Pastor Bob Kraft is hoping for a match made in Heaven as he brings the gospel to professional tennis players at the Australian Tennis Open this week. The veteran chaplain to the professional tennis tour will be at Melbourne Park over the next fortnight reaching out to players and their families.
Mr Kraft says the new generation of pro players "knows very little about the Christian message'.
"Many are from former Eastern Bloc Communist nations or nations that are not predominately Christian, so are hearing the message of Christ for the first time.
"Sports chaplaincy calls us to reach people who would not otherwise go to church with the gospel message," he says.
The ordained minister started ministering to ATP (Association of Professional Tennis) players in the early 1990s and WTA (Women's Tennis Association) players in the late 1990s.
Over the last four years he has attended all four Grand Slam tournaments and some additional pro tournaments. He also travels internatinally to establish tennis ministry with the churches or national tennis associations," he says.
Mr Kraft will work with city-based Melbourne church Swanston Street Church of Christ for the second year in a row.
Last year the church evangelised tennis fans on the streets of Melbourne, conducted special services for players and assisted in housing players, their families and coaches.
Swanston Street Church of Christ Associate Pastor Rob Keller says his church is keen to support the ministry to tennis professionals.
"For an evangelical church it's an opportunity to get the gospel into that community," he says.
Mr Keller says hosting families is one of the key outreach methods.
"Our ministry is mostly to the lower ranked players, particularly the younger kids with high expectations of breaking through this year. They may have done well in their local junior comp and are now aspiring to do well professionally," he says.
Because the Australian Open is at the start of the calendar year, Mr Keller says many players come to Melbourne with high expectations that are often destroyed.
"They come to the tournament with expectation of breaking through, and if they don't they think, "I'm not going to cut it in the big time'. We have the opportunity to speak to young people and explain that their hope is not in their tennis but actually in Christ."
"For those who aren't Christian we are just planting a seed. For those who are Christian we are a source of encouragement and support. We can stand by Christian players to remind them their eternal value is found in Christ and nothing else," Mr Keller says.
Although the church is forbidden from distributing material to people in and around Melbourne Park, an "Urban Reach' will cover the main streets and public transport locations of Melbourne where many players and fans will be located.
"We have had people from the Open visit our church because it's easy for foreign players to fit in with the multicultural congregation. We have a reputation as an international church because about 75 per cent of our 1200 members are non-Caucasian," Mr Keller says.
Mr Kraft says France's Mary Pierce and India's Mahesh Bhupathi are two high-profile tennis players who are committed Christians.
"Mary Pierce is speaking openly about her faith to the media and others. Mahesh Bhupathi has also acknowledged that he is Christian."
Mr Keller says a total of 379 professional players have been ministered to in various ways through literature distribution, phone calls, counselling, prayers, and church services.
