THAYINGEN, SWITZERLAND -
It wasn’t quite the World Cup, but church members gathered nonetheless in this Swiss village recently to “practice the sport that trumps the rest of them,” said Luk Brazle, a missionary in Antwerp, Belgium.

That sport is soccer, known almost everywhere else in the world as football. The 17 teams, totaling about 150 players, represented congregations across Europe. The churches in Zurich and Schaffhausen, Switzerland, coordinated the tournament.

In addition to the friendly competition, the church members worshiped together, singing hymns in four languages, Brazle said.

See gallery to the right for images from the event.