The ex-footballer braving persecution in Mexico to share the gospel

The men’s 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off this week! Did you know that 14 of the 48 participating nations, including co-host Mexico, are on the World Watch List? During the tournament, could you pray as they play? You’ll be helping people like Jeremías, who in exchanging the football field for the mission field, has encountered his toughest opponent…

Jeremías* made a deal with his wife. He’d been a semi-professional footballer for nine years and, sensing God calling him to leave the football field for the mission field, he said that if his team won the league and he finished top scorer, he’d retire. 

It happened – and Jeremías followed through on his promise. “In that moment, we felt God’s call,” he remembers. “Of course, we had doubts. We wondered, ‘How will we live?’ But the Lord reminded us that if we obey Him, He is faithful and will provide everything we need.” 

Football, faith and fear  

It was 2020 when the family, responding to God’s call to go to the unreached places of Mexico, went to an indigenous community in Chiapas. They were the first Christian missionaries there. Given that it was a closed community, they weren’t allowed to live there. Instead, they stayed a two-and-a-half-hour drive away, returning every weekend to help wherever they could, including cultivating land. 

During one trip, they prayed for a woman suffering with severe pain. “From that day on, it never returned. And she and her family came to faith,” Jeremías shares. Word spread and others were eager to hear about Jesus.

After three years, criminal gangs took control of the area. Jeremías and his son, Josías*, refused to join a gang, but it put them in such grave danger that the family had to flee immediately one night. To add to the trauma, Jeremías’ youngest son was very sick. “I thought he would die that night in the cold, but we still chose to leave, otherwise we would all die,” Jeremías recalls.  

That night, the family saw God powerfully come through for them. They hid under coffee trees and felt no cold, even though by morning the grass was completely soaked. “It was as if we were inside a bubble. My son also stopped coughing. God saved us that night,” Jeremías says.  

Gospel to the gangs 

Three weeks later, the family returned, despite having to pass through checkpoints armed by gangs. “I was afraid,” Jeremías says. That day, he handed out gospel pamphlets, even to armed men, opening opportunities to share about Jesus. “Many were there because they were being forced. They needed a glimpse of God.” 

That night, even as rumours of an attack spread, the family stayed. Over the next 11 days, they prayed with people and encouraged them. “They didn’t understand why we had peace, until we shared the gospel with them. Many received Jesus in those days.” 

But then an attack came. During the night, they heard footsteps, doors breaking and people screaming. “We prayed the entire night,” Jeremías remembers. By morning, the family were the only ones left in the village. They fled again, this time for good. They were amongst 10,000 people displaced by the cartel’s push for control.  

Josías remembers that night. “I was afraid the bad men would take my dad,” he says. “I was only able to pack some clothes and honey for my little brother, because I knew he would need it.” 

Leaving his friends was the hardest part. “They were rough and difficult to deal with at first,” he says, adding that over time they changed and became friends after encountering Jesus. “It was hard to leave them.” 

Jeremías also left behind his football trophies and photos, but what hurt most was leaving the people. Even in that moment, God reminded him of John 4:37: “One sows and another reaps.” 

“We just keep praying that the Lord will send more hands to continue His ministry there,” he says. 

Immovable faith 

A few months later, Open Doors learned about the family’s situation and helped them start again. “We were able to buy basic items for our new home, like a stove, furniture and a gas tank,” Jeremías says. 

Through the Standing Strong Through the Storm (SSTS) training, the family also found healing and a deeper understanding of persecution. “I realised that dependence on God makes you immovable. When you act out of fear, you make wrong decisions.” 

Even in their new home, the family continue to live in the shadow of criminality, such is its pervasive presence in many parts of Mexico. “The cartels are almost everywhere, but God is more powerful,” Jeremías says. “They see us as a problem because we teach people to serve God, not them.” 

It’s not only the gangs that show hostility. “A neighbour forbade her children from playing with ours,” he says. “I tell them: someday, when the community surrenders to Jesus, you will have plenty of friends.” 

Despite everything, the family loves their community, praying for them and seeking opportunities to share their faith. “Organised crime made us lose everything, but Jesus loves these people, and they need to hear about Him.” 

Using his own experience and expertise, Jeremías now serves as an SSTS trainer, traveling with his wife to strengthen other persecuted Christians. “I share my testimony and remind them that God can bless us wherever we are, if we obey,” he says.  

Pray as they pray 

The coming weeks provide a golden opportunity to pray for believers like Jeremías in Mexico who are vulnerable to persecution for their faith, with the country co-hosting the men’s FIFA World Cup alongside the USA and Canada. In fact, Mexico is one of 14 participating teams on the World Watch List, the others including Iran, Egypt, DRC, Uzbekistan and Morocco.   

As they play, can you pray? Keep an eye on our social media channels for prayer cards, which will be shared on the days when their respective countries are playing. They feature facts and figures, together with a short prayer request. These can be downloaded for you to print and give to your family, friends, church and youth group.  

With a passion for faith and football, Jeremías urges his global family to take this moment to pray for people like him who face dangers because they follow Jesus. “Pray for spiritual and physical strength,” he asks. “May the flame not go out. May God’s work continue despite persecution.” 

*Names changed for security reasons