I became a Christian in 1983 following a children’s mission in my primary school, organised by the local Anglican church. They told us that going to church didn’t make us Christians.

My older brother was part of the local Elim church at St Helens and unknown to us, had asked his home group to pray for our family to become Christians. After talking to him about it, I became a follower of Jesus at the age of seven.

Within the next year, Mum and Dad became Christians at an Eric Delve mission in St Helens. The prayers of my brother’s home group were answered.

Along with my parents, I enjoyed connecting with the Elim Church in St Helens, where my brother Darren later became part of the leadership team. After joining their youth group, I really grew in my faith and over time became senior youth leader.

Being a supporter of St Helen’s RFC meant Paul Johnson didn’t have a difficult decision to make when asked to become club chaplain

In the summer of 2002, a small group of us including Rachel, who I later married, moved across to Warrington to plant another Elim church called King’s Church. We’ve been there ever since! My brother Darren and his wife Jacky are the senior leaders there and many of our wider family are actively involved. Rachel and I are the missional community leaders and founders of the church’s Worship Academy.

In 2012, I was working for two Anglican churches, helping them to think in a more missional way when I was approached by a friend, Rev Gaz Tracey. He was chaplain for St Helens RFC and was moving to a different part of the country. He asked if I would consider becoming a part-time chaplain there. That very day my full-time job as chaplain and learning mentor at our local college became part-time because of redundancy, so God’s timing was perfect.

I was also brought up on the same road as St Helens Rugby League stadium and had been a supporter for as long as I could remember, so it took about two seconds to think about it! After accepting the position, I became a member of Sports Chaplaincy UK as it provides professional accountability for sports chaplains.

Sports Chaplaincy UK was launched in 1991 (originally called Score) under the leadership of Rev John Buyers. He was a Baptist minister who became chaplain of Watford Football Club and later, Manchester United. Former Watford Manager, Graham Taylor, put an advert in the local newspaper to ask how the community could support the football club. John offered to provide chaplaincy and a friendship began, which continued until Graham passed away.

The charity has around 500 chaplains serving across a wide variety of sports, including football, rugby, cricket, athletics, para sports and many others.

It provides chaplaincy to sports clubs (elite, professional and amateur) and encourages local churches to engage with the sporting clubs in their own community. I love hearing about those who are being God’s hands and feet, coaching kids and helping in a whole host of other sports.

It’s the best job in the world being chaplain at Saints. My role is to serve all of the staff at the club, from the players to the stewards. Speaking with players and coaches on a regular basis is a real privilege, especially encouraging those who may be injured or struggling to find form. I like to remind them of their worth, whether they’re selected to play a game or not.

It’s also great to have the opportunity to pray with them before and after matches. I had the recent honour of doing so when the Saints won the Grand Final, and were crowned Champions of the European Super League.

Something else I’m proud to be part of is ‘Iron Squad’. It was originally launched out of Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia. Chaplains there provide a place for professional rugby league players to explore and grow in their faith together.

It inspired a group of chaplains in Yorkshire to do the same. In the 2019 season, we launched ‘Iron Squad’ for players, coaches and chaplains on the western side of the Pennines. We meet fortnightly, in various locations. Some players have even become followers of Jesus in the past year, after completing the Alpha course.

It has been really encouraging to see those who are part of Iron Squad, gathering at the end of matches, whether they’re on the same team or not, huddling together to give thanks to God. This has even been picked up by TV reporters and printed press.

Jesus didn’t just tell us to go to different nations. He called us to go to all people, everywhere, to make disciples. If we can see church as being more than a Sunday meeting, there’s plenty of time in the week to show God’s love to people who are involved in sport.

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