When one thinks of ultimate frisbee, images of long, lush grass fields under a wide sky may come to mind. Or teams of college athletes competing in tournaments or traveling to campuses to compete.
But frisbee with female factory workers?
That isn’t a picture often painted.
In one Southeast Asia country, tucked away in a remote area where government rule is strict, God is using frisbee to bring young women to Himself while also opening doors for the Gospel in some of the most unreached places on the globe.
In this country, opportunities for ultimate frisbee clubs have popped up in 15 southern cities. The north, however, has been extremely difficult to enter due to high government security, restrictions and religious persecution.
For years, country leader Jason* prayed for a way to share the love of God with the people in the northern part of the country, but to no avail.
But in 2023, God used a courageous missionary and a handful of frisbee discs to open a way into the northern factory communities.
Factory work is hard, with long and laborious hours. It is considered an undesirable job and given mostly to women needing to support themselves and their children, and to ethnic minorities. Workers are at the factory around the clock and send what little money they earn to their families.
In a setting like this, there is great need for hope and a way forward. Jason’s heart became burdened for these workers, and he began praying for a chance to get the Gospel into places where it isn’t allowed. When a missionary came to one of his frisbee camps in the south, Jason learned he ministered to the factory workers and knew it was time to see God go to work.
“He asked me to help him with frisbee,” Jason remembered, “so we planned how to start an ultimate frisbee club for the workers, and we gave him some discs to take back with him.”
The missionary started a frisbee club, and many women joined it, finding newfound freedom and joy.
“Most of the workers are young single mothers,” said Jason. “When they got pregnant early in life, society looked down on them, so they lost self-confidence. The only thing they know is how to take care of their children and how to go to work at the factory—that's it.”
Now, he added, they’ve found happiness, a greater purpose and a spark of life outside the walls of the factory. For these women, the pull toward frisbee isn’t just a leisure activity; it’s a lifeline.
“I play frisbee for fun and stress release, but it is just one option; I could listen to music or go to the cinema. It’s a hobby,” said Jason. “All they have is frisbee. They go to work from early morning to night, and the only night free is Saturday. They wait all week for frisbee.”
“Surely that is a good bridge for us to share the Gospel,” Jason added. “Workers have committed their lives to Christ.”
What’s incredible is that from a centralized location in the country, women are coming from all parts of the country to work, many from even more remote, unreached villages where Jason has prayed for the Gospel to be shared.
“I found out that one of them belonged to a group that is really hard to reach because of government control. But wow, we learned where they are from, and we feel like this club is opening a great door for us to reach two communities: single moms and people in the local villages. We can engage with them, share the Gospel and equip them for when they go back to their people, to the places where Jesus’ name has never been proclaimed.”
Jason marvels how for years, he and other leaders have tried to find a way into these remote areas in the north with no success. Until frisbee.
“When we keep faithfully starting clubs, God sends people to our club who are positioned to go into those unreached places.
“I’ve learned that I can never underestimate my God.”
Please pray for Jason and the missionary in the north, that the favor of the Lord would be on them, and that their families would be protected. Pray for the women who are playing ultimate frisbee and finding out about the love of God, and pray for them to find hope in Jesus.
*Name changed for security purposes
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Photos courtesy of Unsplash