always looking for the next thing we can do. We want to do more locally in Ipswich’.
The team are constantly looking for support. The work is not possible without help as no Christian was created to work alone. People can support the team in many ways.
The most important is prayer. Nothing is possible without prayer. The team believes in praying about specifics and will happily provide a prayer list of a few pointers on request. People can also help financially. The work is very difficult without financial provision and the more funds the team has, the more outreach they can do.
