Four years ago, Brian Davidson and I, with our families, embarked on a mission to Ethiopia. We were convinced that sports could be a powerful tool that churches and church planters could use to build bridges to youth and their families. SIM leaders shared this conviction. We believed that a successful experiment in Ethiopia could establish a prototype for sports ministries around the world. “Sports Friends” set about implementing its vision of training and equipping Ethiopian Christian leaders to use sports for intentional church planting, evangelism and discipleship ministries. We wanted to create a national sports ministry movement that would yield great kingdom results.

The power of the sports platform is enormous! Have you ever seen a young person who doesn’t enjoy playing games? Sports surmount the boundaries of race, tribe, class, age and religion that so easily divide us and hinder the Gospel. Children, youth and young adults are playing soccer, volleyball, basketball and other games in virtually every Ethiopian city street and country meadow.

Yet nobody could have predicted just how effective church-centered sports ministry would be! Today, more than 1,000 trained Ethiopian evangelists are using sports to build relationships with youth and their families. More than 500 churches have initiated sports ministry programs, both in the cities and in the countryside. New churches have been planted, and thousands of people, including many from hostile religious groups, have placed their trust in Christ. And the sports ministry movement in Ethiopia is still in its first lap!

Church leaders in other countries in Africa and around the world have heard about the success of church-centered sports ministry and have asked Sports Friends to train them as well. Representatives from Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda have recently traveled to Ethiopia to see first hand what God is doing. While there have been inquiries from many countries, first on the list is Nigeria, where a team will soon be working full time training and coordinating the outreach efforts of various denominations. Introductory conferences have already been held in Nigeria and the response has been tremendous. As in Ethiopia, Sports Friends hopes to unleash a movement of churches and church planters using the powerful platform of sports to expand God’s Kingdom in Nigeria and many other countries. Who would have thought that something as simple as a soccer ball could open so many doors for the gospel?

It takes Heart—Not Body

Joshua is an unlikely soccer ministry leader. He has never played soccer in his life. In fact, he is the most physically handicapped person I ever met. He lives in Jos, Nigeria, and gets around in a small, handcrafted wooden wagon pulled by one of his many friends. Joshua has a normal head and chest, but his hands and arms are withered, and his body ends at his waist. He lies in his wagon in the same position day and night. Yet he’s a giant of a man, with a huge heart and a sports ministry called Joshua’s Soccer Academy.

Three teenage boys serve as his companions. They pull his wagon, dab the sweat off his forehead, and hold his Bible in front of his eyes so he can read it and teach from it. He gathered about 30 boys from his neighborhood to play soccer, and he recruited a coach to work with them. After practice, all the boys gather around his wagon and he teaches them from the Word of God. He tells them, “God loves you. His Son Jesus Christ can bring joy and purpose to your lives just as He has to mine.” He radiates the love of God, and lives his life to make a difference in the lives of the boys on his soccer team.

Give

Sports Friends Project # 99803

Go

Opportunities are unlimited. Contact your SIM office.